2. Lauri sign-and-trade expands on the Lonzo Ball trade
As I’m sure you’ve heard by now, Lonzo Ball is officially a Chicago Bull via sign and trade with the New Orleans pelicans. Chicago offered Ball $85 million over four years, which was enough to pry the point guard away without New Orleans matching.
However, the Bulls needed to organize a sign-and-trade to make the deal work financially, so they sent back Tomas Satoransky, Garrett Temple, and a second-round pick in the process.
I believe there’s no reason for the Bulls to stop there, as they could expand on this pre-existing deal to include a Lauri Markkanen sign-and-trade. This would allow the Pelicans to retain some value after making a deal many people thought was lopsided in Chicago’s favor, and then proceeding to fail in their pursuit of Chris Paul and Kyle Lowry.
Markkanen wouldn’t be a starter ahead of Zion Williamson or Jonas Valanciunas, so many fans would probably scoff at the idea of paying up for a bench big. I think this is a counter-productive line of thought for the Pelicans, who are in desperate need of recouping any talent they can in hopes of making a deal that benefits Zion and the main core in the future. To put it simply, the Pelicans are going to need trade places like Lauri.
On top of that, New Orleans actually needs a shooter like Lauri. Only three players on their roster last year shot above 35 percent from deep (minimum 15 total three-point field goals made), two of which are no longer on the team: Ball and JJ Reddick. Ball, Brandon Ingram, and Eric Bledsoe were the only Pelicans who hit more than 100 three-pointers last year, and again only Ingram is returning from this group. Markkanen hit 2.3 three-pointers per game last year at an extremely efficient 40.1 percent clip.
Not only would Lonzo be happy to see his former teammate back — on their third team together in five seasons, no less — Josh Hart would directly address a lot of the holes the Bulls have off the bench. Hart is known to be one of the tougher defenders in the NBA and crashes the boards with surprising effectiveness despite his 6-foot-5, 215-pound frame.
Hart posted 9.2 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game off the bench for New Orleans last year. He’s a below-average but willing three-point shooter, which shouldn’t be too much of a worry on a Bulls team that is loaded from top to bottom with shooters. Although Hart’s contract has expired and he’s entered restricted free agency, I believe he’ll be very affordable in the range of approximately $10 million. If the Bulls don’t make an effort to sign-and-trade for Hart, he’ll likely be given at least the full MLE elsewhere.
What Chicago needs is glue guys reminiscent of the early 2010’s Bulls, that bring energy for a fierce playoff run. The Bulls lack a Taj Gibson or Nazr Mohammed. I believe Hart can be that type of player. The exact type of player Markkanen has proven he’s not willing to become.