NBA Trade Rumors: 5 trades Chicago Bulls need to make
By Tom West
A multi-player Detroit Pistons deal
This potential trade can not only give the Bulls a talented young wing player, but it can include a three-point shooting power forward to partly make up for the offensive loss of Gasol. So, for the final trade here that’s harder to pull off, let’s get creative.
In exchange for a package of Gasol and Doug McDermott, the Pistons can send Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Ersan Ilyasova to Chicago.
Of course, Caldwell-Pope comes in as a typical shooting guard next to Jimmy Butler. Yet, if the Bulls can make it work, with the former at the two and the latter at the three, they have a top perimeter duo. If not, they can use Caldwell-Pope as a sixth man type player off the bench.
Besides his great ability and diversity to cover most guards, Caldwell-Pope has continued to tweak his offensive game and improve his efficiency. He isn’t the most consistent three-point shooter (32.6 percent with 1.7 makes per game), but he does have the ability to create his own shot and go off at times. His 42.6 percent shooting from 10-16 feet and athletic 65.4 percent finishing within three feet is also a bonus.
Plus, now that Derrick Rose is way past 2010-11 MVP level and his physical prime, Caldwell-Pope gives the Bulls another high intensity defensive wing player who is capable of guarding quick point guards as well as twos or threes. In addition to his other attributes, this allows him to take some defensive pressure off Rose.
As for Ilysova, he’s a typical power forward who just shoot threes and does little else. He’s shooting 37.2 percent from deep this season and can at least get by defensively. Like McDermott, whose shooting will entice the Pistons, Ilysova is the secondary piece of this trade.
The problem is will the Pistons want Gasol? As a player, he’s an upgrade over Ilysova thanks to his stellar passing and post-up skills, not to mention his mid-range game, which can really help the team’s 18th ranked offense. If he doesn’t re-sign this summer, though, that impact is lost. He may well want to leave in free agency to play for a contender, although he could help the Pistons make a real playoff push (especially if they make some notable additions in free agency) as they’re already at the sixth seed now.
Plus, as is always the case with Gasol, his option to walk this summer means the loss of his $7.4 million contract and the removal of Ilyasova’s $8.4 million salary for 2016-17 sets the Pistons up nicely for free agency.
Yes, this won’t be easy to complete, but it’s an eye-catching idea for the Bulls to give them a top perimeter duo going forward.