Bulls revealed as puzzling favorite to land former All-Star guard

Sending a 31-year-old, three-time All-Star earning roughly $50 million to the bench will surely send shockwaves through the NBA, right? Right. On the eve of the Phoenix Suns' game against the Philadelphia 76ers, NBA Insider Chris Haynes reported that the Suns would be benching $50 million man, Bradley Beal, and Jusuf Nurkic for Ryan Dunn and Mason Plumlee.

While it's also surprising to see Nurkic come off the bench, something he hasn't done in a full-time capacity since 2016, it's far more surprising to see Beal being relegated to the reserve unit. Beal hasn't missed a start since his age-22 season. He's opened 737 of 771 possible games.

Although the 31-year-old guard isn't scoring in bunches and averaging half a dozen assists like he used to, Beal is still averaging 17.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 3.1 assists while slashing a respectable 48.0/39.2/76.0. However, despite the solid production, Beal's move to the bench is more about Phoenix's struggles than anything. Head Coach Mike Budenholzer lamented, "I think we just feel like we needed to make a change."

Chicago is the betting favorite to land Bradley Beal

As mentioned at the beginning of the article, Beal's benching has its repercussions. It's been reported that the Suns' star guard is willing to waive his no-trade clause if traded to a select number of teams. While the Chicago Bulls didn't make Beal's list, they are curiously atop the betting site, Bovada's, odds of landing the 6-foot-4 guard. Chicago is currently +350, head and shoulders above the second-place New Orleans Pelicans at +600.

The Bulls being favored to acquire Beal is puzzling, to say the least. Chicago is anticipated to be sellers ahead of the February 6 trade deadline. Numerous veterans, including Zach LaVine, Nikola Vucevic, Lonzo Ball, and Torrey Craig have all been named trade targets with Vucevic most recently linked to the Golden State Warriors.

At 16-19, with five players 6-foot-8 or under playing 27-plus minutes per game, it's not logical for the Bulls to add yet another guard to an already guard-heavy rotation. However, Bovada's reasoning behind anointing the Bulls as the favorite to land Beal is simply the financial ease of a hypothetical trade between the two squads.

A Beal-for-LaVine swap works financially

Beal's large sum of money he's slated to earn, combined with his no-trade clause, has made him nearly untradeable. Fortunately for Phoenix, the selling Bulls roster LaVine, who's raking in just $7 million less than Beal this season. To further grease the wheels, the Bulls, as a first-apron team, can take on Beal's $50 million salary while only shelling out LaVine's $43 million in a player-for-player swap.

Surely, Chicago would deny a Beal-for-LaVine deal after the former's recent benching and exorbitant contract running through his age-33 season. Nevertheless, Phoenix does possess at least one valuable asset the Bulls would covet—a future first-round pick. Thus, tacking on a 2031 first-rounder to Beal in a trade for LaVine would perhaps tempt the Bulls.

Still, sending 29-year-old LaVine, who's averaging 22.7 points while converting 44.6 percent of his three-pointers, to Phoenix in exchange for an aging Beal and a distant draft pick is not an ideal package. The financial logic is there, but the team-building logic is absent from this hypothetical deal.

The Bulls would be much better off trading LaVine to the Denver Nuggets for a package revolving around Michael Porter Jr. The Nuggets notably expressed interest in upgrading their roster with LaVine at the forefront of their trade targets. However, several roadblocks have since been unearthed when dissecting a potential trade between Chicago and Denver.

LaVine may no longer be sent to the Nuggets because of recent developments, but Phoenix should be even less likely a potential destination for the athletic swingman. Just because a Beal-for-LaVine swap works financially doesn't mean it's in Chicago's best interest to trade its best player.