What could a Bulls trade for Jordan Poole look like?
Jordan Poole will make $28.7 million next season, and the Bulls need to send back a decent chunk of that salary to make a deal work. Assuming they aren’t trading Zach LaVine or DeMar DeRozan, that the Warriors have no interest in Lonzo Ball, and with the knowledge the Bulls can’t do a sign-and-trade with Nikola Vucevic because of the Warriors’ salary, there is essentially one avenue to a Jordan Poole deal.
Patrick Williams and Alex Caruso combined get paid enough money close enough to make this deal work, per Fanspo, and while both sides would love for draft capital to be added in, let’s consider the deal at its most basic form:
Would the Warriors be interested in such a trade? It would add one of the league’s best point-of-attack defenders, replacing Donte DiVincenzo moving forward and giving them another ball-handler with the departure of Poole. Patrick Williams gives them frontcourt depth and another player to develop as part of their “two timeline” approach.
It’s hard to imagine the Warriors getting an impact player like Caruso without including draft capital from any other team, so there is a very good chance they say yes to this deal. It reduces their tax bill significantly, and if the fit with Williams doesn’t work out they can let him walk in free agency.
What about Chicago — would this trade work for the Bulls?