Chicago Bulls: If Dame is available, AK must swing for the fences

The looming point guard problem for the Chicago Bulls is something that the front office must figure out this offseason. It doesn’t seem like the plan is to stick with either Tomas Satoransky or Coby White as the immediate or long-term fix at the one. That leaves executive VP of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley with the likely options of hitting the free agent market or the trade block to find answers at point guard this summer.

Some of the top options in free agency for the Bulls appear to be Lonzo Ball, Dennis Schroder, and Kyle Lowry, among others. But all three of those impending free agents are likely to carry a hefty price tag. It might be worth the Bulls’ time to see what’s out there on the trade block this summer.

A name that is popping up in various trade discussions that I must iterate is a long shot for Karnisovas and the Bulls to land, but would surely be intriguing, is the Portland Trail Blazers superstar point guard Damian Lillard.

The trade speculation concerning Lillard is largely coming about due to the Blazers’ early exit in the first round of the playoffs, and the recent firing of head coach Terry Stotts. The Blazers were knocked out as the six-seed in the playoffs out in the Western Conference by the three-seed Denver Nuggets and MVP contender/superstar big man Nikola Jokic.

Chicago Bulls able to get in on the trade speculation concerning Damian Lillard?

Moreover, the Dame trade speculation might not get too tangible until the Blazers find their next head coaching hire to replace Stotts. At that point in time, we might know what Dame’s future intentions are with the Blazers.

Dame posted a message on social media this weekend that gave somewhat of a cloudy thought about his intentions for his future in Portland. That could give the idea that he is looking to leave the Blazers in the not too distant future.

There are also other reports that have surfaced in the past 48 hours that give the indication that other teams are interested in a Dame trade. That list of potential suitors could include the New York Knicks and Miami Heat, among others. The Bulls should be one of those teams if he is in fact available on the trade block this summer.

However, the main problem that the Bulls would have in pursuing a Dame trade is the fact that they might not have too much cap room to work with. The contracts of star shooting guard Zach LaVine and center Nikola Vucevic are going to take up the bulk of the cap room for this team moving forward.

The Bulls would have little to no ability to make moves to sign significant pieces if they had Dame’s backloaded contract that is worth just shy of $55 million at its peak on their books.

All in all, the idea of trading for Dame does sound too good to be true. And that could very well be the case when it’s all said and done. The likelihood that the Blazers do part ways with the face of their franchise doesn’t seem too high.

Dame and the Blazers had a tough end to this season. And the likelihood that Portland keeps both Dame and shooting guard CJ McCollum actually seems pretty low. The shake-ups in Portland have already begun, and it will be interesting to see how the reshaping of this team takes place in the coming months.