Chicago Bulls
Bulls Receive: C Nikola Vucevic, F Al-Farouq Aminu
The Bulls have long been searching for a high-level, potential All-Star talent to pair with Zach LaVine and they finally did so by adding Nikola Vucevic. While Wendell Carter Jr. has been a great young frontcourt player for the Bulls over the last two-and-a-half seasons, the upside that Vucevic brings to this team is so much more than Wendell Carter Jr. at the moment.
In the Eastern Conference, there is the Nets, the 76ers, the Bucks… and then there’s everyone else this season. As things stand right now, 7 teams are all within 3 games of one another between the 4-seed and the 10-seed in the Eastern Conference and then the Raptors, Cavaliers and Wizards are right behind those teams knocking on the door.
The Eastern Conference is wide open this season in terms of teams that can potentially make the playoffs, which is why Chicago decided to pull the trigger now and make this deal. While they are a young, inexperienced team when it comes to the playoffs, the Bulls have a chance to be a strong team in the East for many years to come with Zach LaVine growing into a superstar, which is why adding another All-Star talent in Vucevic made a ton of sense.
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While he is 30-years-old, Nikola Vucevic is having the best year of his career and seems to be very much in the prime of his career. He should be one of the focal points of the Bulls next to Zach LaVine for the next several seasons and continue to help build Chicago back into the championship contender it once was.
While giving up two first-round picks and Wendell Carter Jr. is a lot of future value, the Chicago Bulls have made it clear with their investment that they want to win now and feel like they have a real chance to make some noise in the Eastern Conference, especially if they are to add yet another high-level talent in addition to Vucevic.
Al-Faroq Aminu is also a really solid role player that has spent a lot of time in the league. The veteran forward is not a high-level scorer, but in 17 games with Orlando this season, Aminu averaged 5.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.0 steals and shot 40.4% from the floor.
This is a fantastic deal for the Chicago Bulls as they continue to add talent to their roster to compliment their young core and this trade with the Magic sets them up for a lot of success not just this year as they look to get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2017, but moving forward as well.
GRADE: A
