Chicago Bulls: Thaddeus Young’s trade value going sky high of late

With the March 25 trade deadline fast approaching for the Chicago Bulls and first-year executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley, action could be looming for this franchise in the near future. The Bulls are a hard team to figure out direction-wise right now.

It feels like there’s about an equal chance that the Bulls are either buyers or sellers at the trade deadline. The likelihood that the Bulls are buyers at the deadline lies within the plans of Karnisovas and Eversley to move this rebuild forward in its fourth year.

Unless they get an absolutely unbeatable deal, Karnisovas and Eversley aren’t likely to part ways with the likes of any significant pieces of their young core, or cap strap themselves too much at the deadline. But one player that they could cash out on while his stock is very high is veteran forward Thaddeus Young.

The Bulls looked to put Young on the trade block last year, around the deadline, but he obviously stuck around heading into the current season. Maybe this is the year where the Bulls will deal Young, despite his efficient production so far.

It certainly looks like Young’s stock on the trade market is at its highest point of any in recent years. A report from ESPN’s Bobby Marks (paid content) on Feb. 25 tells the tale of how other teams and players around the NBA landscape feel about Young at this point in time.

This part of the piece from ESPN’s Marks tells the whole story about how other people around the league feel about Young’s impact right now.

"We took a straw poll of league executives on which player outside of Bradley Beal could change the landscape of the playoff race.The unanimous answer was the veteran Thaddeus Young."

Will the Chicago Bulls move Thad Young?

The Bulls certainly have a good one in the mix in Young. While he doesn’t look like the frontrunner for the honors at the moment, Young is definitely in the running for both the Sixth Man of the Year and Most Improved Player.

Young is giving first-year head coach Billy Donovan and the Bulls some nice production off the bench so far this season. He hasn’t started in any of the 27 games he’s played in so far this season. But he’s averaged a much improved 11.8 points per game, 5.8 rebounds, a career-high 4.4 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.5 blocks. And Young shot 60.0 percent from the field, 22.7 percent from beyond the arc, and 48.8 percent from the free-throw line.

It’s hard to argue that Young isn’t the best player coming off the Bulls bench up to this point of the regular season slate. He’s one of their most efficient players, between the bench and starting five, and he’s finding a new level of success in a new found role under Donovan’s direction.

Moreover, Karnisovas and the Bulls new front office regime have almost exactly one month to decide what to do ahead of the trade deadline. Young will be one of the names to watch on this roster that could be on the move at the deadline next month.

Young and the Bulls currently sit on a three-game winning streak after their close 133-126 overtime win at home at the United Center on Feb. 24 over the Minnesota Timberwolves. They’ll carry their 15-16 record into a home meeting with the Phoenix Suns on Feb. 26, with tip off time set for 7 p.m. CT.