Trade targets to elevate the Chicago Bulls contender status: Kyle Anderson
If he is made available before the trade deadline this season, one of my personal favorite potential trade targets of mine for the Bulls could be the Memphis Grizzlies floor-spacing forward Kyle Anderson. The 28-year-old 6-foot-9 and 230-pound power forward is definitely someone who could contribute quality value right away to the Bulls’ frontcourt rotation.
It would be really difficult for the Bulls to find a more cost-effective replacement for second-year forward Patrick Williams in this rotation than the veteran Anderson. What Williams gave the Bulls, prior to suffering this wrist injury that could end his regular season, is a good combination of floor-spacing and on-ball defense at the three or the four.
Anderson could provide the Bulls with a lot of what Williams did for them prior to this injury. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that the Bulls would have to slot Anderson in the starting unit.
It could also be a good thing that Anderson only has one year left on his current contract. If the Bulls didn’t want to keep Anderson around over the long haul, this would be the perfect situation. The Bulls could get a decent replacement for Williams in this rotation while he’s injured.
Anderson does actually space the floor a bit more efficiently than Williams. His on-ball defense isn’t as good, but he could make up for that with solid offensive production. Granted, Anderson is still a very capable on and off-ball defender.
So far this season, Anderson is averaging around nine points per game, five rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one block, while coming off the bench. And he’s shooting around 44 percent from the field, 43 percent from beyond the arc, and 76 percent from the free-throw line.