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The Chicago Bulls should trade for Rudy Gay

By Ashish Mathur

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The Sacramento Kings will most likely shop small forward Rudy Gay if their season doesn’t go as planned heading into the trade deadline. The Chicago Bulls, who have been rumored to be interested in Gay, have the pieces to trade for him. Financially, a trade involving Doug McDermott and Taj Gibson for Gay would work for both teams.

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If the Bulls decide to pursue this trade, they would have a starting five of Derrick Rose, Jimmy Butler, Gay, Nikola Mirotic and Pau Gasol. That would give the Bulls an explosive starting five and would increase their odds of winning the NBA title. In Gay, they would gain a player that can get his own shot off the dribble. He doesn’t need much room to get off a shot against any defender and plays above the rim at an elite level. Gay can create for himself and for others in an efficient manner with this Bulls team.

Gay is a remarkable athletic player, who often gets criticized for his high volume shooting. Gay averaged 21.1 points per game with the Kings last year on 45% shooting from the field. Gay’s length would give the Bulls another stout wing defender, along with Butler. In Chicago, Gay would most likely be the third offensive option behind Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler; and in Fred Hoiberg‘s up tempo offense, many of Gays’ baskets would be dunks and alley oops coming out of the fast break.

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This would be a great trade for the Bulls as an organization, which recently has a short and poor history of making trades. As a Bulls fan, it would be nice to see general manager Gar Forman do something productive for once as well. Another reason this trade would be beneficial to the Bulls is because of the effect it would have on LeBron James, specifically when he’s on defense.

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Mike Dunleavy is a great spot up shooter but can’t get his own shot off the dribble or in a one on one situation. He relies on penetration from guard play for kick out shots. He’s a proven knock down shooter but doesn’t bring the athleticism and scoring punch that Gay does.

LeBron doesn’t have to guard Dunleavy one on one when the Bulls and Cavs play, and can rely on help and rotational defense. LeBron can then use all his energy on offense and be brilliant on that end like he always is. If the Bulls get Rudy Gay, LeBron would have to guard Gay himself because Gay is a great offensive weapon who can hurt defenses all by himself. Gay would attract double teams in the post, and that would open up passing lanes and shooting opportunities for his teammates.

Dunleavy would slide into the 6th or 7th man spot for the Bulls and that is perfect. He, along with Aaron Brooks, Tony Snell and Joakim Noah would give the Bulls a lethal bench mob. Gay has a base salary of $12,403,101 million for the 2015-16 season, but with the new NBA television money coming in, this wouldn’t really hurt the Bulls that much. And believe it or not Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf has tons of money, but he’s too busy spending it on the White Sox and being cheap towards the Bulls.

Gay has averaged 18.5 points per game throughout his 9-year career and is a proven scorer that the Bulls need to add to their team. The Bulls would miss Taj Gibson’s toughness and rebounding, but he is coming off ankle surgery and is in his 30’s. Plus the Bulls have enough front court depth to recover from his loss.

Rookie Bobby Portis showed promise in Summer League and looks to be an immediate energy guy for the Bulls. McDermott played sparingly his rookie year before tearing his meniscus, and didn’t play much either when he returned. McDermott has a bright future in the NBA because of his shooting ability, but the Bulls don’t have time to wait for him to develop.

The Bulls’ core is in a win now mode, with Noah and Gasol both in their 30’s and Derrick Rose coming off his third knee surgery. Rose had a spirited playoff run and showed flashes of his old elite self. Adding Rudy Gay to the team would bolster Chicago’s offense and defense, and would add to the depth that the Bulls already have working for them.

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