Chicago Bulls: Grading every move this season
Oh, you knew that anything cash-related would be discussed given it’s the Bulls administration’s favorite thing in the world.
I’ll go ahead and knock this one out of the way quickly. The maximum amount of cash considerations an NBA franchise can accumulate on the year is $5.2 million.
Ladies and gentlemen, somehow, someway, the Bulls were able to reach that plateau!
Yes, yes, well done, GarPax. You two really did a fine job at beating the rest of the league to the finish line here. Whether the cash is actually used towards signing Manny Machado or towards paying off year four of Fred Hoiberg’s contract, having any kind of cash flow is helpful given the numerous ways it can be used (example: buying a second round pick off of some sucker team).
Anyway, Chicago made several moves towards adding cash to their list of assets:
- Reacquired Michael Carter-Williams (lol) and cash considerations from Houston in exchange for a heavily protected 2020 second-round pick
- Acquired Carmelo Anthony, cash considerations, and the draft rights to Jon Diebler from Houston in exchange for the draft rights to Tadija Dragicevic
- Acquired Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and cash considerations from Oklahoma City in exchange for a protected 2020 second-round pick
Now MCW and Melo are long gone, given that they were part of Houston’s massive salary dump. As for ‘TLC’, he made his Bulls debut against the Pelicans on Wednesday and did alright (nine points, three boards, and two treys). So the Bulls might have something of a prospect on their hands. Jim Boylen also really likes him, for whatever that’s worth:
Jim Boylen on Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, who will meet team in Chicago: "He’s got a scorer’s mentality to him, has good size. He’s a wing I’m glad we can take a look at and see what he can do."
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) February 2, 2019
The draft picks are so heavily protected (both top 55) that there’s virtually no chance that they convey to either team. Chicago is basically asking both the Rockets and Thunder to babysit their picks until the end of next season in return for avoiding the luxury tax.
Grade: A
Sure, why not? There’s really nothing to lose in these situations. Both sides are doing each other a solid and the Bulls are essentially getting a young player for them to test drive. But there is one reason why it’s not an A+…
Because the front office had no interest in letting Melo suit up for one game and let him jack up 30 shots! I mean, come on: you know you wanted to see the Bulls let their new, temporary Tank Commander run iso sets and never let anyone else touch the ball. GarPax owed us that much.
light. Related Story. What does the Porter trade mean for Bulls?
It’s just a shame that they got him five years later after pushing so hard when the window was wide open. What could’ve been…