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Chicago Bulls Trade With Oklahoma City Thunder was the Right Move to Make

By Dan Schmelzer

Dec 29, 2015; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cameron Payne (22) drives to the basket against Milwaukee Bucks guard Jerryd Bayless (19) during the fourth quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 29, 2015; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cameron Payne (22) drives to the basket against Milwaukee Bucks guard Jerryd Bayless (19) during the fourth quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Chicago Bulls acquiring Cameron Payne and others from the Oklahoma City Thunder was the right move to make.

Personally, I like the deal that the Chicago Bulls made with the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday. *ducks* I know it is not popular, and the Thunder probably won the trade on paper, but this was a deal that simply had to be made.

Related Story: Trading McDermott Highlights Bulls' Inability to Evaluate Talent

To start off, let’s look at the details of the trade. The Bulls sent Taj Gibson, Doug McDermott and a 2018 2nd Round Pick to the Thunder in exchange for Cameron Payne, Joffery Lauvergne and Anthony Morrow.

The Thunder are looking to make a run led by Russell Westbrook this season. Taj Gibson immediately makes them a better team, so the trade makes sense from their side. However, there is reason to like the trade for the Bulls too.

Gibson is a great player who gave his heart and soul to the Bulls every single night. However, they were about to lose him in free agency this off season. Since Chicago is clearly not going to be competitive this season, getting what they could for him was the right move.

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Trading McDermott is a tough pill to swallow. The Bulls sunk a lot of assets to acquire McDermott in the 2014 NBA Draft. However, he has never shown any signs of reaching his potential. McDermott is a decent outside shooter, but he is far too slow to play on the wing and not strong enough to play inside.

Giving up on McDermott is tough, but I would be shocked if he becomes anything more than an end of the bench shooter. Giving up a second-round pick is not ideal, but it is always difficult to find impact players that late anyway.

What Did the Chicago Bulls Get?

The headliner in the deal heading to Chicago is Cameron Payne. As Westbrook’s back-up, Payne has not had a lot of opportunity to shine through his two-year NBA career. That being said, he flashes impressive ability at times.

Payne is a quick, long and athletic point guard who has some nice offensive play-making ability. He is a poor outside shooter, but he can create his own shot and get opportunities for others. At only 22-years-old, Payne undoubtedly has some nice upside at a major position of need for the Bulls.

The other two players in this deal are nothing special. Lauvergne is a young big man with a decent skill-set. He has some size and can shoot a bit from the outside, but I doubt that he ever becomes a starting caliber player.

Morrow is a good outside shooter. The Bulls could certainly use more of those. However, he is not as good from the outside as he used to be, and at 31-years-old, his long-term value is limited. Morrow was probably just added to this deal to make the salaries work.

Next: Why Should Fans Even Care About the Lowly Bulls?

I am seeing a ton of hate thrown to the Bulls front office about this trade. While I usually agree that John Paxson and Gar Forman are terrible, I think they did alright here. Adding Payne to the mix gives the Bulls an interesting young prospect to work with. He is far from a sure-thing, but Payne undoubtedly has a high ceiling.

We all love Taj Gibson, but this only sped up the inevitable. He was gone this off season regardless. In this trade, the Chicago Bulls found some nice upside and did not give up much. This is a low-cost, potentially high-reward trade that I can get behind.

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