All eyes this offseason will be set to what the Chicago Bulls front office is able to do on the restricted free agent market. Some of the biggest decisions that executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley have to make this summer surround the potential re-signing of fourth-year power forward Lauri Markkanen and/or signing of New Orleans Pelicans point guard Lonzo Ball.
The Bulls have a need at the point guard position, especially with the recent injury setback to second-year former North Carolina Tar Heels floor general Coby White. Earlier this week, White underwent successful shoulder surgery and is likely to miss around four months through the recovery and rehab process.
That will give Karnisovas and Eversley even more urgency to fix the point guard problem this offseason. And to find the next right starting point guard in Chicago, they might have to part ways with other pieces such as the impending free agent big man Markkanen.
Why a Chicago Bulls trade with the Pelicans involving Lauri Markkanen and Lonzo Ball could be probable?
There are pieces that both the Bulls and Pelicans have that could be valuable to one another. And with each team holding one of the most high-profile impending restricted free agents for the summer, a lofty sign-and-trade deal could make a lot of sense.
It feels like another big splash move is looming for Karnisovas and the Bulls this offseason. We’ll just have to wait a few more weeks for the playoffs and NBA Finals to conclude before that time could arrive.
Here’s a look into how the Bulls and Pelicans could craft the perfect trade between them involving Lonzo and Lauri.
A perfect trade between the Chicago Bulls and Pelicans with Lonzo Ball and Lauri Markkanen
Why it makes sense for the Pelicans?
The Pelicans are likely to undergo another offseason full of change as they look to build the best roster possible around the star forward duo of Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram. While Zion largely took a step forward and remained mostly healthy throughout the regular season, Ingram took somewhat of a step back.
Williamson played in 61 regular season games and averaged 27 points per game, seven rebounds, four assists, approximately one steal, and one block. And he registered a stellar 5.4 box plus/minus and 27.1 player efficiency rating on his way to his first career All-Star nod.
However, the rest of the core around Zion and Ingram needs to improve. The Pelicans already parted ways with veteran sharpshooting guard J.J. Redick late in the season. And there could be more pieces on the way out, including Lonzo and fellow guard Eric Bledsoe.
Markkanen could give the Pelicans a nice frontcourt piece to space the floor out around Zion. He didn’t have much of that this season playing alongside a traditional big man in veteran Steven Adams. Any other pieces the Bulls toss into discussions could also help the Pelicans assemble a new and more proficient supporting cast around Zion.
There are a plethora of other needs for David Griffin to tackle for the Pelicans, including finding more veteran leadership to get them over the hump, more consistent defense, and a third scorer outside of Zion and Ingram. A lot of those pieces are ones that the Bulls front office could provide the Pelicans with for the right return this summer.
A perfect trade between the Chicago Bulls and Pelicans with Lonzo Ball and Lauri Markkanen
Why it makes sense for the Bulls?
To-be second-year head coach Billy Donovan needs some pieces added to the backcourt rotation to come up with a more proficient unit as a whole. This 15-man roster had a lot of wholes in it heading into the 2020-21 regular season. But now the Bulls front office and coaching staff had a full regular season slate to evaluate what player they have on hand.
And the front office apparently already had a long enough time to evaluate the roster on hand to make a plethora of big moves at the trade deadline. That included getting star center Nikola Vucevic from the Orlando Magic and two-way center Daniel Theis from the Boston Celtics, among other big moves.
At this point of the reshaping of the Bulls’ roster under the front office regime of Karnisovas and Eversley, it does feel like the frontcourt will be built in a way that doesn’t involve Markkanen. He was moved to a reserve role down the stretch this season, which hadn’t happened at any prior point of his NBA career.
The Bulls look like they will try to go all out to round out their starting unit this offseason. That involves getting a point guard capable of commanding this starting five for the foreseeable future. It is likely that someone like Lonzo could do that to a greater proficiency than both combo guard Tomas Satoransky and the currently injured White.
A perfect trade between the Chicago Bulls and Pelicans with Lonzo Ball and Lauri Markkanen
This surely is a lot for the Bulls to give up to get Lonzo from the Pelicans. But there’s not a whole lot that the Bulls aren’t getting back from the Pelicans in this trade deal when it’s all said and done. The Bulls get the veteran former Milwaukee Bucks guard Bledsoe along with Lonzo in a sign-and-trade from the Pelicans.
In return, the Bulls ship off veteran forward Thaddeus Young, Coby, and Lauri. It would be tough for the Bulls to part ways with Thad and Coby, but it would be worth it to get more veteran help to round out the backcourt rotation and to get the point guard of the future in Lonzo. This would help elevate the Bulls into more of a contender spot in the Eastern Conference for the next few years.
Young currently has one year left on the contract that he signed during the 2019 offseason. He’s due a little north of $14 million in the final year of his current contract. White will have two years left on his rookie deal, and Lauri would be part of the sign-and-trade scenario with him and Lonzo in this exchange.
Depending on what the next contracts are for Lonzo and Lauri, the salary matching should work out in this trade deal. It is likely that the next annual salary on Lonzo’s post-RFA contract will be greater than that of Lauri. Lonzo could be looking at a deal that will pay him north of $18-$20 million annually on his next contract. Meanwhile, Lauri might have trouble getting his next contract north of $15 million annually.
The Bulls would be given a true solid group of four guards to round out the backcourt rotation between Sato, Lonzo, Bledsoe, and star shooting guard Zach LaVine. The sixth man role could truly be assumed by Bledsoe moving forward, and the Bulls could find someone to maximize any remaining cap/roster space in the frontcourt in free agency this summer.