Apparently, the Bulls aren’t satisfied standing pat after Thursday’s Nikola Mirotic trade. The Bulls have a couple of vets on the roster that could be appealing to other teams, especially center Robin Lopez.
Would be surprised if Bulls are done trading. Strong sense around league they’ll make another move. Exec VP John Paxson hinted at as much yesterday when he said Bulls won’t make decision on waiving players until deadline passes.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) February 3, 2018
The Chicago Bulls want a first-round pick in a deal for Robin Lopez. (Via @MikeAScotto)
— Daniel Greenberg (@ChiSportUpdates) February 2, 2018
Finding a first-round pick for Lopez will be more difficult than it was for Mirotic, but if a team is desperate enough to unload a bad contract, the Bulls just might be able to pull it off.
Lopez is having a nice year, averaging a career-high 12.5 ppg on 52.8% shooting while providing a steady presence in the paint defensively. He’s also a 10-year vet who, by all accounts, is liked by everybody that has crossed paths with him. Besides mascots.
RoLo is not without his faults as a player. He doesn’t rebound nearly as well as you would like for a 7-footer (just 4.8 rpg in 28 minutes) and in today’s game, it’s more important than ever to have big men with the ability to switch and guard multiple positions, something Lopez simply doesn’t do well.
The team most closely linked to Lopez is the Boston Celtics, but given the way Boston’s GM Danny Ainge cherishes his draft picks it would be surprising to see a deal get done.
The Knicks are rumored to be willing to unload their first-round pick if it meant they could attach Joakim Noah’s albatross of a contract in the deal as well. While acquiring a likely lottery pick for Lopez would be fantastic, taking on Noah’s contract could be disastrous. He’d likely be nothing more than a $40 million distraction over the next two seasons, given his past with Fred Hoiberg and his current talent/health issues. It’s in everybody’s best interest to let “Joakim Noah, Chicago Bull” remain a thing of the past.
In short, Getting a first-round pick for Lopez will be tough, and honestly unlikely. The Bulls could pull the trigger on a deal for a second-rounder or a young, unheralded player they like. If not, hanging onto Lopez past the deadline isn’t the end of the world.
Lopez, unlike Mirotic, has a purpose on this roster as a mentor to the younger players, and with a year remaining on his contract, the Bulls can always re-engage in trade talks when the offseason starts in June.
