A new marquee name has popped into the rumor mill only six days from the NBA's trade deadline on February 8th. Four teams have been listed as possible destinations for this back-to-back All-Star selection, and Chicago finds themselves at the top. Currently holding the best odds to execute a trade, they stand ahead of the Suns, Raptors, and Hornets with arguably the most appealing assets in a potential deal. Who's the hot name on the market, and can Arturas Karnisovas save his job and the Bulls' future by landing this superstar?
Bam Adebayo To The Bulls
Currently meddling around .500 and holding the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference, Miami has lost seven of their last ten outings and is 1-4 since acquiring Terry Rozier from the Charlotte Hornets. Watching the Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics, and Philadelphia 76ers reload this summer, they only swung and missed on Damian Lillard and others. Now's the time for Miami to make a splash move to prevent the same uphill battle they faced a season ago.
Recently named to his third All-Star game and second consecutive, Adebayo is one of the league's premier centers and, at only 26 years old, will be a star for years to follow. Averaging over 20 points and 10 rebounds per game with over 50% shooting efficiency from the field, his presence would immediately be felt in Chicago.
Sending The Farm
Acquiring Adebayo from the Miami Heat would take a king's ransom, similar to the package that Donovan Mitchell or Rudy Gobert extracted when departing Utah. While Chicago may not have the draft capital to pull off a trade like this, several pieces on the roster can contribute heavily to a championship run. DeMar DeRozan, Alex Caruso, and Andre Drummond have been sought after for the last month to help aid a contending team on a deep postseason push.
Swapping Nikola Vucevic for Adebayo would be a requirement in any trade. Adding Caruso, DeRozan, and draft capital may be enough to persuade Miami to retool before their playoff aspirations fall short again this season. While it's unlikely that he's traded before next week's cutoff, Chicago sits in the driver's seat should they decide to pick up the phones and reevaluate their roster construction.
Can Karnisovas and company win entirely over the fanbase after several sour years of silence at the deadline and no sense of urgency over the summer?
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