Should the Chicago Bulls trade Bobby Portis?
The Chicago Bulls are mired in another miserable season, should the front office look to move forward Bobby Portis before the February trade deadline?
For a team with as poor a record as the Chicago Bulls, it certainly has been an entertaining season. It’s not often that a team that lost 24 of its first 31 games to start a season can claim as many headlines as this squad.
It’s quite remarkable, really, that Chicago has already weathered the Fred Hoiberg firing, survived an attempted mutiny a mere week into the tenure of Hoiberg’s replacement, Jim Boylen, and is now presumably close to jettisoning Jabari Parker only months after bringing him back to the Windy City in an ill-fated signing.
The reality is, this team just isn’t very good and might actually be worse than anticipated, even if fully healthy. As the third-youngest team at the start of the season, the Bulls are still building chemistry and apparently need better conditioning, three months after training camp. Who really should be considered as part of their “core”? Lauri Markkanen, Wendell Carter Jr. and Zach LaVine are all considered franchise building blocks.
Outside of this core, is there really any player that can be considered a long-term solution? Is Kris Dunn the point guard of the future? Is Chandler Hutchison a long-term project? Should Bobby Portis be part of their future? Could the Bulls improve their roster by moving him?
In his fourth season out of Arkansas, Portis is a nice, young, athletic big who understandably is admired by the front office. He’s also approaching restricted free agency after failing to sign an extension in the offseason and might have admirers outside of the United Center willing to pay the 23-year-old more than what the Bulls are willing to spend.
The case for keeping Portis
What the Chicago Bulls need most, (besides a rebuilt front office, a legitimate NBA head coach and an athletic scoring wing), is more talented players. Trading away Portis, in his fourth year and still playing on his rookie contract, could result in a lackluster return. Considering John Paxson and Gar Forman traded Taj Gibson and Doug McDermott for Cameron Payne, any Bulls fan would have to be skeptical of their ability to score a decent trade.
Portis won’t be a star in this league, but he’s still young, plays with energy, can score in the post and has range. He’s the perfect complement to Markkanen and Carter in that he can back up both players without the team suffering too much in their absence and is comfortable in the sixth man role. He cares deeply about being a Chicago Bull, which would make Boylen most proud, probably.
With Portis, the Bulls have a known entity and can set about their business focusing on other needs. The roster lacks a true veteran voice in the backcourt — preferably at point guard — who can take charge in key situations (wouldn’t it be nice to have a Rajon Rondo around these days?).
Justin Holiday, who should be moved by the deadline, isn’t the dynamic wing scorer and defender necessary for this team to be a playoff contender. He may never be an All-Star, but Portis will give the team consistency and won’t shrink for the big moment.
The case for trading Bobby Portis
For a team that is 7-24 and going nowhere fast, it’s difficult to imagine giving a player who really isn’t part of their core group a big payday. The front office will have to decide if it’s worth cutting into their precious cap space for Portis, who will likely ask for a deal in the four-year, $40-$60 million range.
It wouldn’t break the bank by today’s NBA standards and the Bulls will have cap space, but it’s not an insignificant deal for a player who rarely starts and likely won’t finish many games as Markkanen and Carter mature. Besides, they haven’t won much with Portis, so why pay him that type of money to essentially be a role player?
For reference, the Indiana Pacers signed Myles Turner to a four-year $80 million extension after averaging 12.7 points and 6.4 rebounds per game last season. Portis is currently posting 10.7 points and 8.4 rebounds per contest this year while still rounding back into shape after a knee injury.
For analytical stat fans, Portis’ career Player Efficieny Rating is 16.6, the same as Turner’s last season. The Bulls’ big man is grabbing 30.8 percent of available rebounds this season when he’s on the floor to Turner’s 13.3 percent. Lastly, Portis’ usage rate is currently at 22.1 percent to Turner’s 21 percent. The point isn’t to diminish Myles Turner, but rather to show that Portis has a comparable model to use in free agency, and it might lead to the young big playing elsewhere next season.
Should the Bulls hang onto Portis and squander opportunities to get a top pick? The way they are playing lately, it’s probably doubtful that anyone on their roster will make this team a threat to actually win games consistently. While Paxson probably hates the notion of tanking for another season, trading Portis for future assets might be the best short- and long-term scenario.
What’s most apparent about the Chicago Bulls is they’re not only lottery bound, they’re trending towards No. 1 overall territory. This disastrous season might actually produce valuable results if the Bulls end up with Zion Williamson, Cameron Reddish or R.J. Barrett.
What actually happens
As stated earlier, it’s tough to have any confidence in this regime’s ability to win a trade, simply because it rarely happens. We aren’t talking about Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer here, we’re talking about GarPax. With that being said, trying to find a scenario that makes sense for the Bulls to keep Bobby Portis in the midst of a disastrous season is difficult.
Trading the former first round pick for future assets, or maybe a veteran mentor for Kris Dunn and/or a young wing with upside could be the best possible outcome for the Bulls. Simply signing Portis to a long-term deal without exploring outside opportunities would be silly.
This roster isn’t good enough to pay a backup the type of deal Portis is likely to be looking for. It’s not that Portis doesn’t deserve the contract he’s seeking, because he probably does, but with Markkanen and Carter entrenched in the frontcourt, Portis won’t be moving into the starting lineup any time soon.
The Chicago Bulls will probably be moving Parker soon, with Holiday and Robin Lopez potentially following. Bobby Portis might actually yield the biggest return and if the front office is smart, pursuing a deal for him might be in everyone’s best interest.