The Chicago Bulls need to ride the wave of Peyton Watson’s trade aftermath

On Wednesday, ESPN’s Shams Charania initially reported a seismic sign-and-trade deal between the Denver Nuggets, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Los Angeles Clippers that principally sends forward Peyton Watson to the Cavaliers, forward Max Strus to the Clippers, and draft capital to the Nuggets.

The trade later grew to a four-team trade as the Cavaliers agreed to send guard Tre Mann, a second-round draft pick, and cash considerations to the Washington Wizards in exchange for forward Cam Whitmore, with the Wizards also sending forward Julian Reese to the Nuggets.

According to additional reporting by Charania, since the Cavaliers acquired Tre Mann Friday via their trade that sent guard Dennis Schröder and cash considerations to the Charlotte Hornets, the Hornets represent the fifth team in the Watson multi-team trade.

The ability of this multi-team sign-and-trade to be executed with Peyton Watson’s offseason status as a restricted free agent is remarkable.  

Restricted free agents in general are a dwindling market for needle-moving talent, yet Watson’s move to Cleveland is a logical fit as the Cavaliers already have a well-established core between forward Evan Mobley, guard Donovan Mitchell, and presumably soon-to-be-extended guard James Harden.

The Chicago Bulls, while not directly involved in this deal, stand to be in a position to pounce on roster-building opportunities with any one of the Cavaliers, Nuggets, Wizards, or Clippers, as all four franchises are in different states of roster build that could benefit from the Bulls' malleable collection of players.  

Ideally, Bulls lead front office executive Bryson Graham should be inserting the Bulls into dealmaking conversations within short order of the ripple effects of Wednesday’s multi-team NBA roster moves.

A trade gold rush in Denver

Perhaps the more glaring outcome of the Nuggets’ decision to trade away Watson is that the franchise has breached the NBA’s second apron by $1.3 million, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

It is more likely than not that the Nuggets will seek additional trade opportunities to shed salary to escape the punitive second apron.  Forward Cameron Johnson is a logical trade candidate for the Nuggets to use as an escape hatch out of the second apron as he enters the 2026-27 NBA season on an expiring $23.1 million expiring contract.  

The Bulls acquiring Johnson would create an intriguing wing core in addition to wings Caleb Wilson and Matas Buzelis that could alternate positions two through four in the Bulls' starting lineup.

Perhaps an even more intriguing long-term consideration for Bulls fans to consider is the long-term home of the Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic.  

The Joker holds a $62.8 million player option for the 2027-28 NBA season, and if the Nuggets are entering a protracted austerity phase of roster building, such as the rumored pursuit of former Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan, then perhaps Jokic may become motivated to explore 2027 NBA free agency.

Nikola Jokic, still in his prime, is a top free-agent target the Bulls absolutely should engage to create an NBA power-shifting Bulls core with Buzelis and Wilson if the opportunity presents itself.

Cleveland’s hard cap

The Cavaliers are hard-capped at the first apron and hold no tradeable first-round picks, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

Likely the remaining offseason priority for the Cavaliers is re-signing guard James Harden, and also, according to Marks, the Cavaliers sit at $29 million under the first apron as a benchmark for what sort of free agent offer might be in play for Harden.  

The Bulls ideally would make a great partner to help the Cavaliers expand their first-apron space to maximize a Harden free-agency offer.  However, the absence of first-round draft capital to offer the Bulls limits the opportunity for the Bulls to seriously consider helping the Cavaliers optimize their cap sheet for Harden’s next contract.  

Not that the Bulls should prioritize the move, but if there were any reasonable option for the Bulls to consider in a hypothetical trade with Cleveland, it should be a flyer acquisition of guard Jaylon Tyson, who enters the 2026-27 NBA season with two years left on his rookie contract.  

Tyson shoots the three-ball well on modest volume, posting 44.6% on 4.2 three-point attempts per game during the 2025-26 NBA season.  Tyson would certainly increase the Bulls’ expendability of Norman Powell.  

The Clippers’ mixed bag

Despite the ongoing saga surrounding Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (until his reported trade to the Toronto Raptors is finalized), the Clippers are obviously in business, and some of that reported business has invoked the Bulls.  

The Clippers' addition of Strus would create a plausible outcome of Mathurin being put on a similar sign-and-trade trajectory as Peyton Watson.  However, the Bulls should stay out of the Mathurin business altogether.

Whatever Washington is doing

The Washington Wizards appear to be locked into a perplexing combination of roster talent between rookie AJ Dybantsa, veteran guard Trae Young, and forward Anthony Davis. 

From a Bulls point of view, there isn’t a ton of compelling options in Washington that scream "good addition to a Bulls rebuild".  Yet, center Tristan Vukcevic is a viable frontcourt player who would be a good addition to the Bulls rebuild.

Bargain hunting in Charlotte

Shooting, shooting, shooting.  The Bulls need it, and the Hornets can offer it in the form of expiring veteran guard Pat Connaughton, who finished the 2025-26 NBA season shooting 40.4% on 6.3 three-point attempts per 36 minutes, according to Basketball Reference.

Connaughton's $3.8 million expiring salary fits nicely into the Bulls' $9.4 million room mid-level exception and vacant 15th roster spot.

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