Bulls Gauging Trade Value Of Mirotic, Lopez

The NBA trade deadline is still almost two months away, but the Bulls have started doing their homework on the market. According to K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune, who cites one team executive from each conference, the Bulls have made “preliminary inquiries” to assess the trade value of veteran bigs Nikola Mirotic and Robin Lopez.

Despite their three-game winning streak, which includes a win over the conference-leading Celtics, the Bulls are still just 6-20, tied for the NBA’s worst record. As such, the club is expected to be a seller at the February 8 trade deadline, making Mirotic and Lopez logical trade candidates.

Lopez and Mirotic are the Bulls’ highest-paid players, though neither contract is onerous. Lopez is earning $13.79MM this season and has one more guaranteed year worth $14.36MM. Mirotic has a $12.5MM cap hit for this season and a $12.5MM team option for 2018/19, meaning Chicago could lose him for nothing in unrestricted free agency in July.

Of course, while Lopez’s contract situation and age (29) are enough to make him a trade candidate, there are a few other factors at play in Mirotic’s case. The 26-year-old missed the start of the 2017/18 season after suffering a concussion and facial fractures as a result of a Bobby Portis punch, and while the two power forwards appear to be coexisting now, Mirotic reportedly wouldn’t mind being moved.

With nearly 100 players set to become trade-eligible later this week, trade discussions around the NBA may start to heat up soon. However, most teams won’t finalize any deals until closer to the deadline. If the Bulls decide to move Mirotic, they’ll have no choice but to wait — his trade restrictions don’t lift until January 15.

View Comments (10)