LA Clippers: One trade with every team – Chicago Bulls

We suggest one trade the LA Clippers could make with the Chicago Bulls.

Our journey through the Central Divison to find one trade for the LA Clippers to make with every team has hit the point where their trade partners will no longer be competing once the NBA returns for the remainder of the 2019-20 season.

The Chicago Bulls sit in 11th place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 22-43. The Bulls are a young team without much of an identity. High-flying guard Zach LaVine continues to put up major scoring numbers but excitement about the former Slam Dunk Contest champion turning into a franchise cornerstone has seemed to wane. 23-year-old stretch forward Lauri Markkanen has seemed to take a step back in his third season in the NBA after showing promise in his first two campaigns. Veterans Thaddeus Young, Kris Dunn, and Otto Porter Jr. would make fine role players on a contending team but aren’t much help to bolster the Bulls into contention. Recent draft picks Wendell Carter Jr. and Coby White have both shown promise in their early days in the league.

We look to take advantage of the Bulls’ lack of identity to pick up a valuable young player who may be lost in the shuffle in Chicago in exchange for some youth and promise in return.

Why we suggest this trade for the LA Clippers:

Lauri Markkanen is a big player with a lot of talent. There was a lot of excitement surrounding the seven-foot, smooth-shooting, Finnish forward when he was drafted seventh overall out of Arizona in 2017. Enough excitement to make him part of the package the Bulls got in return for sending Jimmy Butler to Minnesota.

The promise and the talent are still there for Markkanen. Adding a young, stretch-forward to their roster would make the Clippers even more versatile giving them size and shooting off their bench. Being able to come off the bench as a role player could help Markkanen grow into the player he has the potential to be.

Would the Bulls do it?

The package gives the Bulls youth and promise from Landry Shamet and Mfiondu Kabengele. Shamet gives them a combo guard who can fit in next to either LaVine or White, and Kabengele gives them an athletic forward to pair inside with Carter. It starts to give the team a bit of shape and identity as a young, athletic, run-and-gun type team. We’re not quite sure the Bulls are ready to move away from Markkanen just yet, but enough rumors have been out there to at least try.

Read the rest of our “One Trade with every Team” series here:

Pacific Division: Lakers, Warriors, Kings, Suns
Northwest Division: Nuggets, Jazz, Thunder, Blazers, Timberwolves
Southwest Division: Rockets, Mavericks, Grizzlies, Pelicans, Spurs
Atlantic Division: Raptors, Celtics, 76ers, Nets, Knicks
Central Division: Bucks, Pacers, Bulls, Pistons, Cavaliers
Southeast Division: Heat, Magic, Wizards, Hornets, Hawks