Chicago Bulls: There’s potential for splash trade deadline deals

We are now approximately a day and a half away from this year’s NBA trade deadline, and the Chicago Bulls are one team that will likely be active, one way or another.

Are the Bulls going to contend for a championship this season? Absolutely not. However, head coach Billy Donovan has them heading in a positive direction in only his first season with the team. Adding the right guy before the deadline would certainly help their case if they choose to try and make a playoff push.

At the moment, Chicago is sitting in the 9th seed. The Eastern Conference is, frankly, wide open from the fourth seed on down. In a matter of a week or two, the Bulls could win a few games and find themselves as high as the four or five seed. That’s how close it is.

So, at this stage in the season, why wouldn’t they try to get better? A playoff berth would be fantastic for this team and the city of Chicago. It’s what the fans deserve and have long desired after so many rough years under the Gar Forman and John Paxson regime.

Finally, this squad has some excitement building around it. But, if they are going to make a big move to try and get into playoff positioning, now is the time.

For a while now, there are a couple of deals which have been rumored to happen. Two names from the Bulls’ perspective are Otto Porter Jr. and Thaddeus Young. But, more recently, Lauri Markkanen’s name has entered the rumor mill.

There were even teams calling about Patrick Williams. So, the odds the Bulls are active, in some shape or form, are very high. Surely, fans want the team to get better, though. From the sound of Arturas Karnisovas’ thoughts on his roster a few weeks ago, it’s doubtful the team sells any key future pieces.

But, they could end up finding a big name or two to add to the current roster. What’s the latest on some of the notable names likely on the move? Let’s dive in.