Bulls: 1 trade and 1 free agent signing for Chicago to win the offseason

If the Chicago Bulls want to win the offseason, they can do so with this one trade and one free agency signing.

The Chicago Bulls have not made the NBA Playoffs since 2017, and unfortunately for them, the streak continued this season. Even though the Bulls did make a the huge trade deadline move to acquire center Nikola Vucevic from the Orlando Magic, they finished 31-41 on the season and missed out on qualifying or the Eastern Conference play-in tournament by two games.

With the fanbase growing impatient for the lack of playoff appearances, the team needs to go big this upcoming offseason if they want to clinch a berth by the end of the next campaign. The easiest way for them to do so is to make this trade and one free agency signing.

The Bulls get a point guard from the Boston Celtics not named Kemba Walker

The big news to come out of Boston is that the Celtics and point guard Kemba Walker are reportedly getting closer to a separation. It should come as no shock, considering he had an injury riddled campaign this year and has not really lived up to his four-year, $141 million contract.

Considering the Bulls need a point guard, you would thing that Walker is a good fit. However, it is the money he is owed that should be a major deterrent for Chicago’s front office. It simply would not be a wise decision to make. Yet, the Bulls can still make a move for Boston point-man, but it should be for Marcus Smart.

This season, Smart averaged a career-high 13.1 points and 5.7 assists through 48 games as Boston’s backup point guard. Additionally, Smart posted 1.5 assists per game and shot 39.8-percent from the field.

Smart is only 27-years-old and provides plenty of upside for a team interested in his services. Perhaps the best thing is that Smart only accounts for $14.3 million against the cap next season before he becomes an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2022. That gives the Bulls time to negotiate a new deal with him if they truly feel that he is the man for the job. That, or Smart could be part of a 1A-1B pairing in Chicago with a free agent (we’ll get to that next).

Besides, trading Smart would be a wise decision on Boston’s part, as they can get a much higher return for him than Walker.