Chicago Bulls: 5 realistic star trade targets for AK this summer

Realistic star trade targets for the Chicago Bulls this summer: Kristaps Porzingis

I would honestly say that out of all of the realistic trade targets on this list for Karnisovas and the Bulls this summer, that the Dallas Mavericks forward and seven-footer Kristaps Porzingis would be the one I would avoid the most. While Porzingis surely would be valuable for the Bulls and find a way to fit alongside LaVine and Vooch, his contract is way too price for really any team to want to take on at the moment.

The Mavericks would have to give up a ton of other pieces if a team like the Bulls were to be willing to take on the money on Kristaps’ current contract. His current contract is set to pay him north of $30 million annually through the end of the 2023-24 season. That is a lot to pay a player that is having trouble even staying healthy since he was drafted by the New York Knicks back in 2015.

Kristaps had an up and down career since his first All-Star nod with the Knicks in 2017-18. Injuries pretty constantly held him back, including in his three years with the Mavericks thus far. He’s played in 100 regular season games over the course of his three seasons on the Mavericks roster.

With the Mavericks looking to upgrade the roster around superstar point guard Luka Doncic this summer, they are likely going to be very willing to part ways with Kristaps. But his large contract that carries him through three more years is going to limit the number of suitors wanting to make a deal for him.

The Mavericks would have to give up a lot, which is why this could be appealing on some level to the Bulls’ front office. The major downside to this trade deal would be obvious, though. Most Bulls fans likely wouldn’t want to deal with another injury-prone seven-footer just like they had in power forward Lauri Markkanen.