In a hypothetical world, who would the perfect trade target be for the Chicago Bulls be if they had their pick this offseason?
What will the Chicago Bulls do now that they’ve almost completed the remodel of the front office and the coaching staff since the outset of their 2020 offseason?
You would think that the next step for the Bulls was configuring the rest of the coaching staff and then turning their attention to the roster construction. The Bulls hired former Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Billy Donovan to replace Jim Boylen in the same role. The Thunder parted ways with Donovan after they were ousted in the first round of the playoffs by the Houston Rockets.
And the Bulls let go of Boylen back on Aug. 14, after he led them to a record of 22-43 in the shortened 2019-20 season.
Moreover, a good way that the Bulls could look to upgrade the roster heading into the 2020-21 season is taking advantage of another team that wants to get rid of a star’s large contract. A piece from Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report on Sep. 25 outlined what each team’s “perfect” trade target would be for this offseason.
Bailey of Bleacher Reported mentioned that the potential “perfect” trade target for the Bulls this offseason would be from Donovan’s former team, Thunder veteran star point guard Chris Paul. That would be an intriguing move for the Bulls to make, to keep Donovan and Paul together heading into next season.
Here’s more on what this piece from Bleacher Report had to say on the matter of the Bulls targeting a potential CP3 trade with the Thunder to get him back with Donovan.
"The Chicago Bulls will enter 2020-21 with a new head coach (Billy Donovan) and a new front office (led by Arturas Karnisovas). If they want to fast-track a return to the postseason, they might want to add a new point guard, too.Taking on Chris Paul’s deal is risky. He’s owed $41.4 million next season and has a $44.2 million player option for 2021-22. But despite his advancing age (he turned 35 in May), CP3 proved he still has plenty in the tank with the Oklahoma City Thunder.Pairing him with Zach LaVine and Lauri Markkanen would give the Bulls an intriguing, modern attack that could look similar to the one Donovan just engineered for OKC. When Paul was on the floor this season, the Thunder scored 115.8 points per 100 possessions (92nd percentile)."
Paul had a big season with the Thunder, and he could solve the Bulls lengthy point guard woes and help mentor rookie point guard Coby White at the same time. If the Bulls managed to get Paul in the mix while keeping their fourth overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, then they could be a pretty good team in the Eastern Conference next year.
The 6-foot-1 and 175 pound former Wake Forest Demon Deacon Paul is a 10-time NBA All-Star selection, four-time assists champ, six-time steals champ, and nine-time All-NBA Team selection. This season was what pushed Paul to get to double digits in terms of total All-Star selections.
During the shortened 2019-20 season, Paul played in 70 games (starting in all of them). He averaged 17.6 points per game, 5.0 rebounds, 6.7 assists, 1.6 steals, and 0.2 blocks. Paul shot 48.9 percent from the field, 36.5 percent from beyond the arc, and 90.7 percent from the free-throw line.
The Bulls would have a tremendously potent backcourt pairing in the mix if they could keep shooting guard Zach LaVine around while adding Paul this offseason. This is just a hypothetical, but it could have some traction to it depending on the Thunder and Bulls trade intentions.