Chicago Bulls: 3 potential trades for Otto Porter’s contract
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This trade would need a couple of things to happen first.
Jerami Grant and Otto Porter would both have to pick up their options for next year. That should be simple enough since Grant just put up a career year this past season for Denver and Porter, well, is going to make a truckload of money.
There is also a catch for both teams. The Bulls are going to be sacrificing a young forward who knows how to run the offense with Zach LaVine and Lauri Markkanen on the floor as well as huge draft capital in a future first-round pick.
That pick being included in this deal says two different things: the Bulls are betting on themselves to be a playoff team in two seasons because of their confidence to attract players in 2021 free agency, and that Grant is part of the solution, even after the 2021 season.
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Grant would fit in instantly in Chicago; as a former second-round pick, his blue-collar work ethic would draw immediate love from Bulls fans.
He is a great athlete and an extremely hard worker, as shown by his willingness to add depth to his all-around game (he shot 40 percent from downtown this season on 3.4 attempts per game while averaging a block per contest).
This move would likely put Markkanen starting at center, while pushing Wendell Carter Jr., to the bench.
Carter is at his natural position at power forward, so coming off the bench with his defensive-minded approach could open the door to a Taj Gibson-esque role.
Carter would also have more room to expand his offensive game if he wasn’t in the shadow of the starting lineup. Maybe with some time on the bench, we could all see the culmination of those Al Horford comparisons Carter had coming in the league.
After that, either Chandler Hutchison or Thaddeus Young would have to be moved elsewhere due to an overcrowded forward room. There was a stretch of games where Hutchison scored in double figures but his injury history already at 24 doesn’t make his ceiling very high.
Young has voiced his displeasures with playing time, so his move could also be likely outside of this scenario.
This trade also yields guard Will Barton, who has been a starter this season but also has shown to be a supreme athletic spark plug when he comes off the Nuggets’ bench. He has the versatility to be plugged into Porter’s starting forward spot and step up the Bulls’ transition offense.
Also, he did this:
If the Bulls choose to draft and groom a forward behind Barton this summer, that is made possible with him having two years remaining on his current contract.