Chicago Bulls: 3 early season trades with Sixers for Ben Simmons

3) Early season Chicago Bulls trades with Sixers for Simmons

Giving up an unprotected future first round draft pick to the Sixers seems like a common move within the past decade for any of their trade partners. Throughout the 2010’s, the Sixers lived in the lottery, as they went through the oh so famous “Process” for a good while. That doesn’t seem like the point the franchise wants to go back to now, but they likely wouldn’t argue with racking up valuable future draft capital.

In this particular trade deal, there’s a lot of moving pieces, including one major draft pick. The Bulls would have to part ways with an unprotected 2022 first round draft pick, which could fall in the lottery for the Sixers. They also give up standout 6-foot-6 shooting guard Zach LaVine, veteran forward Thaddeus Young, and small forward Otto Porter Jr.

What the Bulls get in return is the overpaid and maxed out stretch forward Tobias Harris and Simmons. Harris would be a nice piece for the Bulls starting five, but he is paid a ton over the course of the next three or four years, which tops out above $40 million for the 2023-24 season.

Taking on that money is a big deal for the Bulls.

During the shortened 2019-20 regular season, Harris played in 72 games for the Sixers (all of which he started in). And he averaged 19.6 points per game, 6.9 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.6 blocks. Harris shot 47.1 percent from the field, 36.7 percent from beyond the arc, and 80.6 percent from the free-throw line.

Adding LaVine would be enough to get Morey to the table. And getting Harris off the books is just an added bonus for Morey and the Sixers.