NEWSLETTER
The Chicago Bulls’ offseason chaos has reached a new peak.
With free agency only a handful of hours away, the Bulls have been loosely tied to James Harden. In case you may have missed it, the Philadelphia 76ers guard opted into his player option for next season to work on a trade with the 76ers’ front office. Yes, this will be the third time since the 2020-21 season that Harden has requested a new home.
The loose connection comes courtesy of Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer. When reporting that the 76ers could take their sweet time in finding a trade partner for Harden – as they did with Ben Simmons – he went on to make a somewhat head-scratching Chicago Bulls reference.
Take a look:
At this early point, the Sixers are at least projecting patience to this trade process, similar to how Philadelphia signaled it would take its time moving Ben Simmons before ultimately flipping him to Brooklyn for Harden at the 2022 trade deadline. Chicago would be one potential trade partner to keep in mind, as the Bulls have made Zach LaVine available in conversations this offseason, sources said, and could also send an All-Star such as DeMar DeRozan back to Philadelphia. But there will be many avenues the Sixers explore before finalizing a Harden trade.
You can check out Fischer’s full free agency notebook here.
Yup. As one would expect, these words have already taken NBA Twitter by storm, with many wondering whether a future trade awaits between Philly and Chicago.
I’ll admit, it is strange that the Bulls were immediately the team Fischer mentioned. Rarely do insiders drop something out of thin air. But, if I had to guess, this connection is strictly based on the fact that Chicago remains one of the NBA’s favorite blow-it-up teams.
Indeed, the 76ers are going to want at least some high-end talent in return for Harden to keep building a playoff contender around Joel Embiid. The Bulls have two intriguing veterans on their roster in DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine. The latter of those two players has also been stuffed into trade rumors over the past several weeks. With that being the case, it’s not crazy to think that Philly would keep an extra close eye on Chicago.
But in what world would it make sense for the Bulls to pursue James Harden? The most likely outcome is that Philly would want LaVine in return. And, in that situation, the Bulls would be foolish to take an aging and past-his-prime Harden in return. Where is a nucleus of Harden and DeRozan – two players who will also be up for a new contract next offseason – going? A full rebuild would be the far more intelligible path.
Now, if Philly accepted DeRozan in return for Harden, then things get the tiniest bit more interesting. A Harden-LaVine backcourt combo could at least make more sense on a one-year trial run. Harden’s three-level scoring, as well as his playmaking skills, would make far more sense next to an explosive athlete in LaVine.
But would the Bulls really want to be in a position where they potentially have to pay Harden in one season? Not to mention, why would the heck would the 76ers make this deal? If they aren’t bought into extending a 33-year-old Harden, I’m not sure they’d be bought into extending a 33-year-old DeRozan.
The other scenario, of course, could be a three-team deal. If the Bulls do end up opting for the rebuild route, they could still send either LaVine or DeRozan to Philly while Harden heads to a third squad. Chicago could then aim for receiving a slew of draft capital and young talent.
Regardless, I have a very hard time believing this amounts to anything right now. Until the Chicago Bulls either prove they can get back on a winning track or do begin to make moves, we should probably expect rumors like this to pop up. That’s just how it goes for teams with no clear direction!
