Chicago Bulls: Projecting starting 5 if they trade for Chris Paul

Chicago Bulls bench and sixth man

Sixth Man: Dennis Schroder, Point Guard

Schroder could actually be a really nice fit for the Bulls heading into next season. He’s one of the best sixth men in the NBA as it stands now. He could help out this young core by giving them a spark plug off the bench. There were often times where the Bulls found themselves lacking a real offensive spark off the bench in the last two seasons.

Considering that the former North Carolina Tar Heels rookie point guard White would be likely to assume a starting role in the backcourt, Schroder could be a good replacement off the bench. It’s rare that the Bulls could find a volume scorer that registered around a 17.0 player efficiency rating, around four total win shares, and a 57.5 true shooting percentage in the prior season.

Other key players off the bench

If the Bulls do move on from LaVine, OPJ, and Young, then they would have to find depth in other areas. The sixth man role could clearly be occupied by Schroder. He had a legitimate gripe to get the Sixth Man of the Year award instead of the Los Angeles Clippers big man Montrezl Harrell this season. But that could be more motivation for Schroder to spark the Bulls bench in this hypothetical scenario.

Other key role players that could come off the bench for Donovan and the Bulls are to-be second-year center Daniel Gafford (in an elevated role with more minutes than his rookie season), Satoransky, and point guard Kris Dunn. They also would have the opportunity to sign someone like the Brooklyn Nets shooting guard/wing Joe Harris and San Antonio Spurs guard Bryn Forbes in free agency this offseason.

Those are some realistic targets that could help round out the rest of the key bench players on the Bulls 15-man roster in this situation.