As deadline approaches, Chicago Bulls may find a tough trade market
In recent years, the Chicago Bulls have made as much noise at the NBA trade deadline as falling snow.
The team hasn't made a February trade in several years. In fact, the Bulls have made just two in-season trades since the start of the 2010-11 season - sending Luol Deng to Cleveland and Marquis Teague to Brooklyn a few weeks apart in January 2014.
Do the Bulls need to make a move before the trade deadline strikes next Thursday? Considering they expected to be a Finals contender and have lost 13 of 18 games, yes. Any sort of help would be useful.
The Bulls lack of trade activity is mostly a product of having good teams, where change wasn't necessary. The basketball operations tandem of Gar Forman and John Paxson has taken action, though, when seasons aren't going well. They made those two trades in 2014, when the Bulls bottomed out at 9-16 in December.
They also made deadline deals for three straight years from 2008-10. It started with Ben Wallace being sent to Cleveland for Larry Hughes, Drew Gooden and others. In '09, the Bulls got rid of Gooden and Hughes, landing Brad Miller and John Salmons from Sacramento. In '10, they traded away Salmons and Tyrus Thomas, getting a first-round pick from Charlotte.
All three seasons from 2008-10, the Bulls were below .500 at the all-star break. This year, they're 27-25 and clinging to seventh place in the East, with Jimmy Butler and Nikola Mirotic expected to return from injuries toward the end of the month. So it's anyone's guess whether the Bulls will feel the need to make a move.
There have been some big names mentioned as possibilities on the trade market: Atlanta's Al Horford and Jeff Teague, New York's Carmelo Anthony, Houston's Dwight Howard. The Clippers' Blake Griffin could conceivably be in play after breaking his hand in a scuffle with a team employee.
There are a number of factors working against the Bulls, and all NBA teams, at this year's deadline:
• The rising salary cap makes free-agency very unpredictable. The cap is set to rise by about $20 million this summer, which means virtually every team will have ample cap room, while a bunch of players are about to become insanely overpaid.
That's why a team like Atlanta might think about trading Horford before he hits the open market this summer. The idea is to get something in return since he might choose to leave the Hawks. That also means any team trading for Horford is taking a leap of faith with his expiring contract.
Another factor is fewer teams will be looking to trim the payroll. Sitting tight and waiting for the summer to hit may be a popular activity.
• Simply put, the Bulls lack trade assets. Joakim Noah's expiring contract might catch some interest in a normal year. But Noah is out with a shoulder injury, so he can't help another team, and expiring contracts are less attractive with the cap about to rise.
For the Bulls to get a star player in return, they'd have to give up Butler. The players worth trading for Butler probably aren't available. Derrick Rose is owed $21 million next season and with his injury history, few teams are likely to have interest. Rose and Howard have similar contracts, but it's hard to see how a 1-for-1 swap would help either the Bulls or Rockets.
Pau Gasol has a more reasonable contract ($7.4 million), but he can opt out and become a free agent this summer. Taj Gibson has trade value, though with Noah and Mirotic sidelined, the Bulls are short on big men.
Beyond that, there can't be much interest in anyone on the Bulls' roster. Mirotic's potential is probably worth more than this trade value right now. Tony Snell won't generate much trade buzz. Maybe the Bulls could find a contending team that needs a veteran like Mike Dunleavy.
In other words, the trade prospects appear slim for the Bulls. They'll probably wait for the summer to retool the roster. They could have nearly $20 million in cap space, but clearly need to re-sign one of their free agent big men, either Gasol or Noah.
An area of need remains an athletic, defensive-minded wing player who could help lighten Butler's workload. A team's leading scorer can't also be the lone defensive-stopper. It's too much.
The Bulls might have interest in someone like Cory Brewer or Trevor Ariza from Houston, Sacramento's Ben McLemore or Phoenix's P.J. Tucker if they're available. One player to think about is New Orleans' Ryan Anderson. He's more of a scorer than defender, but his contract is expiring and with the Pelicans out of playoff contention at the moment, they might want to get something while they can.
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