Chicago Bulls and 5 Teams That Must Make Sign and Trade Deals

It's sign-and-trade season in the NBA, that special time of year when teams fear for the loss of their restricted free agents and, rather than shower them with Benjamins, opt to squeeze their new suitors for players and draft picks.

You know, just like the Orlando Magic did when they flipped Ryan Anderson to the New Orleans Hornets for Gustavo Ayon.

Or, you might identify sign-and-trade season as that part of the summer when capped-out teams move swiftly and (in some cases) surreptitiously to secure reinforcements, as the Los Angeles Lakers did when they used a slew of draft picks to convince the rival Phoenix Suns to send Steve Nash further west.

Whatever your preferred sign-and-trade scenario may be, there's no denying how nifty a maneuver it is, particularly for teams hoping to screw one another over for valuable assets. If these five teams are smart, they'll do what the Magic and the Lakers did to get the most bang for their respective bucks.

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Chicago Bulls

The Chicago Bulls are currently stuck between a rock and a hard place.

According to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune, the Bulls have reportedly brought Kirk Hinrich back to the Windy City as cover for the injured Derrick Rose but could still use some scoring on the wing. Trouble is, the Bulls are already well over the cap and could wind up with a payroll past the luxury-tax threshold if they decide to match the Houston Rockets' three-year, $24.2 million offer sheet for Omer Asik.

Meanwhile, the Rockets recently rescinded their qualifying offer to shooting guard Courtney Lee, though they could still stand to include him in a...

Wait a minute. Why don't the Bulls and the Rockets work out some sort of double sign-and-trade? Chicago could send Asik to Houston and get Lee in return.

Granted, this is all assuming that Lee doesn't sign with some other team first and that Chicago decides that Asik isn't worth keeping at his presumed price. But if those two dominos don't fall, the Bulls would be wise to enlist the Rockets help in picking up a solid swingman with a sweet shooting stroke. 

Indiana Pacers

Like their Central Division rivals in Chicago, the Indiana Pacers appear to have been priced out of keeping their young center by some "meddling kids" in the Western Conference.

Except, in Indy's case, the player in question (Roy Hibbert) is much better and, as such, the money ($58 million) much more substantial than what Chicago felt compelled to offer Asik.

The same reason, as it seems, that the Pacers hardly put up a fight in pursuit of hometown hero and restricted free agent Eric Gordon.

In any case, if the Pacers are going to part with their All-Star center, they might as well try to extort the Blazers for a draft pick or two, at the very least. Otherwise, Indy would be stupid and incompetent for grooming a 7'2" star and letting him go...rather than just stupid or incompetent for doing so. 

Portland Trail Blazers

As it happens, the Portland Trail Blazers have their hands in more than one cookie jar, as far as potential sign-and-trades are concerned.

New GM Neil Olshey is simultaneously trying to pry Hibbert from Indiana and keep Nicolas Batum from bolting for beaucoup bucks with the Minnesota Timberwolves. According to Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com, Batum and his agent are attempting to convince the Blazers to work out a deal that would send the Frenchman to the Twin Cities.

It's still possible that PDX will refuse Batum's request, even though matching the T-Wolves offer (four years, $45 million) would be a massive drain on the Blazers' financial flexibility.

But, if the Blazers are smart, they'll let the T-Wolves (with whom they share the Northwest Division) choke off their cap space with Batum's contract and request draft considerations and, perhaps, a young player or two in return.

Brooklyn Nets

The Brooklyn Nets can't hope to land Dwight Howard in time for a move into the brand spankin' new Barclays Center next season without making diligent use of the sign-and-trade.

According to Ken Berger of CBS Sports, the Nets plan to include Brook Lopez and Kris Humphries (both free agents) in any deal for the Orlando Magic superstar.

The tricky part, though, figures to be finding a third team willing to take Humphries and give up attractive assets (i.e., draft picks) in return.

ESPN reports the Cleveland Cavaliers have been discussed as a possible facilitator, though there's no compelling reason for them to sacrifice their fleet of future first-round picks to acquire a player whom they could just as easily sign on their own.

Whatever the final details of the deal may be, expect the Nets to do plenty of signing and trading to clear the way for Superman.

Assuming they're able to pull it off at all.

New York Knicks

Interestingly enough, the Nets and the New York Knicks are at the forefront of the race to land the services of free-agent big man Marcus Camby, per Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

Both teams would likely need to lure the Houston Rockets into pulling off a sign-and-trade for the 38-year-old shot-swatting specialist. The Knicks, for their part, have some options at their disposal, since they've yet to officially exercise their $3 million mini mid-level exception.

But if the Knicks are to bring Camby back to Madison Square Garden and secure Jason Kidd's signature, they'll need to work out a sign-and-trade for one of them. The Knicks have already agreed to a three-year, $9 million contract with Kidd, and Camby is seeking a salary in that same $3 million range.

Only one of those two can fit into New York's exception.

As such, unless the Knicks want their second unit to resemble something out of NBA Jam 1999, they'll have to get creative with their roster moves.