Chicago Bulls NBA free agency grades: Daniel Theis sign-and-trade
Next, the Chicago Bulls signed Daniel Theis, using their Bird rights, to a four-year, $36 million contract.
They then promptly traded him to the Houston Rockets. This worked as a result of the Rockets using their trade exception they picked up from the deal that sent Victor Oladipo from the Rockets to the Miami Heat.
Technically, the Bulls did not get anything back in this trade besides cash, however, when getting into the technicalities of the deal, they greatly benefitted from doing this. They now have a trade exception of their own that is equal to the amount of Theis’ first-year salary of his new contract. Which is expected to be around $10 million.
For the Rockets, they acquired Theis without being forced to use their mid-level exception.
Although Theis was a great player for the Bulls last season, he would not have seen too many minutes in this new rotation. Also, with the moves the Bulls were planning on making later in the day, they had no chance of being able to afford the contract that the Rockets were willing to give Theis.
Essentially, they capitalized on the opportunity at hand and got something in for Theis rather than letting him simply walk and sign to the Rockets for nothing in return.
While this is not the most exciting move, this trade exception could end up making a huge difference for the Bulls and they had to give up nothing to make it happen.