Chicago Bulls: Arron Afflalo a Great Fit, but He's Not Going to Chicago

The Chicago Bulls are in the market for a quality starting shooting guard who can help lift the team to a title this season.

With the 4.4 points per game scorer Keith Bogans starting at the position last year, the Bulls finished with the league's best record (62-20) and made it all the way to the Eastern Conference finals. 

So just imagine what the team could accomplish by adding a free-agent guard like Jason Richardson, Tracy McGrady or Jamal Crawford to the roster.

Out of all the shooting guard options out there, restricted free-agent Arron Afflalo is perhaps the best fit for Chicago. 

The former UCLA star, who has spent the past two seasons with the Denver Nuggets, would take some of the scoring pressure off reigning MVP Derrick Rose and provide the Bulls with another long-range shooting threat. 

Last season, Afflalo averaged a career-high 12.6 ppg and shot .498 from the field as well as .423 from beyond the three-point arc, eighth-best in the league. He hasn't exactly proven that he can create his own shot, but he would undoubtedly be an upgrade over Bogans.

He's obviously a solid offensive player, but what makes him so great for the Bulls is his lockdown defense, which is what Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau is all about.

An abundance of Bulls fans want Afflalo to land in Chicago, but let's be realistic, there's a significantly small chance that he leaves Denver. He's a restricted free agent, meaning the Nuggets can match any offer he receives.  

With three guys from last season's roster stuck in China—J.R. Smith, Wilson Chandler and Kenyon Martin—and the strong possibility of Nene leaving via free agency, the Nuggets will more than likely resign Afflalo since the team doesn't have many players left.     

The only way Afflalo won't be sporting a Nuggets jersey this season is if a team with cap space offers the 26-year-old an amount of cash that would just be foolish to match.   

Chicago could dangle players such as Taj Gibson, Omer Asik, Ronnie Brewer as well as future draft picks in a sign-and-trade deal to acquire Afflalo, but it's doubtful the Nuggets would have much interest.

Defense wins championships, so with that said, Denver will surely want to retain one of the league's top perimeter defenders in Afflalo, and plus, they need a second scorer to Danilo Gallinari.

Sometime after free agency officially begins next Friday, the Bulls will land a new 2-guard to play alongside Rose in the backcourt. That player could end up being Richardson, McGrady, Crawford or even Monta Ellis, but unfortunately, it won't be Mr. Afflalo.