The Chicago Bulls are one of the aspiring contenders that need to be active on the market in the 2021 offseason. Despite the successful acquisition of Nikola Vucevic before the 2021 trade deadline, the Bulls were still unable to end their playoff drought in the 2020-21 NBA season where they finished as the No. 11 seed in the Eastern Conference.
If they are serious about reaching the NBA Finals and winning the NBA championship title next year, the Bulls should strongly consider adding quality players that would help Vucevic and Zach LaVine carry the team.
Realistic 2021 Offseason Trade Target – Kemba Walker
In a recent article, Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report created a list of trade ideas that would get lottery teams back to the playoffs in the 2021-22 NBA season. For the Bulls, it’s the hypothetical trade idea that would send Oklahoma City Thunder Kemba Walker to Windy City this summer.Walker may have just been traded to Oklahoma City, but he’s not expected to stay long with the Thunder. With the team currently in the middle of the rebuilding process, they are expected to find a way to get rid of Walker and his massive salary in the 2021 offseason.
Proposed Trade Scenario To Acquire Kemba Walker
With his health issues and deteriorating performance, the Thunder would be in no position to demand a massive return for Walker this summer. According to Buckley, the Bulls could acquire Walker from the Thunder by sending them a trade package that includes Coby White, Tomas Satoransky, and Al-Farouq Aminu.
The proposed trade deal should be a no-brainer for the Thunder as it would allow them to replace an injury-prone veteran with a young and promising point guard in White.Satoransky and Aminu could provide a veteran presence to the Thunder’s second unit and be converted to future draft assets before the 2022 trade deadline.
Kemba Walker Gives Bulls Risky Upgrade At PG Position
Bringing Walker to Windy City would be a huge gamble for the Bulls. However, when he’s 100 percent healthy, Walker would undeniably be an incredible addition to their roster. His potential arrival in Chicago would give them a major upgrade at the starting point guard position.
Aside from being a great playmaker, he’s also a very reliable scoring option, perimeter defender, and floor-spacer. This season, the 31-year-old point guard averaged 19.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 1.1 steals while shooting 42.0 percent from the field and 36.0 percent from beyond the arc, per ESPN.
Kemba Walker Forms Formidable Trio With Nikola Vucevic & Zach LaVine
With the years he spent with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown in Boston, Walker isn’t expected to have a hard time making himself fit alongside Vucevic and LaVine in Chicago. If they mesh well on the court and manage to stay away from any major injury, the trio of Walker, Vucevic, and LaVine could turn the Bulls from one of the worst teams into a legitimate threat in the Eastern Conference next year.
"Put a healthy Walker in the Windy City, and Chicago would have the backbone of what should be a top-10 offense and what could be a top-four seed in the Eastern Conference," Buckley wrote. "Between him, LaVine and Vucevic, the Bulls would have three 20-point scoring threats who all space the floor and create offense for others."
