What would a starting five look like for the Chicago Bulls heading into next season if they actually wound up getting point guard Chris Paul from OKC?
Finding a path forward for the Chicago Bulls rebuild heading into its fourth year is the main task that newly hired executive vice president of basketball operations (and former Denver Nuggets general manager) Arturas Karnisovas needs to accomplish. Karnisovas and former Philadelphia 76ers senior VP of player personnel (now the Bulls general manager) Marc Eversley were hired to get this rebuild headed in a more promising direction than it was in the previous three years under John Paxson and Gar Forman.
With Paxson demoted from the lead voice in the front office (also VP of basketball operations) to more of a senior advisor role, and Gar Forman out of a position entirely with the Bulls organization, this rebuild can take the proper steps in the right direction now. The Bulls have made significant changes to this organization from the top-down so far this offseason.
They’ve largely retooled the front office, scouting department, and coaching staff. And more big changes could be ahead for the Bulls since they have the fourth overall pick after lucking out in the 2020 NBA Draft Lottery. There could be any number of moves that the Bulls could make to bolster their roster for next season, now commanded by former Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Billy Donovan.
Donovan replaced now former Bulls head coach Jim Boylen, with the hiring announced back on Sep. 22. The hire of Donovan as the Bulls next head coach should still even more energy and confidence into this rebuild heading into the 2020-21 season.
But there are a plethora of interesting free agent and/or trade targets that Karnisovas and Eversley could pursue to move the Bulls back into contention faster in the Eastern Conference. One of those that sticks out that is also a former player that Donovan coached up is the Thunder star veteran point guard Chris Paul.
In a piece from Ben Pickman of Sports Illustrated that was released on Oct. 11, Paul addressed the trade rumors looming over his head this offseason. He stated that “any team that I’m on I think that we’re competing for a championship”. That might be a lofty goal if he were to land on a team like the Bulls, but he really helped to shock the NBA landscape out in the Western Conference with the five-seed Thunder during the 2019-20 season.
If the Bulls were to snag Paul in a potential trade with the Thunder, how would their starting five look and how would the deal play out?