Chicago Bulls: 3 early trade targets to watch for the 2020-21 season

Building up the roster to make it the as well-positioned as possible for the 2021 free agent class is an ideal goal for the Chicago Bulls this season.

There’s plenty that Chicago Bulls fans likely wish that the new front office regime could do this coming season to improve the roster before the 2021 trade deadline. Newly hired executive vice president of basketball operations and general manager Marc Eversley didn’t really get a legit chance to make a big splash move in free agency during the offseason.

The Bulls were very cap strapped this offseason, largely thanks to veteran small forward Otto Porter Jr. choosing to opt in to the final year of his current contract (with a salary around $29 million for the year). There are other contracts on the books this season that aren’t doing the Bulls much good like those of overpaid big man Cristiano Felicio and veteran forward Thaddeus Young.

Moreover, there’s still a lot of value that Young could bring to the table for the Bulls, or another team around the NBA, but he wasn’t utilized well last season under the direction of former head coach Jim Boylen. The Bulls are paying Young at least around $13 million per year through the next two seasons of his current contract.

Having contracts like that of OPJ and Young on the books for this season could actually be a good opportunity for Karnisovas and Eversley to make some big moves on the trade block come the 2021 deadline. Matching salaries likely won’t be a problem for the new front office regime.

And all of these various large contracts could mean that the Bulls could have a lot of trade chips to build up this roster in the best fashion possible to appeal to the fruitful 2021 free agent class.

Nonetheless, here’s a look into three big early trade targets for the Bulls during the 2020-21 season.