Proposed Bulls Trade Lands Championship Duo for Expensive Veteran

Getty Head coach Billy Donovan of the Chicago Bulls.

The Chicago Bulls are an unfinished product. They are transitioning from a veteran core to one more focused on its young talent.

However, the Bulls are also steering clear of a rebuild.

Their middling goals could make for a match with the Denver Nuggets. Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley believes the Nuggets – who are two years removed from winning the NBA Finals – could stand to make a trade.

“It’s tough to find the balance between Denver’s win-right-now talent at the top of its rotation and the many young players now comprising its back end. Maybe three-time MVP Nikola Jokić is such a game-breaking talent that it doesn’t matter, but it’s possible the cap-conscious front office has presented him with a puzzle even he can’t solve,” Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley wrote on October 21.

“If the young players struggle with consistency, and the Jokić-Jamal Murray twosome can’t cover up for them, Denver might have to hit the trade market for additional firepower.”

Buckley suggests the Bulls send Zach LaVine in a “blockbuster” trade for Michael Porter Jr.

Bulls get:

• Michael Porter Jr.
• Zeke Nnaji

Nuggets get:

• Zach LaVine

“Granted, Zach LaVine would’ve been traded by now if not for his colossal contract and injury history. It’s tricky to find a match,” Buckley wrote. “Then again, Michael Porter Jr. holds a similar reputation for being overpaid and has some scary injuries behind him, so these might be the perfect trade partners (with Zeke Nnaji added primarily to make the money work).”

Bulls, Nuggets Can Make Money Work on Blockbuster Trade

LaVine, 29, looked healthy enough during the preseason after foot surgery cut his 2023-24 campaign short. But he is in Year 3 of a five-year, $215.1 million contract. He is owed $138 million through the 2026-27 campaign with a $48.9 million player option for that season.

Porter is 26 years old and in Year 3 of a five-year, $179.3 million pact with a $35.8 million cap hit in 2024-25.

Porter will count $40 million against the cap in 2026-27 with no options for that year.

Nnaji is starting a four-year, $32 million deal this season. His deal carries an $8.9 million cap charge in 2024-25 with a descending salary, reaching $7.5 million in 2027-28. At 23 years old, he fits a rebuilding timeline better than Porter.

While the money works in Buckley’s trade scenario, the reality of the situation for both the Bulls and Nuggets could stall such a deal before it is ever in the works.

Several Hurdles Could Complicate Potential Bulls-Nuggets Deal

The Bulls would be adding $1.4 million in salary in Buckley’s scenario. They would also be taking on the greater injury risk in Porter. He missed his rookie season due to back issues that began in high school and have recurred during his career.

The Bulls would also have to waive a player to complete this deal. Recently signed Talen Horton-Tucker would be the obvious candidate.

He is the only player on the Bulls’ 15-man roster on a non-guaranteed contract.

That could be enough cause for to pause on a trade like this from the Bulls’ perspective. The Nuggets might not see the scenario any more optimistically. Porter was a key part of their championship run and Nnaji is a promising prospect.

Trades of this magnitude are rare during the season, especially at the beginning of a new campaign.