Chicago Bulls: BR has laughable trade package for Ben Simmons

Any trade package that the Chicago Bulls could devise if they get the first pick in the 2020 draft shouldn’t involve too many other player assets.

If the Chicago Bulls were able to get lucky enough in the 2020 NBA Draft Lottery on Aug. 20 to snag the first overall pick, they would likely keep it. Although there isn’t a set in stone top prospect to head up the 2020 draft class, the Bulls could use the added help heading into the fourth year of the rebuild. Maybe it could provide them with that bona fide star they need so desperately to build around.

Unless there is an absolutely irrefutable trade package that comes the Bulls way, it is too good of an opportunity to pass up for the new front office regime to have the first overall pick in the 2020 draft. They would at least get a shot to pick someone like former Georgia Bulldogs shooting guard Anthony Edwards or point guard LaMelo Ball, among others.

But there was an idea pitched by Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report on Aug. 18 that didn’t make much sense for what to do with the first overall pick if the Bulls were to nab that in the lottery. The idea pitched on Bleacher Report was that the Bulls work a trade package with the Philadelphia 76ers to get star point guard Ben Simmons to the Windy City.

The trade package that was proposed to get Simmons with the Bulls saw them sending off the hypothetical first overall pick in the 2020 draft along with shooting guard Zach LaVine and power forward Lauri Markkanen. Here’s more on what that piece from BR had to say on this idea for a trade package.

"The Bulls’ new front office has already made its first major move by firing head coach Jim Boylen. Making a big offer for All-Star Ben Simmons would certainly send the message that this team is ready to make a serious playoff run.While the Sixers will likely refuse any trade offers for Simmons, maybe they’d at least consider listening now that the point guard/power forward is out following knee surgery. A strong playoff performance with a team fully led by Joel Embiid could certainly make Simmons more likely to be traded, as well.LaVine and Markkanen could step in and help Philly right away, with the former averaging 25.5 points per game this season, 11th-highest in the NBA. A lineup of Shake Milton, LaVine, Tobias Harris, Markkanen and Embiid would feature plenty of scoring and would be the best outside-shooting lineup since the Process began."

The explanation didn’t really dive into how the value shakes out for each side. The Sixers get way more out of their side of the trade package than the Bulls do with the talented but injury prone Simmons. Markkanen and LaVine could still have a very bright future, and they also have to give up the prize that is a first overall pick.

Simmons is a two-time All-Star selection and the former Rookie of the Year, but he has yet to prove that he can stay healthy and mesh with another star on a consistent basis. He has clashed a lot with the Sixers star center Joel Embiid in the last two years.

The idea itself of the Bulls trading for Simmons isn’t a bad one. Simmons would be a good option for the Bulls to get a star in the mix. They would just have to do it with a trade package that wouldn’t mortgage so much of the future of the rebuild.