Chicago Bulls: Why they should trade for Anthony Davis

It’s no secret that the Chicago Bulls are currently one of the worst teams in the NBA, but that shouldn’t discourage them from trading for Anthony Davis.

Watching the Chicago Bulls play this season has been very disappointing, especially if you’re a passionate fan who wants winning to become the norm at the United Center. After all, while no one would have mistaken this team for being a serious playoff contender in 2019, there was hope that this young Bulls squad would at least improve upon last season’s performance.

Instead, the organization has dealt with back-breaking injuries to notable players throughout the season, along with an abrupt coaching change that hasn’t panned out well to date. The lack of chemistry among both head coach Jim Boylen and his players has led to inconsistent performances on a daily basis. Even against teams that are arguably just as bad as the Bulls.

Despite being among the four worst teams in the league record-wise with no shot at making a miracle postseason run at the eighth spot, there is still hope for the Bulls to salvage their season in a different, unexpected way.  By trading for an all-star power forward/center who’s now generating national headlines across the league for simply wanting to play for a new team in the very near future.

Anthony Davis, the player being referred to, of course, is a top-five talent in the NBA. He’s tall, lanky, yet supremely athletic and agile for a player who stands 6-foot-10.

Every organization in the NBA outside of the New Orleans Pelicans, the team Davis currently plays for, would love to give up valuable trade assets to obtain his services. Whether that consists of giving up future unprotected draft picks to go along with marquee names to the Pelicans, a player of Davis’s caliber simply commands a ton of capital in exchange.

Knowing this, as well as Davis’ desire to play for a team that has championship aspirations in the near future, why then would the Bulls’ organization want to put all their eggs in one basket to trade for Davis, especially since they’d only have one more season with him before he hits free agency in 2020?

For starters, this is the Bulls we’re talking about. An organization that makes unpredictable moves on the fly repeatedly to make sure fans are kept in suspense at all times.

After all, the front office had no problem bringing in Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo a couple of seasons ago, despite knowing that the Bulls roster at that time was simply not talented enough to make a deep postseason run with players way past their prime running the show.

Davis, on the other hand, may not even be a finished product on the court, given he’s just 25 years old. And that’s a scary thought for teams playing against him since he’s currently averaging over 29 points to go along with 13 rebounds per game. He likely will figure out even more efficient ways to make an impact on the court in the years ahead.

If the Bulls traded for Davis, they’d likely have to give up a ton of draft capital. Their 2019 lottery pick would likely be the centerpiece of the deal, along with any number of future unprotected picks and players who currently are on the roster.

That’s a ton to give up if you’re the Bulls’ organization, but while the front office keeps insisting they’re striving to create a winning culture within the locker-room, would giving away half their team for one franchise-changing talent really be a bad thing. After all, the team can’t really get much worse than what they continually put on display now for fans, right?

In addition, it appears that the Bulls’ front office wants their team to remain in the news cycle regardless of what type of news that entails. Good news or bad, the organization sure seems to love the media exposure. It’s how they’ve continued to remain relevant despite being poorly run as of late.

Trading for Davis would generate immediate headlines for an organization that could desperately use something positive to hang their hats on. Besides, he’s a hometown hero to many, having grown up in Chicago. Fans would instantly fall in love again with the Bulls if they pulled off a trade with New Orleans. They may even forget briefly about all the head-scratching decisions the front office has made over recent years.

Now, in some ways, we’ve already have seen this movie play out twice before. The endings just haven’t exceeded the initial build-up. Wade and more recently, Jabari Parker, were hometown heroes who joined the Bulls. While they’ve drawn fans to the edge of their seats during home games, their performances on the court as members of the Bulls ultimately left more to be desired.

The Bulls won’t have to worry about a performance-letdown from Davis. He’s proven to be a great all-around player on both ends of the court. Even more so, he’s proven to play with consistent effort despite his current team losing games regularly over the years without making deep playoff runs.

If anything, playing for his hometown will already be a motivating factor for Davis wanting to continue to play with maximum effort, even if the rest of the team continues to be lackluster.

One final reason the Bulls should be all-in on acquiring Davis is that he’s a very likable player who would immediately make the Bulls a premier destination for top free agents this upcoming summer. The Bulls, despite their losing efforts, reside in a large media market, have plenty of fan-fair that can prove to be very appealing in the grand scheme of things for other premier players.

Without Davis on the roster, no all-star player is going to want to play in Chicago anytime soon, given the dysfunction that is currently taking place. Davis’ presence might very well alleviate some of those concerns, especially if the Bulls perform better down the stretch. Remember: the bar isn’t currently set very high, to begin with.

If the Bulls’ organization wants to change the trajectory of their franchise immediately, they must go all in on Davis. That’d be the smartest move made in a very long time.