Toronto Raptors Receive: F Lauri Markkanen, F Otto Porter Jr., CHI 2021 1st Round Pick, CHI 2024 1st Round Pick (Lottery-Protected)
Chicago Bulls Receive: G Kyle Lowry, G Terence Davis
The one thing the Bulls have that other potential trade destinations for Kyle Lowry do not have is young talent. Coby White, Zach LaVine, Wendell Carter Jr, Lauri Markkanen, and rookie Patrick Williams make up the youthful core of the Bulls and while they have failed to eclipse 30+ wins for three consecutive seasons, they are heading in the right direction as a franchise.
White is the future point guard of this team and offers a lot of upside moving forward, but if the Bulls truly want to maximize their efforts to win now, they will execute a trade to bring Lowry to Chicago.
The Bulls have plenty of options on how to make this potential trade work and they could make out very well depending on how they go about it. The obvious trade for the Bulls to make would send Otto Porter Jr. to Toronto, given that he is owed $28.4 million this season and trading him would give Patrick Williams more experience and playing time, but the Raptors may want some of the Bulls’ youth in return.
Obviously, Chicago will want to keep White and LaVine to pair with Lowry in the back-court, but Lauri Markkanen and Wendell Carter Jr. are two names who could be included in a trade package for Lowry. This offseason, the Bulls and Markkanen failed to reach an agreement on a long-term extension and Carter Jr. is a name that they dangled around in trade talks.
If Chicago was to package Markkanen and Porter Jr. with some first-round draft picks for Lowry, Toronto could be very interested in this trade. Markkanen is a great young player who could thrive in a system next to Pascal Siakam in the frontcourt and Otto Porter Jr. is on an expiring contract.
Getting him for a one-year playoff push and then exploring the possibility of bringing in another All-Star talent to pair with Siakam and VanVleet could be the way to go for Toronto in their hopes to keep their team a championship contender for years to come.
The Raptors’ strength is their depth in the back-court and on the wing, but they do have some holes to fill in their front-court next to Pascal Siakam, especially after they lost both Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka in free agency. Getting a young front-court player in either Markkanen or Carter Jr. could go a long way in the future success of the Raptors and also help them continue to be one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference.
Trading Kyle Lowry to the Bulls gives the Raptors the best chance at not only remaining relevant now, but sustaining a young core moving forward. The Bulls have the young assets to be able to offer numerous trade deals to Toronto and ultimately, too many good deals for the Raptors to turn down.
