On Day 1 of NBA free agency, the Chicago Bulls made the splash most fans were wanting to see, bringing in point guard Lonzo Ball. In addition to Ball, the Bulls also signed former Los Angeles Lakers guard Alex Caruso.
Following the two signings, Chicago made an incredibly underrated move in trading Daniel Theis to the Houston Rockets, in which they received a coveted trade exception back from Houston.
Now on Day 2, the Bulls are not done.
Vice President Arturas Karnisovas doesn’t seem like the type of guy to make a couple of moves on the first day and then stay quiet going forward. These are not the Bulls of years’ past. Chicago is going to continue making moves, you can bet on that.
The NBA free agent pool is anything but dried up, and the Chicago Bulls have moves left to make.
There are still plenty of names left for the Bulls, but only a few make the most sense. With their current needs, Chicago should look at adding a starting-caliber small forward and another big man. One of these few could make a lot of sense.
DeMar DeRozan
The biggest target still available for the Bulls is San Antonio Spurs small forward DeMar DeRozan. The four-time All Star is still only 31 years old and has plenty of basketball left in him, despite how it might feel.
Last year, DeRozan put up a career-high 6.9 assists while also scoring over 21 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. Because the Spurs were mostly a forgettable team, people slept on DeRozan. Make no mistake — he is still a player who can ball at a high level.
The Bulls would be able to sign-and-trade for DeRozan with the exception they secure in the Daniel Theis deal on Day 1 of free agency, making this the most coveted move left for Bulls fans.
Kelly Oubre Jr.
On the unrestricted market, Kelly Oubre Jr. is likely to get a pretty decent contract. There have been several rumored suitors for Oubre, but some of them may not be able to work out the right money with moves already being made. Oubre would be another candidate for the Bulls to execute the oh-so-popular sign-and-trade with, considering they likely couldn’t sign him outright at this point.
Talen Horton-Tucker
One of the more intriguing players left is Talen Horton-Tucker, a wing who can do a lot of things very well. The one weakness in his game is from beyond the arc, but he is a good defender and puts in a ton of effort all over the floor. It may be tough to project Horton-Tucker to the Bulls, though, considering they likely want a bigger wing at this point.
The former Iowa State standout is a restricted free agent, so the Lakers can match any offer he receives. However, their money is all but dried up at this point.
Andre Drummond
Let’s get real, here. The Lakers can’t bring back everybody, right? It seemed as though every other player rumor popping up yesterday had the Lakers connected in some way. But, the Lakers won’t be able to sign every single player rumored to be on their radar.
While Drummond makes some sense for a team like L.A. trying to win it all, he would also provide the Bulls with an excellent bench big. If he was willing to accept the right money, Drummond would be a solid get.
