No. 1: The Chicago Bulls have real Frontcourt Issues and Orlando Magic Big Man Mo Bamba could use a Change of Scenery
Selected sixth overall in the 2018 NBA Draft, Bamba has been stuck behind an All-Star caliber center in Nikola Vučević since entering the league. That’s not the only thing that has kept him off the court, though, as this season he has fallen well behind Khem Birch in the rotation as well.
In his third year, Bamba is playing just 10.2 minutes per game. He has seen his playing time drop each year of his young career and hasn’t given fans much to be excited about when he is on the court. Unless the Magic plan on moving on from Vučević sometime soon, which they do not, it makes sense for them to move Bamba for pieces that will actually help them.
The Bulls would be wise to see if they have the kind of pieces that the Magic would be intrigued by. Bamba’s price can’t be that high right now, although teams will be interested in taking a flier on him given his potential and lack of opportunity.
The Bulls should be one of those teams considering their long-term outlook and current roster. Bamba is far from a guarantee as a player right now, but the Bulls would be a team he instantly could help. If nothing else, he will rebound and contest shots at the rim. Those are two of the Bulls greatest weaknesses as a team right now.
If Chicago added him, he could wind up being a good player for the long term while also helping them get into the playoffs this season. Sure, it’s ambitious to think he’ll help that much right away, but he can’t make them worse inside.
It will depend on what the Magic feel they need for him whether he gets traded or not before the deadline. If they do move him, a number of teams would reach out to see what it would take to get him. The Bulls should be talking to the Magic sooner than later regarding Bamba, because he’s the rare young player that could help them both short and long term and might not cost too much.