The Chicago Bulls have to be open for business. With Tiago Spliter taking the reins of the team and Bryson Graham trying to fix the mess he inherited from the AKME era, just a handful of players should be untouchable.
Notably, that list might not include Josh Giddey, whom the team signed to a four-year, $100 million contract just last offseason. He's been great in the Windy City, but if a team comes up knocking with an offer too good to refuse, he should be on the move.
Considering that, Roundtable's Michael Walton put together a fairly reasonable and realistic offer to send him to the Los Angeles Clippers. In this scenario, the Bulls would get Derrick Jones Jr., Kris Dunn, Isaiah Jackson, and -- much more importantly -- the No. 5 pick. In return, the Clippers would get Giddey, the No. 15 pick, and a 2027 first-round pick swap.
The Bulls can turn Josh Giddey into draft gold
"If the Clippers plan to continue building around Kawhi Leonard (and to a lesser extent Darius Garland), then you are obviously trying to win now," Walton explained. "...For Chicago, it's an easy explanation as they would be giving up a lot to essentially lock-in their long-term core on draft night."
Giving up a 2027 pick-swap might not be the wisest move, given that the Bulls will likely miss the playoffs and the Clippers will be a championship contender. Then again, it would be all about maximizing this year's stacked draft, which, admittedly, is more promising -- at least on paper and at this point.
The Bulls would then have Caleb Wilson or Cameron Boozer at No. 4, and then an opportunity to get Keaton Wagler, Darius Acuff Jr., or Kingston Flemings. They could also trade down with Dallas or Oklahoma City to acquire an additional first-rounder, though that would probably be against the whole point of this trade.
Adding two top-five prospects next to Matas Buzelis and Noa Essengue, who'll essentially be another first-round rookie, would give coach Splitter a strong foundation to build around. Losing Giddey would obviously be a big blow, but he might be a tad ahead of the team's timeline, and part of building a team is maximizing value.
The Bulls are finally in the perfect spot. They've fully embraced the fact that they must rebuild, and they won't try to rush the process just to make the Play-In Tournament. This draft gives them a golden opportunity to retool and finally straighten the course of the ship after years of being stuck in a mediocrity spiral.
The road back to the top will be full of ebbs and flows, and there will be setbacks. Chances are that at least one of their rookies won't live up to the hype. As such, giving themselves a better chance to succeed by acquiring another top-five pick is probably the right way to go here.
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