Chicago Bulls: Three trades to consider before the trade deadline

The Atlanta Hawks have a player that the Chicago Bulls should try to save.

If there’s any way the Bulls can make this trade, they should jump on the idea. John Collins wants out of the Atlanta Hawks organization badly and the Bulls could save him.

This trade would help both teams get out of a jam and work their way back into their rebuilds. The Hawks had an excellent offseason before this season began but they are blowing it up and trying to get guys like Collins, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Cam Reddish out of Atlanta.

Markkanen would replace Collins in a pretty solid way. He would give them a similarly young, 7-footer like Collins that can shoot the ball and post-up in the paint. A first-round pick and a future second-round pick would allow them to keep rebuilding their team too. The Hawks are in a tough situation with Collins because he wants to be traded and the Bulls could help them.

Collins would help the Bulls out in many areas that Markkanen hasn’t proven to be helpful with. Collins is a much larger and more efficient scorer than Markkanen. He is averaging 18.3 points per game this season, sinking 54.2 percent of his 13-14 shots per game and 37.4 percent of shots from behind the arc. He is also making over 70 percent of his shots around the rim, something Markkanen struggles with.

Collins is also an excellent rim protector, averaging a -0.5 defensive box plus/minus this season and 1.1 blocks per game. His defensive rating is an average 112 this season too, contributing to the average 48.1 points per game in the paint the Hawks allow their opponents.