NBA: Bulls Can Pick Up Something From Cavs' Jordan Clarkson Trade

KEY POINTS

Bulls could follow the lead of the Cavs in the Jordan Clarkson trade
Chicago needs to figure out if they will go deep in the NBA playoffs
Bulls could get future assets in a multi-player trade involving Dunn

The Chicago Bulls could pick up something from the recent move made by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Jordan Clarkson was traded to the Utah Jazz for Dante Exum and a pair of future second-rounders. Though they are still in the running for an NBA playoff spot (12-20), it remains that their youth movement drive is still in place.

As mentioned in a previous report, the Clarkson trade was seen more as a way to align with the Cavs rebuilding efforts. For the Bulls, it is no secret that Kris Dunn is someone that they could trade if they wanted to.

But looking at their current NBA campaign, the Bulls seemingly cannot afford to pull the trade trigger right now. They have a number of players on the injured list, forcing the hand of head coach Jim Boylen to make adjustments.

Otto Porter II and Chandler Hutchinson are out, forcing Boylen to utilize Dunn. So far, the 25-year-old guard has been rising to the challenge particularly on the defensive end. This has resulted in the Bulls owning the second-best defensive rating in the league as of this writing, NBC Sports reported.

Assuming they stay the course, the best the Bulls could get is a lower seed come NBA playoff time. This means that they will have their work cut out for them, possibly facing some powerhouse team like the Milwaukee Bucks or the Boston Celtics. Similar to the case of the Orlando Magic, Chicago needs to decide on whether to make roster changes now or wait until the summer.

Trading Dunn could return future picks and a raw but promising player. The type of package could get better if they include tradable recruits such as Thaddeus Young and/or Tomas Satoransky. Possibly sweetening the deal are future picks that would be included.

All this would depend on what the immediate goals of the Bulls are for the 2019-20 NBA season. Management is likely to evaluate the market or at least make inquiries. If there is an interesting deal on the table, a trade could be made before the Feb. 6 deadline.