The Chicago Bulls made some big moves at the trade deadline, bringing Nikola Vucevic to the Windy City as one of the best trades of the day. They are still trying to make the leap and reach the postseason this year but we still have to wait and see if they can get the job done.
Regardless of how or when the season ends for them, the Bulls could be readying a big offseason that could bring them a big name like Bradley Beal to team up with Zach LaVine and newcomer Vucevic. The new front office is already making good moves this season and a window could be open for them in the next couple of months. They could take advantage of Beal’s struggles in Washington and if the shooting guard requests a trade, make a run for him.
According to Michael Pena of Sports Illustrated, things could fall into place for the Bulls to create an extremely dangerous big 3 this offseason.
Even with LaVine’s cap hold, the Bulls can still have enough room to slide another max contract onto their books. Bradley Beal, who played for Donovan in college (Did you know that, Bulls fans? It’s true!) and can opt out of his contract would be a grand slam addition. That’s an extremely expensive team, but with Vučević’s coming off his contract the following year, there’s an absolute best-case/dream-like scenario where Beal, LaVine and Williams manifest as the organization’s next Big Three.
This could be a great opportunity for the Bulls to become protagonists in the Eastern Conference again. This team has a big potential but the front office, and the fans, are more interested in winning than developing right now. They could make some moves in the summer to put together this Big 3 that would be a problem for the biggest teams in the conference, the Nets, Sixers, Bucks, and Heat.
Besides Beal, Pena named more players that aren’t at the same dimension as the current NBA scoring leader but can still lift the Bulls’ level with their presence on the court. Chicago has more than one option but of course, adding a piece like Beal would be huge for them.
A star probably isn’t in the cards, but Evan Fournier, Goran Dragić, Spencer Dinwiddie, Will Barton, and Kelly Olynyk all make sense. Lonzo Ball should be on their radar, and if things turn south in Utah, Mike Conley would be an ideal table-setter for a team that’s interested in winning sooner than later.
They have plenty of options on the table and even though Bradley would be the cherry on the top for their Big 3, they have more names to see and try to make a move for them. It was reported that Lonzo Ball was on their radar at the trade deadline but nothing happened with him. This offseason could be a very interesting one for Billy Donovan and his team. Beal has been linked with more teams like the Heat or the Golden State Warriors, so Chicago won’t have an easy day trying to lure him away from Washington.
