Although the Bulls are fans of Robin Lopez, he’s a traditional rim-protecting center who struggles when asked to switch onto smaller players, writes Michael Walton of NBC Sports Chicago. According to Walton, given the Bulls’ recent emphasis on switching on defense and Lopez’s expiring contract, the veteran center makes sense as a trade chip this season.
Walton suggests that if the Bulls can get anything of value in return for Lopez (especially draft picks), they’d like to do so, rather than risk losing him in free agency. Walton explores a few potential fits for Lopez, identifying the Suns, Lakers, and Pistons as a few teams that could use a player with his skill set.
While there’s been no indication that those specific teams would have interest, we heard last week that Lopez is available “all day, every day for the right asset.” So we’ll see which teams inquire as February’s trade deadline gets closer.
Here’s more on the Bulls:
- The Jabari Parker experiment hasn’t exactly been a success for the Bulls so far, says Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. In Cowley’s view, Parker “acts and plays like someone who would rather be elsewhere.” The former No. 2 overall pick has a $20MM team option on his contract for 2019/20, which seems unlikely to be exercised unless his offensive production and consistency improve significantly over the course of the season.
- Wendell Carter Jr. looks like he’s on his way to becoming the most important part of the Bulls’ rebuild, according to Michael Walton of NBC Sports Chicago, who argues that Carter’s defensive prowess should make him a legitimate Rookie of the Year contender.
- For all the latest updates out of Chicago, be sure to check out our Bulls team page.
The Bulls need to fire Hoiberg he’s not a good coach
Bulls were stupid enough to give him that contract….enjoy
I never liked it when they hired him
He wasn’t a good fit for the 4-heavy roster, but it’s not like the Bulls have been able to lure guys to Chicago. Signing anybody with some talent who actually wants to play here and then just trying to find a way to make it work sounds like a fine strategy.
This was a low-risk high-reward signing. Low Risk b/c it’s just a 2-year deal. If he panned out, you don’t lose him for nothing and you retain him at a relative discount. If he doesn’t pan out, you drop him.
His #’s are bad, they just don’t have a good roster.
Lopez is a good guy, and a hard player, but his time in Chicago is clearly up.
Carter Jr. is balling out, and is clearly the starting center for the Bulls.
He needs to develop (and muscle up just a little), and he will be an absolute beast, within a year or two.
Hutchinson also looks like he’s solidifying himself as the future starting small forward.