Stars a New Chicago Bulls Front Office Could Target – But Would It Make Sense?

Donovan Mitchell was thrown on the trade block Friday afternoon. Fred Katz of The Athletic reported that if the organization can't get Donovan Mitchell to ink an extension this offseason, they will look into moving him. To be sure, this doesn't sound as if it's the preferred outcome by Koby Altman and the Cavs' front office. But it's likely the right business move considering the value Mitchell would have in the open market.

Once again, it's impossible to know which strategy the new Bulls' front office will take, but Mitchell may be one of the easier superstars to talk yourself into. He is 29 years old and coming off his seventh-consecutive All-Star campaign. The guard has proven to be a true winner, lifting both a young Jazz and Cavaliers team to true playoff status. Now, did he have more to work with in those destinations than he would have in Chicago? Absolutely, but the Bulls have enough flexibility to bolster the supporting cast.

At the end of the day, Mitchell would boost the Bulls' floor while simultaneously giving them someone they can build an even more formidable contender around in the years to come.

Giannis Antetokounmpo

No one is going to cost more than Giannis Antetokounmpo. In fact, it remains unclear if the Chicago Bulls would even have an attractive enough package to land the Greek Freak. Their draft capital would undoubtedly be a strong start, but one has to imagine Milwaukee would want an impact player in return as well. Does Josh Giddey or Matas Buzelis check that box? Better yet, does it really make sense to give up either while adding Antetokounmpo? You need someone to be his running mate!

Similar to Mitchell, Antetokounmpo is at least someone a new front office can add and immediately feel good about. As ugly as this last season proved to be in Milwaukee, he is still the kind of player who instantly makes a team a real player in the Eastern Conference. And that can be an intoxicating thought! How awesome would it be to take over one of the NBA's biggest markets and give their fans the best player they have had in well over a decade?

Kawhi Leonard

Wouldn't this just be the most Chicago Bulls move ever?

Losing to the Golden State Warriors and missing the playoffs, it sure feels like Kawhi Leonard's time in Los Angeles could be coming to an end. Not only did the Clippers show a willingness to shake things up by moving off James Harden this deadline, but the Aspiration scandal continues to hang over their heads. While the NBA has yet to announce a punishment, some are wondering if it could include voiding Leonard's contract altogether. Regardless, with an extension looming, this may be a natural time for the two to part ways.

On the bright side, Leonard is fresh off having one of the best seasons of his career. He shockingly stayed healthy enough to appear in 65 games and averaged 27.1 points on 50.5 percent shooting per game. If anyone had doubts that he could still perform like an All-NBA player, he put those to bed.

Joining Darth Vader on the dark side, Leonard turns 35 years old this offseason and has the most terrifying injury history in the NBA. Building around him right now would be downright foolish, even if the Bulls had a subsequent move to add a star alongside him. This would be the exact kind of short-sighted move that has plagued Chicago in the past, but that's exactly why we have to bring it up!

Ja Morant

Someone is going to take a chance on Ja Morant. Out of anyone on this list, the former No. 2 overall draft pick is going to cost the least to acquire. He has burned enough bridges in Memphis and has played enough bad basketball that simply moving off him seems to be the ultimate goal.

Morant is also still only 26 years old and could thus easily fit into a younger, rebuilding timeline. A new front office wouldn't have to add him and immediately feel the pressure to compete for a title. But does any of this mean it's a worthwhile gamble? Morant is still owed a staggering $87.0 million over the next two seasons. Even more troubling, he hasn't played 60+ games in three full seasons. In fact, in two of the past three campaigns, Morant hasn't even surpassed 20+ games.

His inability to stay healthy has become a major red flag, as has the fact that his production has declined in almost every statistical category. In his 20 games this season, Morant averaged a mere 19.5 points on 41.0 percent shooting from the field and 23.5 percent shooting from downtown.

The only way this would make any sense for a new Bulls brain trust is if they could add additional assets in return. A very smart rebuilding method is to take on bad money in exchange for meaningful draft capital, of which the Grizzlies have plenty. The added benefit here is that Morant has looked like a clear-cut superstar in the past, so the Bulls could at least attempt to rebuild his value.

Alas, the additional assets would have to be good, and I have a feeling Memphis isn't going to fork over too much. My best guess is they opt for a Trae Young-like deal, which is basically a bad-money-for-bad-money swap.

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