Despite losing three of their last four games, it's fair to include the Chicago Bulls in a list of Eastern Conference playoff contenders -- though there are certainly holes to be filled on a young roster.
Making a trade to acquire center Daniel Gafford from the Dallas Mavericks would immediately plug one of those holes.
The Bulls are one of the best rebounding teams in the NBA and are staying afloat defensively. But with a 35-year-old Nikola Vucevic playing 31.7 minutes per game and Zach Collins still sidelined with a wrist injury, head coach Billy Donovan has had to watch his team bleed points at the rim. Again.
Gafford -- one of the league's best shot blockers -- could become an answer to that critical issue, one Chicago needs to solve if it aims to compete in the playoffs.
Bulls should explore trade for Dallas Mavericks center Daniel Gafford
Gafford was actually a second-round pick of the Bulls in the 2019 draft, but never got an opportunity to get his feet under him in the Windy City. He played in only 74 games across a season and a half before being traded to the Washington Wizards in a deal that brought Daniel Theis, Javonte Green and cash back to Chicago.
Gafford blossomed in D.C., playing in 195 games and starting 145 across two-and-a-half seasons. His best campaign came, ironically, during the 2023-24 season when he started 45 games with the Wizards before being dealt to the Mavericks at the trade deadline. In 74 total games, the former Arkansas star averaged 11.0 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game while shooting 72.5 percent from the field.
Gafford has blocked at least 1.3 shots per game in each of his six NBA seasons (this year is No. 7). Per 36 minutes, he has career averages of 16.8 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.8 blocks. For a Bulls team that was 30th last year in points allowed in the paint and is 25th so far this season, a 6-foot-10, 235-pound rim protector would be a sight for sore eyes.
Per Marc Stein via The Stein Line substack, Gafford isn't on the open market. Yet. But Tim McMahon of ESPN reported a day later (h/t Bleacher Report) that embattled general manager Nico Harrison likely isn't long for Dallas:
"There's a whole lot of things that ain't good with the Mavericks," McMahon said onThe Hoop Collective podcast. "And hey, at this point, I believe it is a matter of when, not if, Nico Harrison will be fired. There is a very, very strong likelihood that it will be mid-season."
Harrison was responsible for bringing Gafford to Dallas from Washington. If -- or, apparently, when -- he gets fired, roster construction is sure to change. And if the Mavericks continue to spiral, Gafford could be one of the first players moved, given his age and three-year, $54.4 million contract.
If the Bulls are still hanging around the top half of the East, adding Gafford to shore up the frontcourt, whether Vucevic is still producing or not, makes too much sense for Arturas Karnisovas and Chicago's front office not to make a move.