Bad contract trades the Chicago Bulls should pursue to add long-term assets
Trade with Los Angeles Lakers
This isn’t the first time I mentioned this kind of trade between the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers but it certainly fits well with this post. Luol Deng has one of the worst contracts in the NBA. He is owed $54 million through the next three years. The Lakers would love nothing more than to get out from under that deal.
The Lakers have big plans next offseason with Paul George, Russell Westbrook and maybe even LeBron James seemingly in their sights. They already clearly a ton of room for next offseason after trading Mozgov and could do the same if they traded Deng. If the Bulls can unload Deng, they can create enough cap space for two max contracts during the 2018 offseason. So, if two superstars want to come play for them, they can immediately fit them in.
Add George and James next to Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram and the Lakers will definitely have a team to fear. In exchange for taking on Deng, the Bulls get young big man Julius Randle. Randle has dealt with a lot of injuries through his short career but he has shown some upside as an inside scorer. I like Randle’s overall game and think he would be a nice young piece to add to the Bulls’ mix.
The Chicago Bulls also receive a 2020 top 10 protected first-round pick and a 2018 second-round pick.
Next: Creating the ideal starting five for the Bulls in 2018-19
To make the salaries work, the Bulls would have to send over Dwyane Wade. Wade has a huge cap number for 2017-18, but the Lakers could easily fit him in for one year. With Wade’s contract going off the books next offseason, that would create the cap space needed for two max contracts.
Also, having Wade in the fold could only help as the Lakers try to convince James to play in LA. Overall, I think this is a trade that makes a lot of sense for both sides. For the Bulls, I would rather see the deal with the Blazers but any of these moves would make plenty of sense. These are the kind of creative moves that the Chicago Bulls’ front office should be looking to do with their cap space. They would essentially be paying money for extra assets.