What Should Chicago Bulls Do Next After the 2015 NBA Draft?
The Chicago Bulls drafted Arkansas power forward Bobby Portis in the 2015 NBA draft. What does that mean for the rest of the Bulls and how the front office of Gar Forman and John Paxson approach the duration of the offseason?
To get a handle on that, we'll have to look at what kind of player the Bulls drafted, what they have, what they need and what can get based on their present cap situation.
Who Is Bobby Portis?
Going in, Portis was not the pick the Bulls were planning to snare, as the Chicago Tribune’s K.J. Johnson pointed out:
And, 24 minutes later, he tweeted this:
According to DraftExpress, Portis is a 6’11”, 246-pound power forward and the No. 17-ranked player in the draft. From their scouting report, written by Josh Riddell:
"Portis is a great jump shooter for a big man and has range to the mid-range and beyond. He shot 41.2% on all jump shots according to Synergy Sports Technology which includes 43.5% on jump shot (sic) measured from 17 feet to the three-point line. He has an unconventional release and follow through but he is consistent with it and it seems to work for him. He hasn't yet looked to extend his shot out to the three point, as he took just 1.0 three's per 40 minutes pace adjusted. He was effective in that small sample connecting on 46.7% of such attempts and increasing his range would make him a more dangerous, versatile offensive player.
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And on the other end?
"Defensively, Portis is constantly active and has the potential to guard either interior or perimeter players. He can leverage his size and strength to slow down big men in the paint and showed the ability to move his feet well enough to stay in front of guards on the perimeter when Arkansas switched on the pick and roll. With the intensity he brings to the court combined with his physical tools, he could help a team in multiple ways defensively and has the potential to be a nice asset for a(n) NBA team on this end of the floor.
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Will Anyone Go?
Ultimately, the Bulls took Portis because he was too good to pass on, but now they have a stacked frontcourt, with Joakim Noah, Pau Gasol, Taj Gibson and Nikola Mirotic already vying for time.
Their need at backup point guard remains, so the logical thing to assume is that someone will be moved.
Joe Kotoch reported for Sheridan Hoops on May 30 that Noah and Gibson were being shopped before the draft.
Who makes the most sense, though?
Mirotic, with his three-point range and ability to drive to the rim, is the perfect 4 for the brand of basketball that new Bulls coach, Fred Hoiberg, is bringing to the Windy City—something I like to call “Hoiball.”
Noah’s career seemed to fall off a cliff last year, as he went from first-team All-NBA to downright disappointing after having knee surgery in the offseason. Last summer, the Bulls could have gotten a nice return on Noah.
This year? Not so much. The question is: Can he get back to his former level with fewer minutes?
Gibson has a very reasonable contract and could start for a lot of teams, but his ankle surgery could give potential trading partners cause for hesitation before committing any real assets to him.
Gasol is coming off an All-NBA Second Team selection, and his $7.4 million contract is very reasonable. However, his defensive struggles were noticed by more than just former coach Tom Thibodeau and Bulls fans. And he is the Bulls' second-best center right now. If the Bulls are going to keep Noah from losing a leg before this season ends, they’ll need to scale his minutes back.
It might be that the optimal solution is to start Mirotic and Noah with Portis and Gasol coming off the bench.
The ideal next step is to test the market on all three and see who can bring back the best return. Forman and Paxson may have their weaknesses, but being thorough in their homework has never been one of them.
If they make a deal, it will be the best one available. The bigger concern is that they will overvalue what they have and not make a trade at all.
Who Should They Trade for?
The primary need now is a true backup point guard and a little bit of cap relief. The issue isn’t just the tax. In fact, Johnson reported that the Bulls are fully embracing the idea of paying the tax this year:
The tax threshold this year is $81.7 million, according to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress:
The “apron” is $4 million above that—$85.7 million. Teams over that limit have limited options available to them. For example, they lose their biannual exception (BAE) and only have access to a smaller “taxpayers” version of the mid-level exception (MLE), which would only let them spend $3.376 million instead of $5.464 million.
Also, if the Bulls do a sign-and-trade, they will have to stay under the apron.
And right now, if they were to sign Jimmy Butler to a max deal and keep Mike Dunleavy, they would be over the apron, as noted by Kevin Anderson of CSN Chicago:
The Bulls have two primary needs: another wing and a backup point guard.
Based on Johnson's tweet, the Bulls look like they plan on keeping Dunleavy. Jimmy Butler is an All-Star, and there’s just frankly no scenario where they'll let him walk.
Tony Snell developed last year. Doug McDermott is just flatly more suited to play Hoiball than Thibsball and should show massive improvement next season.
That means they just need one more to flesh out the roster. So the Bulls should try to get a quality backup point guard who can play both sides of the ball and facilitate, which is how Hoiberg likes to use his point guards.
Without going into specific scenarios, players available could include but are not limited to: Evan Fournier (Orlando Magic), Jamal Crawford (Los Angeles Clippers), Avery Bradley (Boston Celtics) and Moe Harkless (Orlando Magic).
Trading Gibson for Bradley straight up would work. It would give the Bulls a combo guard who can defend and run the offense if Rose needs to sit a few games, since the Bulls will try to protect his health. As a long-term solution, they'd still need another backup point guard, but Bradley would fill both needs to a degree.
Swapping Gibson for Fournier and Harkless would work for both teams. It would save the Bulls $5 million and put them into a safety zone to use their MLE and their BAE. Fournier’s a fantastic three-point shooter who would be a perfect fit for Hoiball.
It would make a lot of sense for Orlando because they don’t have a defensive presence in their frontcourt, and Gibson would fit in alongside Nikola Vucevic quite nicely.
There are enough players available that the Bulls should be able to turn their extra frontcourt depth into overall depth and find players who are better fits for the new offensive system they’re planning to run.
The Bulls have had an outstanding offseason so far, and with the potential to make trades and/or add players by using exceptions, the rest of the offseason could be exciting too.
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