5 best point guard upgrades for Bulls on the buyout market

At this point in the season, I highly doubt the Chicago Bulls expected to find themselves sitting at 26-30 and in the 11th-seeded position in the Eastern Conference. After all, they managed to win an impressive 46 wins just last year and by all accounts were supposed to be a better team on paper this time around. If the Bulls wish to make any last-second improvements — like say, adding an actual point guard to the roster — to save their season, they’ll have to do so on the buyout market.

Goran Dragic, Deandre Jordan, and Tristan Thompson headlined last year’s pathetic buyout market, so it looks like we have a much more impactful class of free agents on our hands this time around. Thompson was even signed by the Bulls in a move that was intended to bolster the frontcourt depth, but his presence ultimately ended up being a non-factor.

If Chicago wants to upgrade via free agency, they’ll have to get things moving sooner than expected. After being traded to Charlotte and bought out, Reggie Jackson was a player I expected the Bulls to touch base with to possibly upgrade at point guard. As it turns out, he’s already agreed to sign with the Denver Nuggets after he clears waivers. Terrence Ross also appears on the move to Phoenix after agreeing to a buy-out with Orlando. Now is the Bulls’ last opportunity to make a meaningful upgrade in the 2022-23 season.

These five players headline the list of potential playmakers the Chicago Bulls could sign on the buyout market.

5. Derrick Rose

You’re probably sick of hearing it by now, but the truth is the hopes of a Derrick Rose reunion will never cease until the day he retires. In this case, I’ll let it slide, considering the slim pickings of the buyout market and the fact we’re not looking at an entire free agent class here.

If Rose is bought out of his $15 million deal with the Knicks and clears waivers, he’d undeniably draw interest on the open market. Rose would instantly become the Bulls’ best player at both driving to the hoop and also kicking it out, despite being older than any other member of the current roster at 34 years old.

A potential homecoming for Derrick Rose is always popular amongst Chicago Bulls fans, for better or worse.

Even if Rose does decide to forego the $30 million owed to him over the next two seasons to join a contender now, it’s highly unlikely he sees the Bulls as the team worth taking such a massive pay cut over. Chicago simply isn’t in a position where adding Rose puts them over the top right now.

Derrick deserves to join a contender that can help him win the first championship of his career. Look for a team like the Milwaukee Bucks to have an interest in adding Rose as the backup point guard. Adding a ring to his resume would significantly bolster Rose’s Hall of Fame case and ensure the league’s youngest MVP is enshrined in basketball’s greatest honor forever.

4. John Wall

John Wall is an interesting candidate for the Bulls here, after being released from the Clippers last week. He actually shares many similarities with the aforementioned Rose, in that he’s primarily a driving threat with a great sense as to when to kick the rock out.

Wall is one of the best statistical producers of the bunch here, averaging 11.4 points and 5.2 assists in 22 minutes per game off the bench for the Clippers. This is particularly an impressive feat when you consider his role on a contending roster, he wasn’t out there chucking up shots on a tanking team.

John Wall is sure to be a popular target for teams in need of a point guard like the Chicago Bulls.

Unfortunately, Wall also shares many of Rose’s bad qualities as well. Particularly that his advanced age at 32 years old has hampered his game which primarily relied on otherworldly athleticism for much of his career. This is why we’ve seen Wall’s shooting percentages fall off a cliff, knocking down just 40.8% of his shots from the field and 30.3% from beyond the arc.

However, the fact that LA has decided to move on from both veteran members of their backcourt rotation in Jackson and Wall should be very telling. The Clippers are competing for a championship, and they don’t want Wall on the roster for the journey? It’s unfortunate that such a dynamic talent had his prime cut short by injuries, but I ultimately don’t love banking the Bulls’ season on the 2023 version of John Wall.

3. Will Barton

We’re now beginning to move into the territory of players I believe could actually make somewhat of a noticeable difference if added to the Bulls here with Will Barton. ‘Thrill’ has not been impactful with the Wizards much this season, but he could perhaps recapture some of his 2021-22 magic in a higher usage role with the Bulls.

I know, I know, he’s not a true point guard and shouldn’t technically be on this list at all. However, given his versatility as a point-forward and scoring threat, I believe he deserved to be on the list here as a player that can create offense and set his teammates up to score more effectively.

The Chicago Bulls could find their offensive antidote on the buyout market in Will Barton.

Barton’s forgettable performance in Washington has seen him pushed to the wayside, but it’s hard to forget why he was seen as an interesting asset just one year ago. Barton averaged 14.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game as a starter on a successful Nuggets squad that went 48-34 last season. He shot 36.5% from deep on six attempts per game and was equally as impactful in the driving lanes as he was from the free throw line.

It’s hard pointing out any one specific reason as to why things have not worked out for him with the Wizards, but I’m not ready to give up on him just yet. If the Bulls could acquire an all-around scoring threat like Barton for the minimum, he could be the perfect low-risk, high-reward gamble to sort out Chicago’s offensive deficiencies.

2. Patrick Beverley

In one of the more surprising turns of events at the trade deadline, the Lakers pulled the trigger to acquire D’Angelo Russell from the Timberwolves. This would effectively push Patrick Beverley out of the rotation, so the Lakers flipped him to Orlando where he’d soon be bought out by the Magic.

Now Beverley’s services are certain to attract attention in the free agent market. Whether the 34-year-old veteran would prefer a large role or to chase his first championship ring, however, remains an uncertainty. Either way, the Bulls would be fools to not at least throw their hat in the ring and bring the Chicago-born talent home.

Fortunately, it appears we need not worry on that front.

Patrick Beverley is the type of veteran leader the Chicago Bulls sorely lack.

A year ago, Beverley would have been the highest player on this list for me. He made a substantial impact in Minnesota and helped elevate the Timberwolves into a true playoff team. From his play on the court to his leadership in the locker room, Pat Bev is exactly the type of player every team loves to have on their team and hates to play against.

Unfortunately, his shooting splits have dropped dramatically since his Clippers days two seasons ago and he hasn’t had the same two-way impact on the Lakers this year as he did in Minnesota. Beverley posted a career-high BPM  of 2.7 with the Timberwolves last season, but that number has since dropped all the way to -2.0 this time around. He’s still a positive on the defensive end, but not enough to outweigh a relatively awful offensive game. For that reason, he’s firmly No. 2 on this list for now.

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.

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.