The Chicago Bulls have a chance to acquire Yves Missi from the New Orleans Pelicans at a bargain price. But to pull that off, they’d also have to take Jordan Poole and the more than $34 million remaining on his contract.
The Bulls have a center problem they just can't seem to solve. At 35 years old, Nikola Vucevic is approaching the end of his career but is still starting and averaging more than 30 minutes per game.
Zach Collins is a capable backup, but he's played 10 out of 43 contests this year and won't return to the court until after the All-Star break. Jalen Smith has been a pleasant surprise, but he's most effective next to a traditional center in double-big lineups.
Missi would solve that problem, but true to form, Chicago's front office doesn't seem willing to give up the assets it would take to acquire him. Well, there may be a solution to that problem, too.
Bulls have a smart way to acquire Yves Missi from the Pelicans
Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times confirmed an earlier report that linked the Bulls to Missi.
The 21-year-old big man started 67 games and averaged 9.1 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 26.8 minutes per game during his rookie campaign. He has the size (6-foot-11, 235 pounds), length (7-foot-2 wingspan) and explosiveness (he led all players at the 2024 NBA Draft Combine with a 38-inch vertical) to dominate as a rim-runner, rebounder and shot-blocker.
That profile would fit very nicely next to Josh Giddey, a pure floor general but deficient defender.
Cowley opines that New Orleans would be after draft compensation if they dealt Missi, something Bulls Executive VP of Basketball Operations Artūras Karnišovas is reportedly hesitant to give away.
You have to give up something to get something, right? But maybe Chicago would have to give up a little less if they're willing to take on a little more: Poole and the $34 million left on his contract for 2026-27.
Well known as a score-first, score-second and score-always guard, Poole's inefficiency has hit a new low this season. The 26-year-old is averaging 15.0 points -- the lowest since his second year in the league -- on just 38.0 percent shooting.
This about sums up Jordan Poole:
Jordan Poole pic.twitter.com/W2H12vGcGv
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) January 19, 2026
Chicago has advantages most other NBA teams don't
The Washington Wizards just absorbed Trae Young's gross contract because they had the cap space to do so. The Bulls could have even more salary room than Washington this summer and could do something similar by taking that $34 million still owed to Poole, which Cowley notes is something New Orleans wants to rid itself of.
If Karnišovas is gun-shy about including draft assets in a trade for Missi, taking Poole off the Pelicans hands would presumably lower the number of picks he'd have to send out.
This is the kind of move that smart front offices make during a rebuild. Whether this front office is capable of making those kinds of decisions is the million-dollar question.