Chicago Bulls: 4 free agents that could fill Markkanen’s role

I want to preface this by saying, I believe LaMarcus Aldridge to the Chicago Bulls is very unlikely. He is well past his prime, and probably shouldn’t be risking his health for anything short of a championship chase. The Bulls should be much improved this season don’t get me wrong, but calling them championship contenders at this point in time would be a little ambitious, to say the least.

But of all the teams not located in Milwaukee, San Francisco, Los Angeles, or Brooklyn, I believe the Bulls present the best opportunity for Aldridge. He would come into a situation where he could seamlessly slide in next to DeRozan, whom Aldridge has shared a locker room with for the last two and a half years. DeRozan has had nothing but positive things to say about the big man.

“I had a great time with him. Hell of a player, to be able to play with a dynamic player like that”, DeRozan said, “In my opinion, [Aldridge is a] Hall of Famer.”

There’s a strong case to be made that reuniting the two former Spurs would help elevate this Bulls team even further. Additionally, Aldridge also wouldn’t be expected to exert a ton of effort on the defensive side of things with a strong defensive bench unit consisting of Caruso, Brown Jr., Jones Jr., and Bradley. Aldridge would be allowed to take as much rest as necessary and focus solely on being an offensive threat and crashing the boards.

It remains to be seen just how much Aldridge has left in the tank, but he has been incredibly productive as recently as 2019-20, where he averaged 18.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.6 blocks per contest. Aldridge has also surprisingly managed to develop into a dependable three-point shooter, nailing 38.8 percent of his shots on a decent volume of three attempts per game over the last two seasons.

It wouldn’t be the first time in recent memory the Chicago Bulls profited by gambling on a big man who was seen past his prime by others around the league. As you may remember, Pau Gasol joined the Bulls in 2014 where he became a lethal pick-and-pop option and double-double threat. Gasol was an All-Star in both seasons with Chicago after not making the team in the three years prior, even earning an All-NBA nod in 2014-15.

If Aldridge could harness that same energy, the Bulls could get a player who was an All-Star as recently as 2019 for pennies on the dollar. All that being said, Aldridge is not Gasol and we can’t guarantee he would find success once again, especially with the Bulls intent on investing their starting minutes at power forward on Patrick Williams.