On Tuesday, the Chicago Bulls decided to shake things up by sending big man Nikola Vucevic and a second round pick to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Anfernee Simons and a second round pick. The deal was the second move of the day for Chicago, as they also participated in a three-team deal that sent Kevin Huerter to the Detroit Pistons and brought both Jaden Ivey and Mike Conley Jr. to the Bulls.
Now, more is coming to light on other options the Bulls explored on the Vucevic front before settling on the Celtics deal.
“League sources tell The Stein Line that the Bulls first offered Vučević and a future first-round pick to the Cavaliers for Jarrett Allen, but the offer was turned down. The Bulls then pivoted to the Celtics and the Vučević-for-Anfernee Simons swap … with Boston throwing in a second-round pick,” reported NBA insider Jake Fischer on Marc Stein's Substack.
The deal with the Cavaliers might have made a bit more sense, considering that Chicago is now loaded with backcourt players and will seemingly make another deal in order to balance out their roster.
However, fans might not have been thrilled about the idea of having to give up a future first-round pick in order to get off of Vucevic's contract.
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Fischer also reported on what the Bulls might do now that they have a logjam of players in the backcourt.
“To say rival teams are expecting Chicago to trade both Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu is an understatement, but I'm still struggling to pinpoint a White suitor,” he reported.
Chicago still has two days to figure out what to do next, but currently, they have one of the most bizarre roster situations in the NBA.
In any case, the NBA trade deadline is set for Thursday afternoon.