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NBA: 5 Teams That Should Trade For Derrick Rose

By Gerald Bourguet

Jan 31, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose (1) runs on the court during the second quarter against the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 31, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose (1) runs on the court during the second quarter against the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nov 9, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose (1) passes off between Philadelphia 76ers guard T.J. McConnell (12) and forward Jerami Grant (39) during the second half at Wells Fargo Center. The Bulls won 111-88. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

3. Philadelphia 76ers

This deal would come with substantial risk for both teams, so even if the Bulls were looking to deal Derrick Rose at the trade deadline, this move would be highly unlikely to go down. But for the sake of being thorough (and with nothing but time to kill before the deadline anyway), this would be an intriguing move for both sides.

For the Philadelphia 76ers, they’d be giving up on a player who was compared to Hakeem Olajuwon heading into the 2014 NBA Draft, a player with unlimited potential — if he could just get healthy. Unfortunately, Joel Embiid has yet to play an NBA game through the first season and a half of his career, and his health and work ethic with his rehab have both come into question along the way.

The Sixers already have rookie Jahlil Okafor and second-year big Nerlens Noel in the frontcourt, so at some point, one of those three will have to go. If Philly has doubts about Embiid’s ability and/or dedication to get back on the court, trading him is one avenue they could pursue for a more immediate upgrade.

Ish Smith‘s career has been a joy to watch, but he’s not the long-term solution in the starting spot. Bringing in a star like Rose would reaffirm Jerry Colangelo’s commitment to making this team competitive sooner rather than later, and it’d come at the cost of a 32-year-old who’s playing 11.6 minutes per game and a young center who may never enjoy the prosperous career he was expected to have.

With Pau Gasol hitting free agency this summer and Joakim Noah’s future in Chicago completely up in the air, taking a chance on Embiid becoming the next Olajuwon might be a preferable option to letting the team’s relationship with Derrick Rose end in ugly free agency negotiations next summer. Carl Landry wouldn’t serve much of a purpose, but if the 21-year-old Embiid could get healthy, this deal would wind up being a home run.

However, Embiid has the most upside in Philly’s frontcourt trio, and since his trade value is hard to place given the fact that he hasn’t played a game yet, it’s highly unlikely anyone will be willing to give up tangible assets for an unproven product.

We should also note that Noel and Okafor have shown zero signs of chemistry; Noel can’t spread the floor at the 4-spot, and Okafor has noticeable flaws on the defensive end no matter what position he plays. Lineups featuring Okafor and Noel have an atrocious net rating of -19.3, the third worst mark of Philly’s most frequently used two-man lineups.

Furthermore, Mike Narducci of The Philadelphia Inquirer speculates that the Sixers would be unlikely to even take trade calls for Embiid before this year’s deadline until they know what they’ve got on their hands. Dealing Rose for Embiid would be a home run for Chicago if he panned out, but the Bulls would never take such a risky course of action for their former franchise player.

Next: No. 2

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