DeMarcus Cousins: 5 potential landing spots in 2018 free agency

5. Chicago Bulls

The Bulls Chicago are one of the least discussed landing spots for Cousins, but they’re certainly a possibility. The Bulls have a ready-made core of young talented players. Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn, Denzel Valentine, and Lauri Markkanen are good enough to lead Chicago to the playoffs in the weak Eastern Conference. Adding Cousins at center once he returns from injury could catapult the Bulls to a top-4 team in the East.

Chicago also has plenty of cap space to sign Cousins to a max contract. The highest-paid player on the roster is Robin Lopez at $14.4 million. Heading into free agency, the Bulls could have nearly $40 million in “practical cap space,” per Spotrac (though re-signing LaVine will eat into that cap space).

All four of Chicago’s core players are still playing on their rookie contracts, and are likely to remain on the roster for the next several years. It’s unlikely that Cousins returns until midway through the 2018-19 season. If Cousins does make a full recovery, and is able to return to form, it’s likely to be the 2019-20 season before that happens. The team could use next season to build upon, and gain experience for the younger players before a potential playoff run.

The addition of Cousins would make Chicago a threat in the Eastern Conference for the next 3-5 years. However, with the other options available to him, and LaVine’s restricted free agency to worry about, the likelihood of this happening is slim.