Rumor: Chicago Bulls may be in play for a Lamarcus Aldridge comeback

This week has been an eventful one for the Chicago Bulls; one full of rumors, signings and trades. NBA free agency is always a blast for basketball fans, and this year is no exception. The Bulls came out swinging from the get-go.

Already, we have seen the Bulls bring in the likes of former number two overall pick Lonzo Ball and four-time All Star DeMar DeRozan. Additionally, Chicago has signed free agent guard Alex Caruso and center Tony Bradley.

The facelift in Chicago should equal a much more competitive basketball team which finds themselves in postseason play this coming season — something fans have deserved for quite some time now.

One more possible move that could come out of this offseason, though, is a move that arises as fairly unforeseen.

Veteran big man Lamarcus Aldridge is considering an NBA return, and the Chicago Bulls could be in play.

Earlier this past season, Aldridge spent just a short time with the Brooklyn Nets after a few years with the San Antonio Spurs. Aldridge retired because of heart concerns, but he is now considering an NBA return — of course, if all his medicals come back 100 percent.

The interesting wrinkle with a potential Aldridge return comes from the Bulls having interest in him even before he retired. According to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago, the Bulls were looking at pursuing Aldridge this offseason.

With the interest in Aldridge comes another possibility of a sign-and-trade with forward Lauri Markkanen, who currently would be playing out this year on his qualifying offer. If Aldridge was cleared to return and the Bulls ultimately signed him, then Markkanen would likely be dealt.

Already the Bulls have dealt forwards Thaddeus Young, Daniel Theis and Al-Farouq Aminu, along with guard Tomas Satoransky and wing Garrett Temple. Chicago’s roster is going to look a heck of a lot different when next season rolls around.

Aldridge spent the last five and a half seasons with the San Antonio Spurs after nine years with the Portland Trailblazers. The 7-time NBA All Star would be a phenomenal candidate to be the Bulls’ top big off the bench, should he accept that role. In his last healthy season (2019-2020) Aldridge still posted 18.9 points and 7.4 boards per game.

The most notable aspect of this entire situation is, of course, the fact that the Bulls drafted Aldridge back in 2006. They ended up trading his rights to the Blazers for Tyrus Thomas, which goes down as one of the worst deals in Bulls history.

Now 15 years later, the Bulls very well could end up with Aldridge at the tail end of his career. Better late than never, right?