Chicago Bulls: How Would a Team with Derrick Rose and Dwight Howard Fare?

After initially denying interest in Chicago, Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard has changed his tune, according to the Chicago Tribune.

At the moment, the Bulls would actually be one of the more attractive teams for the Magic to trade with. To get the trade done, the Bulls would have to likely have to trade Joakim Noah, their young center Omer Asik, swap the bad contracts of Carlos Boozer and Hedo Turkoglu, and match salaries with the unguaranteed contracts of C.J Watson and Kyle Korver.

There could be many different variations of the trade that could include Taj Gibson, Ronnie Brewer, Luol Deng—pretty much any player on the roster not named Derrick Rose. But for right now, let's say that we're working with a trade of Howard, Turkoglu and Chris Duhon for Noah, Boozer, Asik, Korver, Watson and the Charlotte Bobcats' 2016 first-round pick. The Bulls may have to give up more or take back worse players, but this is a general sort of groundwork for a deal at least. How would this team match up against the league?

Well, your starting lineup would consist of Rose, Richard Hamilton, Deng, Gibson and Howard, with Duhon, Ronnie Brewer, Turkoglu and two big men who need to be signed for the minimum. Let's just call them Joel Pryzbilla and Leon Powe, who are both available and who have both been discussed with the Bulls. 

When you think about the Bulls winning a title, you have to think about how they match up with the Heat. At the moment, I would take the Bulls in a playoff series against any team but the Heat. That includes the Thunder, the Lakers, the Mavericks, the Celtics, all of them. So right now all we are thinking about is how to match up with the Heat. 

The first thing you have to take into account is that the Heat have two big weaknesses around their big three: the point guard and the center position. If the Bulls traded for Howard, they would have the best point guard in the NBA and the best center in the NBA. If they have two players who are able to kill the Heat at their weakest positions, it forces Miami to adjust. 

As well, Howard and Rose are two players who can cover up each other's weaknesses.

Rose is a guy who needs a player who can take pressure off him on the offensive end. Howard is a guy who can't win you games at the end because you have to get the ball to him in the post and because he is fouled and sent to the free throw line. 

Howard is a guy who has averaged more than 18 points per game for his career on 58 percent shooting. Rose is a guy who was second in the league last year in clutch scoring, according to 82games.com, and is a known closer.

The Bulls would really be greater than the sum of their parts. They would have two superstars who complement each other, and that's huge.

However, they would also have a power forward in Taj Gibson who is one of the best defenders in the league and who is perfectly fine being a jump shooter to space the floor offensively. They also would have Luol Deng and Rip Hamilton, two players who thrive off moving without the ball. That combined with the ball-dominant nature of Derrick Rose and the possibility of distributors Hedo Turkoglu and Chris Duhon coming off the bench means Chicago will have many different ways to beat its competition. 

And here is something I don't even want to think about if I'm another team: How good would Howard be defensively if he were coached by Tom Thibodeau? Thibs has already assembled the best defense in the league with only one All-Defensive Team member and a known defensive liability in his starting lineup. What happens when Thibs gets the back-to-back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year? 

The team with Dwight Howard and Derrick Rose would fit together well, be able to come at you from many different angles, and would be able to cover their own weaknesses. If the Bulls acquired Howard, they would be the favorites to win the NBA title for the next half a decade, even with Miami in the way.