Trade targets: All 30 teams
Chicago Bulls
Record: 27-25
7th place in East
Status: Buyers and sellers
The Bulls find themselves at a crossroads as the trade deadline approaches. The NBA's eighth-oldest roster is built around two big men (Pau Gasol and Joakim Noah) who are likely free agents this summer.
Noah recently had season-ending shoulder surgery and another big man, Nikola Mirotic, just underwent an appendectomy, so the once-deep frontcourt has been thinned. Star guard Jimmy Butler is also out three to four weeks with a left knee strain.
Their top-paid player is Derrick Rose, whose performance is maddeningly inconsistent despite a recent scoring uptick. He has one of the worst Real Plus-Minus ratings in the league and his health remains a constant concern.
Should this team build up, tear down or stand pat? Perhaps no team currently has a less certain short-term path. Whatever moves the Bulls make, or don't make, we'll know a lot more about how the team views itself by the time the deadline dust has cleared.
Potential trade targets
Mike Conley
The plateaued Grizzlies have key expiring deals in Conley and Jeff Green. Why not see whether they'll bite on Rose? Rose spent his one college season in Memphis and would give the Grizzlies a year to see how he works with their bigs, before what might have to be a franchise reset whether or not Conley leaves. How badly do the Grizzlies want to add star power?
Chicago could trade Rose, Tony Snell and Sacramento's first-round pick for Conley and Green. Conley would be an ideal fit to team with Butler as a defense-minded, lower-usage point guard who can shoot. Green fills a hole at the 3 for Chicago, but if he doesn't work, the Bulls can walk away after the season. The pick is a sweetener, which you figure is a must to coerce Memphis into a deal.
Luol Deng
In Deng, the Bulls would be targeting one of the most respected players in recent team history. Deng has an expiring deal with Miami, so the Bulls would be straddling the fence between winning now and retaining flexibility for the summer. They could move Joakim Noah and Snell to Miami for Deng and Chris Andersen, whose contract is also expiring.
Joe Johnson
If the Bulls decide to move on from Derrick Rose, Johnson's expiring deal would be attractive. He could help for the stretch run, then the Bulls would move forward with a roster built around Jimmy Butler.
Brooklyn, desperate for a star, might be one team willing to bite on the final year of Rose's deal, in 2016-17.
Most trade value
1. Jimmy Butler
Butler is a top-20 player with the work ethic to keep getting better and is locked up contractually for the next three years. Even with his current injury, who wouldn't love to have him?
2. Pau Gasol
Gasol can, and almost certainly will, opt out after the season, which limits his trade value. Nevertheless, he's making only $7.4 million this season and as a rental player, you're not going to get more bang for your buck.
3. Bobby Portis
Portis is in the first season of his rookie contract, has a veteran's production and the versatile skill set to fit the current on-court style trends in the NBA.
4. Taj Gibson
Gibson protects the rim, guards multiple frontcourt positions and is an elite offensive rebounder when allowed to crash the glass. As a third big man, you can't do better, and he's got a team-friendly deal with one more year left after this one.
5. Derrick Rose
The primary benefit of moving Rose would be the opportunity of a reset. Maybe one of the struggling big-market teams would be willing to gamble on him, but no team would offer much in terms of upside talent. Salary relief is probably the best you can hope for.
6. Nikola Mirotic
Entering the season, Mirotic might have topped this list. A low-salaried big man with elite long-range shooting potential and the ability to get to the line? Yes! But his struggles this season have been profound enough to change the equation.
Most valuable draft pick
2016 first-rounder (to be determined)
This summer, the Bulls have their own pick plus a top-10 protected pick originating from Sacramento, acquired from Cleveland when Chicago sent Deng to the Cavs a couple of years ago. Right now that Kings pick is looking pretty good for the Bulls. But amazingly enough, there's no guarantee that it will be the Chicago-owned pick that ends up in the lottery.
It's also possible they both wind up there.
Toughest contract to trade
Joakim Noah
Despite the scenario outlined above, Noah is almost certainly off the market. He can't help now and then can pick his team this summer as a free agent. It would take some serious guts to trade for him.
Player most likely to be traded
Taj Gibson
The Bulls' likely path is the status quo. Maybe Rose continues his recent uptick, Mike Dunleavy returns and shakes off the rust, and everyone figures out Fred Hoiberg's offense. But if Chicago wants to shake things up, Gibson has a ready-made replacement in Portis.