NBA Rumors: Latest Trade Buzz on Nikola Mirotic and Robin Lopez

These are tough times for the Chicago Bulls.

The team sits in second-to-last place in the Eastern Conference at a woeful 6-20. Thus, it comes as no surprise that Chicago is surfacing in recent NBA trade rumors as it looks to continue the rebuild started with the Jimmy Butler deal last offseason. Recent names to pop up are obviously not of the same caliber as Butler, but they could still net a solid return for a franchise desperately seeking a promising foundation.

Let us delve into the latest buzz surrounding the Bulls, and how it might affect the team moving forward.

Star Forward on the Move?

After drafting a key building block for the organization in Lauri Markkanen, the Bulls created a logjam of sorts at forward.

Markkanen, Bobby Portis and Paul Zipser represented the talented group of young forwards who the team could build around. It now seems Chicago is going that route, which could leave Nikola Mirotic as the outlier.

Per K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune, an executive from the Eastern and Western Conferences indicated that the Bulls have gauged Mirotic's value on the trade market. As the season moves closer to the Feb. 8 trade deadline, it seems Mirotic's value could increase as a rental who could become a contributor further down the line with his contract containing a club option for next season.

Mirotic recently returned to the club and has only appeared in three games this season due to injuries from a practice fight with Portis in October, but he's been excellent so far. He is averaging 16.3 points per game on 54.8 percent shooting. In his first start of the season on Monday, he went off for 24 points and eight rebounds on just 14 shots. He was especially great in the first half, where he started off hot with 13 points in the opening quarter using an array of shots, per the Bulls' Twitter account:

In three full seasons, Mirotic has never averaged more than 25 minutes, but that is fine for his trade value. Games like Monday show just how effective he can be in short spurts, which makes him an ideal bench player for a contending team. Despite those limited minutes, Mirotic has still averaged at least 10 points with roughly five boards per night.

The Bulls obviously would like to acquire a high draft pick for Mirotic, but only contending teams would make sense for a player who does not play huge minutes and only has a year-and-a-half, at most, left on his deal. That is why the Boston Celtics and Houston Rockets are both logical as possible trade partners.

Both teams like to play small, which is a nice fit for a mobile forward like Mirotic who can play on the perimeter. The Celtics lack any real forward depth behind Al Horford and Marcus Morris, and Mirotic would solidify that group and ensure they have a legit scoring option up front at all times. 

The Rockets like to play Ryan Anderson at the 4 spot or Trevor Ariza if they go small. However, Mirotic adds a physical element the team is missing and could add a spark off of the bench in that aspect along with his scoring touch.

Bulls Gauging Another Veteran

Mirotic is not the only veteran up front that the Bulls could be trading to get younger.

Johnson also reported, citing the same sources, that Chicago has made preliminary inquiries regarding Robin Lopez's trade value. However, while it seems Lopez would not garner more than a second-round pick by himself since he likely would not earn huge minutes with a contender, he and Mirotic in a package could net a nice return.

Lopez, 29, has seen an uptick in production the last few seasons, albeit playing for largely bad teams. After not topping nine points or five boards per game his first four seasons, Lopez is averaging well over 10 points per night the last six years to go with roughly six rebounds per game.

With 26 starts this season, he is putting up a career-high 13.2 points per game, and he has added some range to his game. After not making a three his entire career, Lopez has hit two this season, and his seven attempts from deep are already a career-best.

Mobility has always been a deficiency for Lopez, which hurts his value in today's NBA since he can be exposed on the perimeter against some of the better, more athletic teams in the league. Teams looking to add Lopez would have to be overlook this, plus his contract since Lopez is signed through next season, when he will make just over $14 million.

These factors likely make his value a second-round pick on the trade market, but again, the Celtics could be a bidder for a package deal with Lopez and Mirotic.

Boston has four first-round picks in the next two drafts outside of its own, which could be enough to entice a deal with Chicago. Lopez is an upgrade over Aron Baynes at center, which further enhances the overall strength of the Celtics lineup as they look to knock off the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference. 

Unloading Lopez and Mirotic is the smart play for a rebuilding team, so expect deals to be completed for them in the next couple of months.

Statistics are courtesy of ESPN.com. Contract information is via Spotrac.