Chicago Bulls: 3 Tomas Satoransky trades if AK signs Lonzo Ball

Trades for Tomas Satoransky if the Chicago Bulls sign Lonzo Ball

Depending on how much the Pelicans would value getting the 24-year-old seven-footer and former Arizona Wildcat Markkanen back in a sign-and-trade deal this summer, this particular player swap could work. The Pelicans could use some added depth among floor-spacing big men since their star forward duo of Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson have clogged up the middle of the lane a bit in the past two seasons.

Yet, in this particular trade deal, the Bulls actually do have to ship off Markkanen for Lonzo (both in a sign-and-trade) along with a trio of other pieces. The Bulls also have to send White and Sato to the Pelicans in exchange for the veteran two-way guard Eric Bledsoe.

Since Bledsoe’s contract might be the worst on the Pelicans’ current cap sheet (at least among those that still has more than one year left on it), they might value the opportunity to get him off the books. And they get a nice injection of young talent in the process and a veteran piece that can help in Sato.

Adding the likes of Bledsoe and Ball in place of Sato and White would clearly put the Bulls backcourt in a better position to contribute to winning efforts right away. It’s just a matter of how much landing the likes of Markkanen and White would be valued by a trade partner like the Pelicans.

Sato only has one year left on a team-friendly deal that is only partially guaranteed for next season. Meanwhile, Bledsoe is paid more than $16 million annually on average through the rest of the life of his current contract.