Three Young Players the Chicago Bulls Should Inquire on the Availability of ahead of the NBA Trade Deadline
As we approach the NBA trade deadline, rumors will continue to fly around the league on a daily basis. The Chicago Bulls have spent their fair share of time in those rumors, oftentimes with the assumption that they’d covet draft picks in return above all else.
While that may be the case, and realistically should be the goal, it isn’t the only option to move along in the rebuilding process. Arturas Karnisovas must work the phone lines day in and day out leading up to the official deadline in order to ensure the Bulls capitalize on the best values they can get.
Another thing Karnisovas and his staff must do is think outside the box. Scan the league and teams’ rotations, focus on players that are young but need a change of scenery, and see where teams stand on these types of players.
Not all of the listed players have been involved in rumors as of today, and finding a deal for those players may prove to be impossible in the end. The Bulls need to add talent to their roster, though, so inquiring about these underperforming young players would be a smart move.
There’s no downside, and maybe Karnisovas finds a swap of players that works for both him and the other team involved. No risk, potentially high reward inquiries that could help the Bulls get back to true relevance.
Defensive upside and bigs are preferred to join the young group they have in place, but any deal involving these targets would likely need to see the Bulls move one of their young players anyway. Who that would or could be is tough to gauge right now, as the Bulls roster has very little of the current front office’s imprint on it.
Regardless, these are three buy-low candidates the Bulls front office should at least reach out about.
No. 3: Chicago Bulls Should Reach out to the Minnesota Timberwolves about Second Year Guard/Forward Jarrett Culver
First up and by far the hardest player to get back in a trade on this list is Jarrett Culver of the Timberwolves. He was selected sixth overall in the 2019 NBA Draft, one spot ahead of where the Bulls took Coby White that year.
Culver seems pretty unlikely to be moved, but why wouldn’t the Bulls at least reach out and see if there’s any conversation to be had? The Timberwolves are hard to predict and currently are among the worst teams in the NBA. It’s hard to see them digging out of that hole anytime soon, which is something they’d be wise to avoid anyway. They owe their first-round pick in the upcoming draft to the Golden State Warriors if it lands anywhere outside the top three.
Culver is averaging just 19.8 minutes per game this year and doesn’t have a simple path to more minutes anytime soon. Malik Beasley, D’Angelo Russell and rookie Anthony Edwards are all going to make Culver’s life difficult in terms of getting on the court.
It doesn’t seem too outlandish to think the Timberwolves might like a piece or two the Bulls have and be able to negotiate some sort of a move. Unlikely? Absolutely. Possible? It could be.
No. 2: Chicago Bulls Would be Wise to See what Troy Brown Jr. would cost in a trade
The Wizards are a team stuck in an odd spot the rest of this season at least. The Russell Westbrook Bradley Beal pairing isn’t winning them enough games, which is not shocking considering the rest of their rotation. Not a knock on those other players, more so acknowledging their roster and how it fits together.
Despite the roster around their two guards, Troy Brown Jr. has only been getting 13.6 minutes per game. He suffers from a high rookie selection playing in front of him like Culver, as the Wizards have the ninth overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, Deni Avdija, preventing him from finding more minutes.
A few other players have also been ahead of him in the rotation for most of the season, such as Jerome Robinson and Isaac Bonga. Brown Jr. seems like a player that could certainly be moved by his team if they like what the Bulls could ship back their way.
With Westbrook and Beal leading the charge, they might be able to justify taking back less of a young player themselves and could make a trade with the Bulls a win-win deal relatively easily. That’s assuming both sides think highly enough of specific players, but it doesn’t feel like a reach to say it could make sense for all parties.
Brown is averaging just 4.1 points per game this season after putting up 10.4 per game last year. He still has the ability to be a good Three and D player in the league long term but it looks like Washington isn’t going to be where that comes to fruition.
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.