Chicago Bulls: 3 steps to solve their frontcourt logjam

Step 2: Who gets to start at center?

After theoretically trading Lopez, the Chicago Bulls would receive back 26.4 minutes a night. They could start Carter, who dominated NBA Summer League.

How could they not start a man who, courtesy of NBA.com, hit 42.9 percent of his triples, 55.1 percent of his field goals and snatched shots out of mid-air with two hands? See it with your own eyes.

Carter is a special talent, and a gambling man may even bet that he will be better than his Duke counterpart, Marvin Bagley III. The Summer League numbers are more than promising, but Carter has also displayed the work ethic to deserve the starting nod.

Jonathan Givony of ESPN noticed as well.

Head coach Fred Hoiberg could intervene on this hypothetical plan. His tenure with the Bulls has been somewhat tumultuous. If Hoiberg feels the pressure to compete for an Eastern Conference playoff spot, he may opt to start the more experienced Portis. Yet, Carter’s paint protection is too good of a fit next to Markkanen. At some point, expect Carter to be the Bulls’ starting center.

Even if this problem seems to be solved, there are more to fix. Parker seems destined to be a power forward, but Markkanen and Portis play that position as well. How do the Bulls divide these minutes for peak effectiveness? The answer may lie in Hoiberg’s ability to stagger minutes and get innovative with a few yet to be mentioned players.