Chicago Bulls
After the 1998 NBA Championship and the eventual departures of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Head Coach Phil Jackson, the Chicago Bulls began the rebuild… and they are still rebuilding today! After knee injuries ruined Derrick Rose’s chance at being the Bulls’ savior, passing up on the chance to get Russell Westbrook may be too much for the Bulls to do.
After bringing in Billy Donovan to coach this youthful Bulls roster, all Chicago needs now is a veteran All-Star to carry the weight.
With young talent in Zach LaVine, Lauri Markkanen and Wendell Carter Jr. that are hungry and ready to win now, it makes a lot of sense for the Bulls to bring in Russell Westbrook. None of those guys are “alpha dogs” yet in the NBA, but Westbrook sure is and these guys need an alpha.
The Bulls have not had an identity for years but bringing in the triple-double machine himself would make for a very athletic and up-tempoed Chicago Bulls team. Pairing Westbrook with LaVine in the backcourt would be scary for opposing teams as they could easily go on a 9-0 run in a matter of seconds. Combining their athleticism would make for arguably the most athletic backcourt in NBA history.
Chicago does have Coby White as their point guard of the future, but the best part about his game is that he can play with or without the ball and is a combo-guard. Given his scoring abilities and shooting skills, White could easily carve out a role on the wing and create a two-guard lineup with Russ at point guard.
The Bulls have the young assets and the draft assets to put together a pretty lucrative trade package in exchange for Westbrook, and they can also get rid of aging veterans in Otto Porter Jr. and Thaddeus Young, who do not have much of a role in Chicago anymore.
In the end, it really depends on whether or not Washington wants to trade Westbrook, which would be a questionable move since they just traded for him, but if things do not turn around for the Wizards quickly and they get an irresistible offer, it would be hard for them to hold onto Westbrook.
Chicago is in the best position to offer the best trade package in order to acquire the former NBA MVP and if Washington is looking to unload him near the trade deadline, the Bulls could improve their chances to make the playoffs not just this year, but for many years to come.
