Chicago Bulls: 3 players to trade this coming offseason

1. Forward Otto Porter

When the Bulls executed a trade for wing Otto Porter Jr., it was somewhat of a head-scratching move, in my opinion. The team moved one of their best assets in big man Bobby Portis, who was only improving each and every season with the Bulls. In exchange, they get a guy who would become the highest-paid player on the roster.

Initially, Porter surprised me a little bit. He came out pretty strong, both offensively and defensively. Porter averaged about 17 points per game during his first few weeks with the team after the trade back in 2019. His best performance came in a 31-point output when the Bulls beat the Atlanta Hawks in a 4OT thriller.

Going forward, the Bulls don’t need Porter, though. Who knows what kind of money he will want after this final season — and, yes, he will opt in. Porter is due $28 million if he opts into his final year.

Porter has been oft-injured and, although he is still just 26 years old, he is not a franchise type of player. By comparison, Zach LaVine is much more capable of being “that guy” and he’s being paid on what now looks like a steal of a deal at $19.5 million per season.

If the Bulls could trade Porter and get out of his final year, maybe they have a chance at a top-tier free agent this summer. I understand that Karnisovas’ plan is likely going to take more than one year, but this would be an interesting deal if it would happen.