How This Trade Impacts Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls have high hopes for the season. They built the roster back up and gave Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic, their All-Star foundation, some reinforcements. A trip back to the playoffs is certainly possible, but the team has to have contingency plans in place.
What if things don’t go as well and the Bulls struggle once again? They need to be prepared for any scenario, and one of those scenarios needs to be the possibility of trading their best player away in LaVine.
When All-Star players have free agency looming, rumors always pop up about potential trades. It happened with Giannis Antetokounmpo before he signed his supermax, and it will happen with LaVine if he doesn’t have an extension in place with the Bulls. If Chicago ultimately decides to shop him, they may not get a better deal than this.
Trading away a star player is never easy, but there are a few things a team looks for. They want players that will help them remain competitive or are younger that have immense upside. Draft capital is always a must, especially if it is a full teardown and rebuild. Chicago wouldn’t be in the full teardown position, yet they’d hit every box on the checklist.
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Bogdan Bogdanovic would bolster their wing rotation and is a proven scorer in this league. Cam Reddish has struggled to stay healthy, but the postseason was a glimpse of what he can provide. In the four games he played against the Milwaukee Bucks, he showcased the two-way potential he has on the wing and is ready to breakout.
Onyeka Okongwu was the No. 6 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft and has great potential. He would do well playing behind a veteran such as Nikola Vucevic honing his offensive game.
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The two first-round draft picks will help the Chicago Bulls restock their draft capital after other deals they have made. Atlanta looks like a perennial playoff contender, especially if they land LaVine, but having extra first-round draft picks is never a bad thing. Chicago would be in a position to either upgrade the roster with young talent or use the picks to acquire another star at some point.
It would be gut-wrenching to part ways with LaVine, but this package from the Atlanta Hawks would be a very good one. They’d come away feeling about as good as a team could after trading away an All-Star player entering his prime.
