6. Chicago Bulls
If there’s really nothing to all the trade rumors and the Chicago Bulls aren’t going to move Jimmy Butler, they need to start putting a team around their 27-year-old franchise player. Why not fix the point guard position that’s been so problematic, especially if they can get rid of Rajon Rondo in the process?
The Suns would have no interest in Rondo, a disgruntled player who’s no longer useful on the court and has a long track record of disrupting locker room chemistry off of it. But his salary is non-guaranteed for 2017-18, and Phoenix could simply cut him right away if it had no use for him.
The real point of this deal would be snagging a young player — someone like shooting guard Denzel Valentine or power forward Bobby Portis — and a future first round draft pick.
If the Bulls set their sights on Valentine, they’d be hoping the 23-year-old develops his Swiss Army knife potential within the Suns’ youth movement, since his 3.3 points in 11.9 minutes per game so far leave a lot to be desired.
Despite his paltry .320/.313/.875 shooting splits though, Valentine has had his brief flashes of brilliance when he’s actually earned minutes. He’s still only a rookie and would provide the Suns with a Devin Booker backup at the 2.
If that’s not the piece Phoenix wants, they could ask for second-year stretch-4 Bobby Portis, a player the front office liked heading into the 2015 NBA Draft.
Portis has seen his minutes and production tail off in his second season under Fred Hoiberg, but he averaged a steady 7.0 points and 5.4 rebounds in 17.8 minutes per game as a rookie, and he’s still shooting 38.5 percent from three-point range this year.
That’s been on a limited number of attempts, but Portis is only 21 and could be a form of long-term insurance for the Suns at the 4 in case Marquese Chriss or Dragan Bender never pan out.
However, a young player and future first-rounder might be more than the Bulls are willing to give up, even if they got Rondo off the roster and added an upgrade over Michael Carter-Williams and Jerian Grant at the point.