Chicago Bulls trades to get a 2021 first-round pick
There’s plenty of future draft capital that the Houston Rockets have to work with in the years ahead. And a lot of the draft capital that they have on hand starts out this year. The Rockets hold the second overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. They also have two other first-round draft picks outside of the lottery.
One of those other two first-round draft picks is in the 23rd slot (originally from the Portland Trail Blazers). And the other is in the 24th slot (which originally belonged to the Milwaukee Bucks).
The headliner for the Rockets in this year’s draft is obviously going to be that second overall pick. But they can also do some good work in this new rebuild by making good use of the other two first-round picks.
Or the Rockets front office can put those draft picks to work by sending them off in a trade that helps to build the roster presumably around either point guard Cade Cunningham or shooting guard Jalen Green.
In this particular trade deal, the Bulls get back a good bit of future draft capital to help solidify the rotation for the foreseeable future under head coach Billy Donovan. The Bulls get the 23rd overall pick in the 2021 draft and a 2022 second-round draft pick from the Rockets along with veteran guard Eric Gordon.
Gordon could be a nice piece for the Bulls, but his contract would surely not help the cap sheet do much.
For the Bulls to take on the contract of Gordon (three years still remaining, worth around $16 million annually), they get to also have some future draft capital come their way. The Bulls send off veteran forward Thaddeus Young and point guard Ryan Arcidiacono to help the Rockets form out their new rotation heading into next season.