How The Chicago Bulls Could Land Myles Turner & Buddy Hield

Chicago’s struggles out of the gate have generated a few urgent needs for some reinforcements from the trade market, including reinforcing a paint presence and improving outside shooting from an Indiana Pacers duo that could be headed about 200 miles northwest to the Windy City. Myles Turner and Buddy Hield should be two targets the Bulls’ front office zero in on in the coming weeks. While the trade deadline is still months away, the Bulls do not have time to wait for a second-half splash and need to catapult from the 12th seed in the Eastern Conference via these key additions as soon as possible.

Red Alert

Looking at Milwaukee, Brooklyn, Indiana, and Washington, what commonalities can Chicago not equate to? Well, for one, they are all currently in the playoffs. They are also all in the top eight in the fewest points allowed in the paint per game and the top five in blocks per game. The Bulls are below the league average in paint points allowed per game and 10th in blocks per contest. In a physical and bully-style Eastern Conference, the dead last in paint points scored per game Chicago Bulls are hurting down in the trenches. An area that someone like Myles Turner would help tremendously alongside his 2.6 blocks per game (second in the NBA), a nine percent higher field goal percentage from the field than current center Nikola Vucevic.

Three-point shooting is the other glaring issue for the Bulls. Shooting the least amount of threes in the NBA as a team and only shooting them at the 11th-best clip puts a lot of pressure on the defensive side of the ball. Last year’s average three-point shooting percentage across the league was 36.7%, a rate that only four Bulls surpass, and none of whom are shooting over 3.0 attempts per game. The highest volume shooter for them is shooting guard Zach Lavine, who fires 8.4 shots per game at a 36.5% clip. An instant solution would be a player like Buddy Hield, averaging 9.8 attempts from deep per game at a 37.4% rate. Both would instantly bolster Chicago’s numbers from downtown and provide some relief to both the offensive paint game and the defensive side overall.

What Would It Take?

While the Pacers are in a better playoff spot than the Bulls, they do not yet have the firepower to contend in the Eastern Conference. Although they are talented, the roster’s youth will be their demise. By offering them a few young pieces that could add to an already rebuilding depth chart, the Bulls could snag two difference-makers to bolster their playoff roster and both teams could profit from the deal.

Lonzo Ball would have to be the first piece, and his injury may deter possible trade destinations. Aside from the knee problems, Ball has been nothing short of a rising star in his role. After bouncing around the league in his early years, he was considered a considerable land for a Chicago team that needed a “3 & D” point guard to facilitate the surrounding scorers. While he would not carry the same role in Indiana, the 22-year-old star Tyrese Haliburton could use a running mate that shoots less than the 9.8 attempts Hield currently takes but also shoots them at a better rate. Ball shot at a career-best 42.8% clip from three last season with the Bulls. At 16th in the NBA in defensive rating, the Pacers could also use the clear upgrade from a perimeter defense standpoint that Ball provides compared to Buddy Hield.

Some combination of recent draft picks Coby White, Patrick Williams, and Dalen Terry would also have to be included. Williams would be the most valuable of the three and the hardest for Bulls fans to give up with the evident potential, especially on the defensive side of the court. At best, Coby White is a bench sniper, and Dalen Terry is an entirely unknown commodity. His best selling point would be that his former Arizona Wildcat teammate Bennedict Mathurin is in Indiana, currently second in the 6th Man of the Year race and making a solid case for the Rookie of the Year award too. This bunch would add cheap, role-player upside for a rebuilding Indiana Pacers roster.

Nikola Vucevic would be the perfect final piece to this deal, and with the salary cap spot this deal would put the Bulls in, he almost needs to be. Losing their starting center would entice the Pacers to fill the void, and Vucevic sorely needs a change of scenery. With Turner and Vucevic becoming unrestricted free agents following this season, it is a wash for both sides from that standpoint. Still top five in the NBA in rebounding and a once-dominant big man, Vucevic could offer paint scoring and versatility to a young Haliburton-Mathurin outside threat duo.

The Deal

Chicago Bulls Receive:

Buddy Hield (SF), Myles Turner (C), 2023 First Round Pick (via BOS)

Indiana Pacers Receive:

Lonzo Ball (PG), Coby White (PG), Patrick Williams (PF), Nikola Vucevic (C)