The news about the Chicago Bulls being one of the teams to bid for DeMarcus Cousins shook the Windy City hoop fans.
As the NBA trade rumors heat up, the biggest bomb so far was dropped at Sheridan Hoops' Michael Scotto when he said that the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls are interested in the Sacramento Kings' young, talented center.
He names the usual trade suspects in what would be the possible offer: "As for Chicago, the Bulls are loaded with expendable frontcourt talent. Joakim Noah's $13.4 million expiring contract and Taj Gibson are available, along with a young asset or draft pick."
But that would not be enough to move the needle for the Kings, as speculated by the Chicago Tribune's Steve Rosenbloom.
"The Celtics and Heat also reportedly want in on Cousins, and both teams have better pieces than the Bulls unless Jimmy Butler is part of the deal."
The Heat package is anchored on center Hassan Whiteside, who, like Joakim Noah, will become an unrestricted free agent. The Kings would prefer Whiteside by far. The Celtics do not have active players to rival either the Bulls or the Heat as they can only offer young, up and coming players.
Rosenbloom believes that the Celtics package of draft picks is the clear winner. However, the Kings front office is unpredictable, and the owner Ranadive might not be pleased with losing their franchise player for draft picks considering how they are not the best at selecting players, Cousins being the exception more than the rule.
Should the Bulls include Butler to tilt the odds in their favor? Their team thread in Real GM has mixed reactions. There are some who believe that including Butler would be worth it-but the Kings should also include Rudy Gay or BenMcLemore.
Jimmy Butler cannot be traded until January 15, but sending him along with Joakim Noah, Tony Snell and the Bulls returning their Sacramento's own 2016 first round pick that the Bulls acquired in exchange for Cousins and Rudy Gay works on Real GM.
Is that a reasonable trade, and will it be better than the Heat or Celtics proposal if indeed the rumors hold true?