1) Chicago Bulls biggest positional deadline needs
Wing and Zach LaVine help
Two key players to the Bulls usual rotation includes their star shooting guard Zach LaVine and veteran small forward Otto Porter Jr. As the two most experienced players that have often found themselves in the Bulls starting five when healthy over the course of the last two seasons, OPJ and LaVine are integral to the success of this team.
However, there’s a really good chance that the new front office regime could consider trading OPJ before the deadline arrives this year.
I’m by no means implying that Karnisovas and the Bulls should greatly consider trading LaVine before the deadline arrives next month. That is unless there is an absolutely unbeatable offer that comes the Bulls way in the near future.
LaVine has truly proved his value, and his worthiness to get his first career NBA All-Star selection this season. He’s started in all 25 games he’s played in for the Bulls so far this season, averaging around 36 minutes on the floor per game. And he’s averaged 28.1 points per game, 5.4 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.5 blocks. LaVine shot an ultra-efficient 51.9 percent from the field, 43.0 percent from beyond the arc, and 86.3 percent from the free-throw line.
If there’s a way that the Bulls can offload OPJ this season while adding other younger depth on the wing and getting LaVine more help, they should do so right away. That’s a common sense move for this team heading into the future.
With Williams floating between other positions in this rotation at this point of the season, and OPJ and small forward Chandler Hutchison both out at this moment, the Bulls definitely need to shore up depth on the wing soon. Hutch is out indefinitely due to personal reasons and OPJ could still be out for another couple of weeks at minimum.