Heading into the month for which the NBA could open the trade market, the Chicago Bulls could look to dish out some of their bigger contracts.
The biggest salary that the Chicago Bulls have on their cap sheet heading into the thick of the 2020 offseason (when all of the action is about to happen in terms of the NBA Draft and free agency) is with veteran small forward Otto Porter Jr. This 6-foot-8 and 200 pound wing that was a third overall pick of the Washington Wizards from the 2013 NBA Draft is due north of $28 million through the remainder of his current contract.
And while OPJ has a player option facing him this offseason, he is very likely to pick it up since he wouldn’t get more than that next year on the open market. Really the sole reason it seems that OPJ would opt out of his current contract this offseason is to sign a contract extension for a longer term for less money per year with a team like the Bulls.
It wouldn’t make much sense, though, for the Bulls to hand OPJ a contract extension since he might not fit with the young core over the long haul. We will soon figure out more of how Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley plan to piece together this rebuild to fit into the bigger picture.
The St. Louis, MO, native OPJ is now 27 years old and should now be in his prime years in the NBA. He could serve a lot of value in a three-and-D wing role with a building contender, which doesn’t look to be the current status of the Bulls rebuild.
If the Bulls do want to try and piece together an OPJ trade in the near future, here’s a look at three potential targets that could match salaries.