Los Angeles Clippers Receive: G Coby White, CHI 2024 2nd Round Pick
Chicago Bulls Receive: G Lou Williams, ATL 2022 2nd Round Pick (via LAC), POR 2023 2nd Round Pick (via LAC), LAC 2027 1st Round Pick
If the Chicago Bulls want to win now, bringing in an established veteran guard and scorer like Lou Williams could really help this team in the short-term and establish plenty of NBA Draft capital to set themselves up for future success. While they just drafted Coby White 7th overall in 2019, not having an offseason this year to get him acclimated to Billy Donovan’s system could be worrisome, leading to Chicago wanting to bring in an established veteran like Williams.
The 3x Sixth-Man of the Year is now 34-years old, but still has plenty left in the tank to be a sustainable scorer for years to come. Last season, Lou Williams was once again one of the better bench players in the entire NBA, coming off the bench in all but 8 games during the regular season and averaging 18.2 points, 5.6 assists and shooting 35.2% from deep.
With an established star player in Zach LaVine, the Chicago Bulls are more than capable of winning games, but they do not have any veteran, experienced players on their roster. Bringing in Lou Williams and then going out and potentially making another trade to bring in another established player could be exactly what Chicago needs to be a borderline playoff team in the East.
Coby White had a very good rookie year last season, playing in all 65 games for the Bulls and averaging 13.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists and shooting 39.4% from the floor, 35.4% from deep. White was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team as a result of his play during the 2019-20 season.
Given that the Bulls draft White 7th overall in 2019, they would definitely want a fair amount of draft compensation back for him, which is why they would be receiving two second-round picks and a first-round pick. If Chicago was to want more first-round picks instead of second-round picks, then this trade would have to be a three-way trade as Los Angeles only has the rights to one first-round pick in 2027.
With all of this being said, let’s take a closer look at why this trade makes sense for both the Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Clippers.
