3 early trades the Bulls should make to improve on last season’s success
By Max Westwood
As the Chicago Bulls head into the 2022-23 season off the high of last season, there are many questions to be answered before the beginning of the regular season. Such as, when and if Lonzo Ball will return, what will the guard rotation look like come opening night against the Heat and finally, and probably the biggest question, is this roster quality enough to improve on last season?
The Bulls ranked 29th out of 30 teams in bench scoring, if the Bulls want to improve on last season’s success that is an area they need to address. Signing Goran Dragic will help with that, however, there are still additional moves that can be made to improve that.
Here are 3 trades the Bulls can do to solidify their roster to improve on last season’s success.
The Chicago Bulls made drastic improvements last season to make the playoffs, these trades will continue their upwards trajectory in the NBA.
Bulls add a true 6th Man of the Year threat off the bench with Jordan Clarkson
Why the Bulls would do this trade:
As mentioned earlier the Bulls ranked second to last in the league last season in bench scoring and Clarkson, a former Sixth Man of the Year winner, would come as a very prominent upgrade for a weak spot for the Bulls.
Additionally, this allows Chicago to solidify a guard rotation with the trading of Coby White. With Ayo Dosunmu the presumed starting point guard come opening night, it allows Goran Dragic and Jordan Clarkson to be the main scorers off the bench whilst Alex Caruso becomes the backup small forward, replacing the majority of what Jones Jr. provided.
Furthermore, with the precedent of the Bojan Bogdanovic trade, it highlighted how the Jazz are willing to part with key members of their team for packages with no first-round pick. If the Bulls can secure Clarkson’s services without parting with a first-round pick, it would be a huge success for the front office.
Why the Jazz would do this trade:
Utah would undertake this trade as they are currently in rebuilding mode after trading away their core of Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell. Highlighting their intent to rebuild to secure a great draft position for the highly anticipated 2023 NBA draft. Additionally, this allows Utah to get a promising young player in Coby White, in return for one of the premier bench scorers in the NBA, in Clarkson.