The other Chicago/Laker deal

[Texas Chuck]

Vuc

for

Russell/JHS

Bulls shed the last year of Vuc.
Lakers get a center who pairs well with AD.

2nds to your team as needed.

[Ell Curry]

I'm assuming Chicago's ownership refusal to tank means they won't deal Vuc for nothing, but I could also see them doing this, paying some 2nds to get off Carter's last year of his deal, letting Terry go, drafting Maluach at center and spending their newfound cap space on Brandon Ingram to be their new DeRozan this summer:

JalenSmith-Maluach
Ingram-Williams
Lavine-Buzelis
Giddey-Lavine
White-Dosunmu

If Giddey is parked/cap held there should be just enough space to squeeze Ingram in at like 30M to start and be under the cap before paying Giddey and still staying well under the tax.

That team isn't going anywhere, but it has too much offensive skill to be genuinely bad.

[Godaddycurse]

I like this for lakers, bulls why not at the TDL if nothing else better comes along

[ChettheJet]

People don't look smart because they can make check marks on the trade machine. If you count Lavine as a guard the Bulls have 8 on their roster and you want to send them 2 more plus you AGAIN leave Jalen Smith as the only center on the roster. Basically the only player over 6-8, I don't think you pay any attention to the results of trades you propose except for the money. At the very least Jaxson Hayes going to Chicago is a must.

[scoobs07]

I'm assuming Chicago's ownership refusal to tank means they won't deal Vuc for nothing, but I could also see them doing this, paying some 2nds to get off Carter's last year of his deal, letting Terry go, drafting Maluach at center and spending their newfound cap space on Brandon Ingram to be their new DeRozan this summer:

JalenSmith-Maluach
Ingram-Williams
Lavine-Buzelis
Giddey-Lavine
White-Dosunmu

If Giddey is parked/cap held there should be just enough space to squeeze Ingram in at like 30M to start and be under the cap before paying Giddey and still staying well under the tax.

That team isn't going anywhere, but it has too much offensive skill to be genuinely bad.

I want to chime in here but confused by this comment. Chicago doesn't want to tank? Can you please clarify?

[Ell Curry]

I want to chime in here but confused by this comment. Chicago doesn't want to tank? Can you please clarify?

I'm not a Bulls fan, but my understanding of the situation there is that Reinsdorf doesn't want to tank and lose ticket sales or sell the team, but the team has no real path to being genuinely good or truly terrible, so other than hitting on their picks in the lower half of the lottery, they are sort of locked into that dreaded fighting for the play-in in the East no man's land.

Trading Caruso for Giddey rather than getting back a pick or 2 like many expected was a real sign of not wanting to tank but instead try to keep a competitive 30+ win team.

It's not completely hopeless or anything there, they have some young talent and maybe they can finish with the 8th or 9th pick this year, retain it and get a quality big or a wing.

So the logical move with their pick being only top 10 protected this year was to trade Caruso for a pick instead of a middling player like Giddey, move Vucevic (or Lavine) to ensure the tank, keep their pick for sure and get a frontcourt star or quality wing to go with White and Lavine hope that guys like Dosunmu, Buzelis, Jalen Smith, Patrick Williams and the pick they'd have gotten for Caruso would develop into good complimentary pieces, maybe add a not so old free agent to go with them.