Getty Head coach Billy Donovan and Coby White #0 of the Chicago Bulls.
The Chicago Bulls dealt DeMar DeRozan to the Sacramento Kings in a three-team trade.
What comes next for the Bulls remains unclear. But they still have a couple of players on the roster who do not fit their new timeline, namely Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic. The Bulls have encountered a sluggish trade market for both former two-time All-Stars.
However, Vucevic’s contract could be easier to move. He is owed more than $41 million over the final two years of his three-year, $60 million contract.
Bleacher Report’s Julia Stumbaugh named a “top target” to replace him if he is ultimately traded.
“The Bulls could … consider a candidate like Deandre Ayton, whom the Portland Trail Blazers could consider moving after acquiring Donovan Clingan with the No. 7 pick of the 2024 draft,” Stumbaugh wrote on July 6. “Ayton, who averaged 1.0 steals per game for the first time in his career for the Blazers last season, could help the young Bulls boost their defense this fall.”
Ayton is currently in preparation for the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics with the Bahamian National Team.
Deandre Ayton DELIVERED 😤
The Trail Blazers big man registered 24 PTS and 15 REB earning himself TCL Player of the Game honours and helping the Bahamas 🇧🇸 reach #FIBAOQT final 🔥
The No. 1 pick of the 2018 draft by the Phoenix Suns, Ayton averaged 16.7 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 1.6 assists for the Blazers last season. The rebounds were the second-best mark of his six-year career.
However, Ayton’s points and assists numbers were the second-lowest.
Bulls Could Face Complicated Path to Potential Deandre Ayton Trade
Ayton is entering Year 3 of a four-year, $132.9 million contract with a $34 million cap hit in 2024-25.
The Bulls had an interest in potentially trading for Ayton in the 2023 offseason, according to an anonymous rival general manager in a conversation with Heavy Sports. They were also linked to Clingan during the pre-draft process.
The Blazers do not need a center with him and Robert Williams on the roster.
They also do not need LaVine, which was one of the rumored potential outcomes as the Bulls showed interest in Damian Lillard, now with the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Bulls would also still have to add more salary than Vucevic alone to satisfy league rules. His cap hit set at $20 million. Lonzo Ball has little trade value after two years away, but he is in the last year of his four-year, $80 million contract and could buoy a trade package.
The Bulls could offer the Blazers 2025 first-round pick back to them to help facilitate the deal.
That pick is lottery-protected through 2028 with the Blazers still in the early stages of their rebuild.
Bulls Avoided Taking Back Significant Salary in DeMar DeRozan Trade
The biggest issue a move for Ayton could present is the Bulls’ reluctance to take back significant salary in the DeRozan trade, per The Stein Line’s Marc Stein on July 6.
They fittingly received Chris Duarte – who is in the final year of his $17.7 million rookie-scale contract – but re-routed Harrison Barnes to the San Antonio Spurs. Duarte, 27, will count $5.9 million against the cap in 2024-25 and hits restricted free agency next offseason.
Chris Duarte made the most of his first start of the season ⤵️
🇩🇴 13 PTS
🇩🇴 8 REB
🇩🇴 5-of-8 FG
🇩🇴 3-of-4 3PT
Barnes, 32, has two years and $40.7 million left on his three-year, $54 million contract.
Ayton turns 26 years old on July 23. He is on a similar timeline as current Bulls star Coby White. Trading for Ayton would also leave $27 million free agent signing Jalen Smith free to come off the bench.
Stumbaugh also suggested the Bulls re-ignite their pursuit of 26-year-old New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson. Both players would fit the Bulls’ apparent new timeline.
However, they might also make the roster better than the Bulls intend to be next season.