3. New Orleans Pelicans
One of the obvious brightest futures for any team in the NBA at this point in time is the New Orleans Pelicans. With the former Duke Blue Devils rookie forward sensation Zion Williamson in the fold, the Pelicans could become one of the powers in the Western Conference over the long haul. They also have nice pieces for the long-term, like wing Brandon Ingram and point guard Lonzo Ball.
But there are also a lot of pieces that the Pelicans have that the Bulls should be interested in trying to pull off a trade deal with. Among those are veteran shooting guard J.J. Redick, point guard Jrue Holiday, and even shooting guard Josh Hart. The Bulls need to fill out the bench with more effective pieces, and the Pelicans definitely have the trade chips to make something like this happen.
There’s no way that the Bulls are going to have a shot at prying the likes of Zion, or even a potentially re-signed Ingram, away from the Pelicans. But they could get another standout piece that could fit in well along with LaVine, Markkanen, rookie point guard Coby White, etc. Holiday is the first player on the current Pelicans roster that comes to mind in this discussion too.
It would not be all that difficult for the Bulls and Pelicans to find a trade package that matches salaries between the two teams. Carter Jr. is owed just over $5 million next year, and has two seasons left on his rookie contract. Maybe the Pelicans would be able to also help the Bulls stack some future draft capital.
There could also be some brilliant lineups that the Pelicans could configure between Zion playing at the four, and WCJ at the five.