Complex Chicago Bulls trades with the Sixers for Ben Simmons
This is actually the type of deal that would likely have to happen for the Sixers and Bulls to pull off any sort of deal that would get Simmons out of Philly. In this particular trade deal, the Bulls do ship off White once again to the Sixers. But they also have to send off the impending restricted free agent Markkanen to the Golden State Warriors along with Young.
The Bulls get very used to getting involved in sign-and-trade deals in all of these hypotheticals this summer. And they get pretty used to the idea of having to trade off the final year of Young’s contract, which actually isn’t that bad. Young is only due around $14 million through the final year of his current contract, which is warranted given his production this season.
Moreover, the benefit to the Sixers here is the ability to compile some additional future draft capital from the Warriors along with taking on a contract from Andrew Wiggins that only has two years remaining compared to four for Simmons. The current contract of Wiggins is also a bit cheaper than Simmons’ too.
More so than anything else, the Sixers get to free up the cap sheet over the long haul a bit more to try and rebuild the roster around superstar center Joel Embiid. They can at least have a finally developing two-way wing in Wiggins that can still fit into the starting five. And they don’t have to worry about the clashing chemistry of Simmons and Embiid. White could also help to start establishing a new backcourt unit.
This is all not to mention that the Sixers still get rid of the final year of Hill’s current contract to the Warriors, and another promising young guard in the former Michigan Wolverine Jordan Poole.