1. Russell Westbrook
Russell Westbrook will almost certainly be the hottest topic of debate for Chicago Bulls fans over the next week or two. After the Lakers pulled the trigger on the trade to acquire D’Angelo Russell, Westbrook was promptly shipped off to Utah where he’s expected to be bought out and hit waivers.
Westbrook is rumored to be taking his time with the process and will likely decide who to sign with over the All-Star Break. The Heat and Clippers are two teams that have been heavily linked to Russ, with Paul George even attempting to personally recruit the former MVP to LA. If the reports from Adrian Wojnarowski are true, however, the Bulls are allegedly “frontrunners” to sign Westbrook.
@wojespn saying the Chicago Bulls are the front-runners to land Russell Westbrook. https://t.co/YAUweV8Ypa pic.twitter.com/k9XJXvHIHJ
— Die-Hard Chicago Bulls Fans (@DieHardCBfans) February 11, 2023
Russell Westbrook is a wild gamble the Chicago Bulls must be willing to make in the buyout market.
If he were to join the Bulls, Russ would almost certainly become the new starting point guard. This would push Ayo Dosunmu and Alex Caruso to the bench for the rest of the season, which is probably a good thing as that role suits each player’s skill set better.
Despite taking a step back with the Lakers this season, Westbrook still blows all of his competitors on this list out of the water with his statistical production. Westbrook has averaged 15.9 points, 7.5 assists, and 6.2 rebounds per game and has still shown a few glimpses of the player he used to be.
If he were to join the Bulls, Westbrook would be allowed to be himself once again and hopefully leverage his pre-existing relationship with Billy Donovan to hit the ground running. The last time Russ was allowed to play on his own terms was with Washington in 2020-21, when he averaged a stellar 22.2 points, 11.7 assists, and 11.5 rebounds per game. No player on the Bulls has that kind of gravity currently.
Unfortunately, the Bulls are currently capped at 15 rostered players at the moment, so they’ll need to cut someone in order to sign Westbrook, or any of the aforementioned players, to the Bulls.