The Chicago Bulls have looked on for the past month as they missed the postseason for the fourth straight year. But there is now some hope instilled that the Bulls are headed in the right direction under the new front office regime of executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley, along with head coach Billy Donovan.
Reaching that next level of contender status that could take the Bulls to new heights heading into next season is the goal for the trio of Karnisovas, Eversley, and Donovan. To reach those heights, though, the Bulls have a couple of key roster needs to fill this offseason.
That includes getting more depth as a whole into the rotation and finding a true long-term solution as the starting point guard. The Bulls have a few options as to who the next starting point guard could be, with some names like Lonzo Ball and Spencer Dinwiddie commonly topping the list.
However, there is the potential option that Karnisovas and the Bulls could turn to the trade market to find a more high-profile name to be their starting point guard of the future. One name flying around of late in various media and fan discussions that could be traded soon is the Philadelphia 76ers three-time All-Star point guard Ben Simmons.
Ben Simmons a real proficient option for the Chicago Bulls?
After finishing out the regular season with the top seed in the Eastern Conference, the Sixers just had a tough end to their season. Head coach Doc Rivers and the Sixers finished up their season with a second-round exit at the hands of star point guard Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks.
Simmons is taking a lot of the flak for the Sixers’ early exit in the playoffs this year. The Sixers might be looking to move on from the days of Joel Embiid and Simmons as their top star duo. Simmons would seem to be the first of those two on the move if Daryl Morey does break up that duo this summer.
Given that the Bulls are one of the teams that need a point guard more so than most around the NBA, they would likely be a talked-about destination for Simmons. So what would it take for Simmons to land with the Bulls, and is this something that would actually be feasible?
First off, the Bulls would have a problem with fitting Simmons’ contract onto their payroll moving forward. The Bulls don’t have the north of $30 million they would need to fit him onto their books next season. Let alone, the following three years after where Simmons is set to earn roughly $34-$35 million for his annual salary.
The Sixers would have to be willing to take on some other larger contracts from the Bulls, which would mean trading someone like Tomas Satoransky or Thaddeus Young. In that case, the Sixers might have to be willing to give up some other assets to the Bulls.
Simmons’ contract has quickly gone from one that was a no-brainer for the Sixers, to look like one that is detrimental to most cap sheets around the NBA. And that happened almost overnight.
Since the Sixers don’t have that many other pieces that look to be that valuable in a trade with the Bulls this summer, they would have to part ways with some future draft capital. Karnisovas and the Bulls gave up two first-round draft picks at the trade deadline to get star center Nikola Vucevic from the Orlando Magic, so getting some future draft assets back would be good for Chicago.
The last major consideration for the Bulls in regard to potentially getting in talks for a trade with Philly for Simmons is the fit that this front office actually sees here. Simmons clearly didn’t end this season on a high note, but there is still a lot of value that he brings to the table.
Simmons would provide a major defensive boost for the Bulls on the perimeter, but he would limit their ability to space the floor. If the creating and floor spacing ability of star shooting guard Zach LaVine is something that the Bulls feel makes up for the lack of outside shooting ability from Simmons, then this could work.
All in all, it feels like a Simmons trade could happen if Morey and the Sixers are willing to part ways with a decent amount of future draft assets, and at least take on one or two of the Bulls’ more expensive contracts. We’ll wait and see how serious the Sixers are about trading Simmons in the coming weeks, but the Bulls could be a destination to watch if they do so.