Any Bulls rumors surrounding the upcoming trade deadline are starting to run rampant since that date looms large on March 25. First-year Chicago Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley look to have a lot of work to do still on the roster construction at the deadline and/or next offseason.
One of the more interesting names to surface amid any Bulls rumors of late ahead of the March 25 trade deadline is the injured standout Brooklyn Nets 6-foot-5 and 215 pound 27-year-old point guard Spencer Dinwiddie. According to a report from Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report on March 22, the Bulls are one of multiple NBA teams interested in pursuing a trade with the Nets just to land the bird rights of Dinwiddie.
At the outset of next offseason, Dinwiddie is set to have a player option that he could pick up that is worth an annual salary just north of $12 million. If he does pick up that player option next offseason, that would be the final year of Dinwiddie’s current contract.
When healthy, Dinwiddie is one of the better point guards in the NBA. And he’s definitely of the caliber of point guard that could start for the Bulls over any of their other options on the current roster (i.e. Tomas Satoransky, Coby White, Ryan Arcidiacono, etc.).
Do the Bulls rumors make sense concerning Spencer Dinwiddie?
The other three teams that have reportedly looked into acquiring the bird rights for Dinwiddie include the Indiana Pacers, Detroit Pistons, and the Houston Rockets. The Central Division appears to be very interested in acquiring Dinwiddie at the deadline this year.
It’s a good mix of playoff contenders and projected lottery teams that are interested in landing Dinwiddie. In the case of the Pacers and Bulls, landing Dinwiddie could make a difference right away next season. And if he were to hypothetically come back healthy this season, then he would be able to make an immediate impact to help push the Pacers and/or Bulls to the playoffs in the Eastern Conference.
However, Dinwiddie needed reconstructive ACL surgery earlier this season, and he is going to miss the rest of the 2020-21 campaign rehabbing from that gruesome injury. He only played in three games for the Nets this season prior to undergoing that season-ending lower-body injury.
All in all, it does make a lot of sense for Karnisovas and the Bulls to at least explore how they would be able to get Dinwiddie to the Windy City. Dinwiddie was on a Training Camp roster for the Bulls at one point of his career, but he was cut before getting to see any real game action during the regular season.
Dinwiddie would be a major upgrade for the Bulls at the point guard position, and they might be able to get him at a bargain bin price on the trade market this year since he’ll miss the rest of the season rehabbing. If he’s willing to pick up his player option next offseason, or sign a longer deal after opting out for a good price, then it’s well worth the Bulls exploring this deal with the Nets.