Chicago Bulls: 3 reasons trading for Otto Porter Jr. makes sense

1. The Bulls have the assets to give

Clearly, Washington would only give up Otto Porter Jr., who is only 25 years old, for multiple young players who are on rookie-scale or at least affordable contracts. The Bulls have just that.

After all, paying Porter $53 million through to 2020-21 season (with the final year being a player option) only makes sense for the Wizards if he’s your third fiddle in a scenario where you are going all in for a championship.

Now that that dream is quickly disappearing, ditching the player and more importantly his contract could have some appeal for Washington. If the Wizards are interested with a cheap, high-upside experiment, they could take Jabari Parker’s $40 million non-guaranteed contract on through next season.

But that alone wouldn’t get the deal done. Luckily for the Bulls, the process has been good to Bobby Portis (outside of a few injuries). He has developed into a really appealing two-way player with a lot of tenacity. As just 23 years old and the ability to play the center position, he could eventually become the small-ball lineup center they had wished Markieff Morris was.

In addition, the Bulls would likely have to cough up a 2020 first round pick to seal the deal. While some may scoff at the perspective, it’d certainly enough of an offer to at least start a conversation.

Otto Porter Jr.‘s contract may seem like a lot of money to take on for the Bulls, especially since he admittedly has taken a step back this hiccup of a season. However, if he proves to be a key piece of their future, it will be well worth it. If Kris Dunn or Lauri Markkanen end up earning large contracts in Chicago, it will could get pricey. But so it goes, you pay for what you get.

For the Bulls, being prudent with paying players up until now will pay off big-time in that they can afford to pay a supporting player that kind of money.

For the Wizards, they will be getting two pieces that can immediately make an impact and both are just 23 years old. Depending on what kind of pick they can sneak away with, it could become a very appealing deal for both sides.