The Chicago Bulls are facing a dilemma with Lonzo Ball's contract eating up their salary cap space, and their current roster not being in a favorable position for improvement in the near future. It makes me wonder if the Bulls might consider rebuilding their team, freeing up salary cap space, and focusing on young players and acquiring assets from teams looking to shed salary due to the new Collective Bargaining Agreement. This could be a smart move considering the upcoming financial changes in the NBA. In my opinion, the Bulls would be a great fit for the Celtics to acquire some experienced players.
Now, here's my question: What would it take for the Celtics to trade for DeMar DeRozan or Nikola Vucevic? Could a trade package involving Muscala, Pritchard, Kornet, Hauser, and Champagnie be sufficient? These players seem to add up to around $14 million, but I understand that it might not be enough to match the salaries of DeRozan, Danilo Gallinari, and a sign-and-trade involving Grant Williams and Blake Griffin would be necessary to make the numbers work.
However, what about Vucevic? It might be possible to make the salaries match in that case. But how much would Vucevic demand at this stage of his career? He's 33 years old and approaching the end of his prime. What kind of contract would he be looking for? In my opinion, the Celtics could acquire him through a sign-and-trade deal, with his first-year salary set at $17 million for a total of four years, amounting to $75 million. I'm really curious to see what kind of contract the Bulls offer him to find out the final answer.
So, here's my question: If the Bulls were interested and Vucevic was on board, would you make this trade? Of course, the Celtics would have to include a draft pick, but I don't think much more than that would be necessary. If the Bulls are intrigued by the direction I outlined earlier, there are many benefits for them. They would gain draft picks, take care of their player (which always looks good), and have young players to showcase for potential additional draft assets at the trade deadline.