As the Feb. 8 NBA trade deadline approaches, rumors and reports are swirling around the league. Michael Scotto of HoopsHype recently reported that four teams have trade interest in Chicago Bulls center Andre Drummond. Those four teams — the Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers, and Phoenix Suns — are considered contenders either by record or pedigree of star players on their roster.
Which team has the most attractive trade offer for Drummond? Let's answer that question by ranking each of the teams with reported interest.
Keeping things simple, I'm judging the four teams by the availability of players who are closely aligned with the timelines of Ayo Dosunmu, Coby White, and Patrick Williams. I'm also evaluating if the young players that likely would be on the other side of a Drummond trade fit a useful strategic role on the Bulls roster. Additionally, I'm factoring in the asset impact of the trade in terms of the returned player salary.
4. Dallas Mavericks
The only player currently on the Mavericks roster who's somewhat near Andre Drummond's $3.3 million salary for this season is Dereck Lively II at $4.7 million. Beyond lacking a clean salary-matching opportunity, Lively is also firmly entrenched in the Mavericks rotation, averaging 26.0 minutes per game this season. I don't see a realistic trade opportunity that's also valuable in the context of improving the Bulls roster now or in the future.
3. Los Angeles Lakers
I suppose I could live with the Bulls taking a flier on Cam Reddish for Drummond's expiring contract. Reddish isn't a shooting threat ( 33.7% from three on 2.7 attempts per game), but he's good for 1.2 steals per game this season. With this profile, I'd slot Reddish into an off-ball cutter role, which could be useful depending on Patrick Williams' health and upcoming restricted free-agency decision.
2. Phoenix Suns
The opportunity for the Bulls to acquire Drew Eubanks puts the Suns above the Mavericks and Lakers for me. The Bulls already are shallow in big-man depth, so if they were to trade Andre Drummond, it'd help to receive a serviceable big like Eubanks to replace Drummond and perhaps open the door to also replacing Nikola Vucevic next season.
1. Boston Celtics
Of all the teams Scotto mentioned, the Celtics are my top trade partner because of Oshae Brissett's upside potential when it comes to offensive rebounding (10.7% OREB rate) and perimeter defense (96th Percentile Defensive 3P FG% on-off, per Cleaning the Glass). Brissett is a 6-foot-7 forward whose $2.1 million contract expires after next season. Similar to Cam Reddish, I can see Brissett functioning offensively as an off-ball cutter while helping shore up the Bull's notorious three-point defense.
Which team do you view as the best Andre Drummond trade partner for the Bulls? Let me know at (@mobanks10) and Bulls On Tap on X!
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