NEWSLETTER
Although we had come into today (a.k.a. the final hours before the 2021 NBA Trade Deadline) with an understanding that the Bulls could swing a relatively large deal, likely for a distributor, we were caught completely off-guard by their massive deal for Nikola Vucevic. In case you missed it, the Bulls are sending Wendell Carter Jr., Otto Porter Jr., and a couple of first round picks to the Magic for the two-time All-Star. Wow.
But they might not be done just yet.
All those rumors about the Bulls acquiring a point guard like Lonzo Ball before the deadline? Yeah, those are still on the table, according to Adrian Wojnarowski:
Here's the deal: The Bulls land Nikola Vucevic and Al Farouq Aminu for Otto Porter, Wendell Carter Jr., and two first-round picks. Huge addition for Chicago, who remains in pursuit of Lonzo Ball. The Magic are moving toward a rebuild now with Aaron Gordon deal on deck.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 25, 2021
And although this is all still shocking and exciting, it does make sense to see them keep their foot on the gas at this point. The front office clearly likes their chances this season, and now that they’ve already sacrificed some future value in both (1) picks and (2) the enigmatic potential of Wendell Carter, Jr., now’s the time to go all in.
But how would they make it work? Well, it could center around Lauri Markkanen, as previously speculated …
Markkanen being a pending restricted free agent is factoring in here. Chicago does not want to lose Markkanen for nothing this summer.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) March 25, 2021
… however, K.C. Johnson (NBC Sports Chicago) has heard that as of this morning, Markkanen, alone, won’t be enough to pry Ball away from New Orleans. And, in fact, they might need a lot more to make it happen.
As of this AM, acquiring Lonzo Ball would take more than just an offer of Lauri Markkanen. Don’t know if sweetener would be first-round pick, as word around league was earlier this week, or expanding deal to take larger contract off Pels’ hands for expiring contract.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) March 25, 2021
But that’s sort of beside the point for the moment.
The headline here is a big one and could be resolved soon: Even after acquiring Vucevic, the Chicago Bulls are looking to add Ball. It took half-a-season of evaluation, but this team is finally starting to reveal the finger prints of Arturas Karnisovas.
