3) Will Barton trades with the Chicago Bulls
It will take a lot for the Bulls to find a willing trade partner to get veteran small forward Otto Porter Jr. out of Chicago on the current price tag he carries with his contract. OPJ will be at least a $28 million man throughout the remainder of his current, as long as he picks up his player option this offseason. And it’s very likely that he will pick it up.
It’s not that OPJ doesn’t offer any value with his two-way wing skill set. He’s just not really worth that contract dollar amount since he’s rarely been able to stay healthy with the Bulls since landing here at the trade deadline last year. OPJ has only played in 29 games since arriving in the Windy City in February 2019.
If the Bulls could pull this off, though, it would be a good deal for both sides. To settle with the Nuggets, they would also send third-year small forward Chandler Hutchison and their 2020 second round draft pick to the Nuggets for a return of Harris and Barton. The salary matching works out in the end thanks to OPJ’s sizable contract.
Each side is giving up two players that can be slotted on the wing. Harris usually plays as more of a traditional two-guard. Him landing back with the team that shipped him off on draft night 2014 would be an interesting plot twist for the middle stages of his NBA career.
And the Nuggets should be able to find a good amount of value out of taking in OPJ and Hutch, along with stacking some additional draft capital.