Chicago Bulls: A trade proposal with the New Orleans Pelicans that benefits both teams

As the trade deadline is fast approaching, will the Chicago Bulls be parting ways with core players, or will they be adding help to the current roster? There are two needs that cannot keep being ignored, and until they are addressed this Bulls team will continue to struggle.

First, is our need for a playmaker at the point guard spot. We have a huge theme of giving large leads away in the fourth quarter because we lack a floor general. We also lack a guard that can lock down defensively in late-game situations.

Night in and night out this team struggles with simple decision making and basic fundamentals. Making the simple basketball play turns into indecisiveness. The lack of mental toughness to move on to the next play after a mistake just carries over and causes mistake after mistake. These mistakes are being made by both the young players and the veterans.

This team seems to allow bad play after bad play to carry over, inevitably it ends with terrible, hard-to-watch basketball.  Watching the Bulls play outstanding for 40 minutes, then to just fold under pressure, is frustrating. Just another underachieving NBA franchise.

Our second need on this roster is at the center position. The Bulls may very well have the softest frontcourt in the league. They lack the size, strength and toughness to compete with reserves. Wendell Carter Jr. is not our center of the future and he is hurting this team, but most importantly he is holding them back from getting to where they want to get to.

The lack of physicality and aggression is taken advantage of every game, no matter who is on the floor. WCJ is lagging behind and is not fitting in this roster very well at all. Thaddeus Young has been better defensively in the interior for the Bulls since the benching of WCJ. That is positive but it is also not the solution.

Young is better served as a role player and is being underutilized to his strengths since being moved to the starting lineup by Coach Bill Donovan. The Bulls are 2-2 since the starting lineup shakeup. It is still not a long-term fix, it’s just trying to mask our deficiencies.

Unfortunately, teams already know how to beat us. Just keep the game close and the Bulls will give away the game in the fourth quarter.

The only player on this roster that gives us any chance to win or even to attempt to close out games is Zach LaVine. He cannot win games by himself, teams already double him in late-game situations and teams know that putting pressure on this young team will break them. There is no toughness on this team or any sign of a will to win.

I purpose a trade with the New Orleans Pelicans that will fix not only both of the Bulls needs but will also help out the Pelicans to get to where they want to be as well. Mainly, this trade gives the Bulls their playmaker and defender at the guard spot. It also gives us a possible center for the future.

Chicago Bulls get:                                                        New Orleans Pelicans receive:

PG Lonzo Ball                                                                 PG Tomas Satoransky

C Jaxson Hayes                                                             C/PF Wendell Carter Jr

PF Nicolo Melli                                                              PF Lauri Markkanen

I am an honest man so I want to share that this trade idea was mentioned by one of our readers who commented on my Time to Blow it up piece I wrote after watching the Bulls struggling to close games out. It also featured what changes I thought the front office should be looking to make.

So, I am sending a shout-out to Michael Cunningham, a die-hard Bulls fan and reader of Pippen Ain’t Easy. We, as contributors for PAE, are listening and are just as passionate about the team as you. We all want to see this organization take that giant leap and build a winning culture.  Everyone’s opinion matters on PAE and we are all in it to win it, so to speak.

The benefits for the New Orleans Pelicans accepting this trade with the Chicago Bulls

Now back to this trade idea and how it helps each team in gaining talent and filling the holes on both of these rosters. I will start with how the Pelicans benefit from this trade. I am staying away from statistics for a quick explanation because numbers do not matter for losing squads.

The Pelicans benefit from this trade mainly because of Lauri Markkanen. He gives the Pelicans another lengthy power forward who could start or come off the bench and be effective Immediately. He also gives the Pels outside shooting help that they are lacking.

He could help spread the floor and gives Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram another scoring option. Adding extra height and ball-handling skills only adds to the talent already on this team.

Trading for Tomas Satoransky adds another veteran. He has a high IQ and most times makes the correct basketball play. Sato takes care of the basketball and has great passing ability. He also has size at the guard spot and he is a solid defender.

WCJ is the dark horse in this trade. He has a lot of talent and upside but he lacks confidence and would be better off playing at his natural power forward position. The Pelicans could use a solid back-up to Zion, and while WCJ is not the best defender he is a good rebounder and can shoot.

What the Chicago Bulls gain from this trade

Okay, now to the Bulls side of this trade. Trading for Lonzo Ball gives the Bulls the point guard we need. Ball has handles and is an outstanding on-ball defender that also plays the passing lanes very well. He is long and is a great passing guard. On the Bulls, he could possibly average a triple-double one day.

We wouldn’t need him to score much, just to command the offense and set his teammates up. He definitely would help with the late-game collapses that the Bulls have zero answers for currently.

Jaxson Hayes may be the center of the future for the Bulls. He would fill the biggest hole on this team, which is defending opposing centers. Hayes has shown some good things in his limited minutes in the Pelicans rotation.

He is big and physical, so could help to defend the interior. Hayes could also give the Bulls the physicality in the frontcourt they need and he could eventually develop into the team’s starting center. I see major upside in this kid and I have no doubt he would fit perfectly on our roster.

Nicolo Melli would just be a throw-in, and the Bulls could either put him in the rotation as another option to add size on defense or they could just buy him out. The bottom line is all three of these additions would be of value to both teams.

The Bulls fill the holes that have been plaguing them all season long, while the trade adds another dimension to the Pelicans rebuild. It would also give all these young players a fresh start and they can become the best version of themselves.

Billy Donovan does not look happy with this roster. He is likely already in the front office’s ear about what changes need to be made. This deal is something Donovan could see as an upgrade both short and long-term

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