With the hire of Billy Donovan, the Chicago Bulls are hoping to take a step forward in the Eastern Conference next season.
If they want to take a leap, however, they’ll need to add more. Zach LaVine, Lauri Markkanen Otto Porter, and Coby White are all excellent players who are capable of keeping the Bulls somewhat competitive, but without a true franchise face, there’s only so far this team can go.
That is the premise behind Andrew Miller’s recent article on Fansided’s Pippen Ain’t Easy. In the piece, he reveals a suggested trade deal that would land Chicago 8x NBA All-Star, James Harden.
If they [the Rockets] do want to trade Harden, then getting a mix of pieces that are both valuable to the future and still give them so hope to win immediately in the Western Conference is a great way to go. This trade deal is some of what that would offer for the Rockets. They get a few draft picks to stack future draft capital along with a few key pieces of the Bulls young core.
What the Bulls toss into the trade deal here is their fourth overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, along with one unprotected future first and one lottery protected future first. That is a lot to give up, but it’s not going to be easy to get Harden to Chicago. They also send shooting guard Zach LaVine, power forward Lauri Markkanen, and small forward Otto Porter Jr. to Houston.
After another failed attempt at finding Harden a suitable partner, the Rockets find themselves in a state of limbo as they figure out what to do next. With no obvious answers on what to do with Russell Westbrook, a complete rebuild isn’t out of the question for a team that may have already missed their Championship window.
In the event that the Rockets do trade Harden, his presence on the Bulls would change everything. He’s among the greatest scorers to ever play the game, and he’s got three scoring titles to prove it. Not only would the team become instantly relevant in the East, but the arrival of Harden would almost surely make it easier for them to attract other stars to play alongside him. And Chicago, who hasn’t won a Championship since 1998, would finally be back on the basketball map.
