Trade #2
This one is a monster. The Chicago Bulls are in a tough spot with a slew of young talent on a team that has struggled to put it all together on the court. They are likely headed for a coaching change this offseason, and with that could come changes up and down the roster.
Would Hield fit in to the timeline of their rebuild? He is no longer a young commodity and is very likely in his prime as we speak. Would he bring the same kind of value to the team three years down the road when they are ready to compete?
Well, with this trade cooked up by our friends over at Pippen Ain’t Easy, that might not be an issue.
Brace yourselves.
GULP.
This one is a lot to take in. We are having enough trouble with the thought of getting rid of Hield. But to cut loose early on the Marvin Bagley project might be a little much. Throw in fan-favorite Harry Giles, and we’re pretty close to hanging up the phone.
But, the return is a nice one. Lauri Markkanen regressed last year but has high enough upside to be the floor stretching big man that the Kings badly need. Based on what we’ve seen from Bagley thus far, it could be that Markkanen would be the better fit in the Kings offense.
We’re unsure about the fit of Zach LaVine. Yes, the Kings did offer him a contract a few years back to play alongside De’Aaron Fox, but he never inked. Could he co-exist with today’s version of Fox? Would he make the Kings offense any better than Hield does? We’re not sure.
Giles would have to be a sign-and-trade given his contractual situation, and it would be Hield’s extension kicking in that would allow these salaries to come close to matching.
WOULD WE DO IT?
Frankly, we haven’t seen enough from Bagley to be able to pull the trigger on this one. It is too early to be giving up on a player who showed promise but struggled with injuries. Despite our desire to acquire Markannen, we’d probably have to hang up the phone on this one.