Grade the Trade: Bulls move up in the draft to select the next Derrick Rose
The Chicago Bulls have plenty to think about this offseason, especially after a disappointing season where they were unable to make it to the playoffs. Various reports have come out that the Bulls are expecting to retool their roster around Zach LaVine, and this has understandably caused an avalanche of rumors surrounding the team’s roster going into next season.
One of the leading narratives is that DeMar DeRozan may be traded this summer as a way to make the Bulls younger and shift the franchise’s direction. The Chicago Bulls have an opportunity to make some big moves with DeRozan, as he has recently had some of the best years of his career. This should keep his trade value high, despite the fact that he will be 34 years old at the beginning of next season.
The Chicago Bulls have high-quality trade pieces that could lead them to make potential blockbuster moves this offseason.
On Wednesday, DraftKings released a mock trade that sends DeMar DeRozan to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for a few key pieces that could fit the Bulls’ needs.
This blockbuster trade would send two of the Chicago Bulls’ best players to Portland while the Trail Blazers would give up their starting center of seven years, a prolific scorer, and a highly coveted draft pick.
The Trail Blazers were one of the three big lottery winners on Tuesday, outperforming their odds and getting the 3rd overall pick in the draft. They came in with the 5th best chance of winning the lottery, and a 10.6% chance of getting the pick they eventually received. They were able to strike gold and move into the top 3, which is huge as this upcoming draft is mainly thought of as being similar to the 2020 draft, with the top three prospects massively differentiating themselves from the rest of the pool. The Chicago Bulls saw this firsthand, as they received the fourth pick in the draft and missed out on Anthony Edwards, James Wiseman, and LaMelo Ball.
The Blazers have expressed interest in trading this pick, as they could use it to bring another star to Portland and receive a star to pair with Damian Lillard, who judging by recent comments, may be getting fed up with the direction of the franchise. This is part of the reason why this mock trade has been proposed, which I will evaluate from both sides.