The Chicago Bulls are expected to become one of the biggest players on the free agency and trade market this offseason as they try to lure big names to improve their title chances next season.
Previous reports indicated that the Bulls will make a strong push to sign Carmelo Anthony this summer, but the New York Knicks forward may not be the only big-name player that Chicago will look to acquire this offseason.
Bulls beat writer Sam Smith also opened up the idea about trading for Kevin Love, who is expected to be shopped by the Minnesota Timberwolves after declaring that he intends to become a free agent after next season.
"Say they did gut their roster except for Noah and Rose to get Love," Smith wrote. "Then they could use amnesty and make a case to Anthony to join Rose, Noah and Love. That certainly could be a winning combination even though you only add minimum players after that."
However, the idea looks farfetched, considering the fact that doing so will likely mean that Anthony will have to agree to get a huge pay cut to join the Bulls.
"Anthony would have to give up about $65 million to leave New York and sign with the Bulls," Smith wrote. "Really, no one is going to do that. No winning would be worth that, especially as it would be hardly guaranteed with a four-player roster."
If the Bulls really want a realistic shot at acquiring both Love and Anthony, they will have to part ways with All-Star center Joakim Noah, along with their young assets like Taj Gibson and Jimmy Butler.
"Would you trade Joakim Noah for Love? With no center and Love's modest defensive reputation, that would seem a huge mistake. There's no indication the Bulls would even consider something like that. And Minnesota has two centers already," Smith wrote.
The Bulls also have draft picks that they can use in trades along with the rights to promising prospect Nikola Mirotic, but Smith admitted that it will be hard for the Bulls to get high value from these assets.
"The problem the Bulls would have is all their "assets," the draft picks and the rights to Nikola Mirotic, don't have a monetary value until they are signed," Smith added.
