Chicago Bulls Receive: C Jakob Poeltl

San Antonio Spurs Receive: G Coby White, 2024 First-Round Pick (Lottery Protected – CHI)

You may be asking yourself – don’t the Chicago Bulls already have a starting center? Realistically, that depends on who you ask.

Until recently, Nikola Vucevic was widely regarded as a star. Last season, it would be hard to give him that designation. His three-point shooting fell off a cliff last season, and the rest of his game sunk with it.

Unfortunately, Vooch doesn’t provide much if he’s not his usual, knock-down shooting self. He’s a poor defensive player, and while he has other offensive skills, the Bulls were unlikely to lean on them with Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan on the roster.

Jakob Poeltl from the San Antonio Spurs could be an elegant solution to their problems. He is a comfortably better defensive big than Vucevic. Meanwhile, he may not have as deep a bag of offensive tricks, but alongside the Bulls’ star tandem, he won’t need to.

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All he has to do is set his pick, and roll to the rim as he’s done so well for the Spurs. Coupled with his defense, that may be enough to improve the Bulls in 2022-23. Poeltl is entering the final season of his contract on a rebuilding Spurs team. He could be quite attainable.