NBA Trade Rumors: 5 Teams That Should Trade For Joe Johnson
4. Chicago Bulls
For the Nets, acquiring Derrick Rose would give them an overpaid player, but Rose still has the reputation of being a superstar that would make his one guaranteed year more bearable. He’d get the chance to show the world what it looks like when he’s the undisputed No. 1 option, and there have been nights this season where he’s looked like the Derrick Rose of old.
If he could be that player again in Brooklyn, the Nets would enjoy having a franchise point guard that’s not Jarrett Jack or Shane Larkin. It’s also worth noting that with the Brooklyn Nets looking into Tom Thibodeau as a replacement for Lionel Hollins as head coach, there could be a Thibs-Rose reconnection.
Like the Rockets, the Chicago Bulls are another franchise that might be thinking about moving on from a declining superstar, though they’d have more reason to do so if Derrick Rose continues his high-volume shot usage that deprives Jimmy Butler, the team’s new leader, of the looks he needs.
The Bulls need Rose to take on a different role, but his dedication to overcoming injury and regaining MVP form may have made him too stubborn to accept that this is no longer his team. With D-Rose on the books for $21.3 million next season, perhaps trading him and fully committing to the Butler era would be a more preferable option.
On the one hand, trading Derrick Rose would mark a low point for the Bulls as a franchise. Even in his current washed-up state, Rose is a beloved icon in the Windy City, and trading him just to free up salary wouldn’t sit well with a lot of fans, even if it came with the added bonus of Hollis-Jefferson or McCullough. Cameron Bairstow would be needed to make the salaries match.
For those who still believe the Bulls need Rose to win a championship, you are correct that Chicago is not a legitimate title threat without Rose playing near MVP-level again. But here’s a newsflash: that’s not happening anytime soon.
With the Bulls going 5-1 in the six games Rose has missed this season, it’s slowly starting to look like Butler is capable of carrying this team when Rose isn’t bogarting the ball with ugly step-back jumpers. If Rose is unable to cede control of this team and it creates a commotion over the next few weeks — a long shot, to be sure, but still possible with all the off-court headlines coming out to Chi-town lately — Chicago might want to think about taking this avenue.
The Bulls would need to address the point guard situation, since Aaron Brooks and E’Twaun Moore are not going to cut it for a team with championship aspirations. But there’s also the possibility that Johnson leaving such a dead end in Brooklyn would re-energize him and give him more purpose playing out the year for a team that wants to challenge the Cleveland Cavaliers in the East.
Again, this is a long shot option, but as you’ll discover when the conversation of trading for Joe Johnson comes up, almost all of them are long shots.