3 trades to kickstart Bulls rebuild and enter Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes

Moving on from other desirable trade chips

Of all the ideas proposed by Simmons, the only one I actually liked the sound of was his suggested package for Alex Caruso. This hypothetical proposal uses the structure of Simmons’ proposal, but has been twisted to get the Toronto Raptors involved here in the deal.

Toronto’s search for a starting caliber center has been no secret for some time now, and the Bulls could finally grant them a solution here by exchanging Vucevic. ESPN’s Zach Lowe says rival execs are “bracing for fireworks”, if Toronto isn’t well above .500 by the trade deadline, meaning the Bulls could absolutely get involved here in the OG Anunoby bidding war if they’re willing to expend some of that draft capital acquired from the hypothetical Dallas trade in the previous slide.

OG Anunoby would be the perfect centerpiece for a Chicago Bulls rebuilding process.

Make no mistake, if the Raptors’ make Anunoby available, plenty of contenders will want to jump in and secure his services. However, no team actively competing for a championship will be willing to give up real talent for OG, so the Bulls should on paper be able to outbid most other suitors. Even if Chicago has to attach a little extra capital to make this deal work, I think it’s one worth pursuing.

Meanwhile, Golden State can exchange a young project in Moses Moody and an end of the bench role player in Donte DiVincenzo for one of the few players in the league that can replicate the impact Gary Payton II had for them on last year’s championship roster.

Alex Caruso should absolutely be a high-priority target for Golden State and could help propel them for another championship push. Fortunately, their involvement in this three-team deal would make acquiring OG even easier by redirecting Moody and a pick swap to Toronto.