A proposed blockbuster deal sending the Sacramento Kings' DeMarcus Cousins and Marco Belinelli to the Chicago Bulls for Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson was the subject of recent NBA trade rumors online as both teams are said to be close to a "shake up" this midseason.
Fansided's Michael Saenz suggested the aforementioned scenario on how the Bulls could land Cousins through a trade this season.
Saenz noted that Chicago is not known for pulling off these kinds of midseason mega-trades, "but after years of being 'almost good enough', would the Bulls try to shake their method up and make an in-season move?"
If the Bulls will decide to do so, then several NBA analysts believe that Noah will be the first one to go.
The 2014 Defensive Player of the Year have come from being the team's resident starting center to an expensive and underperforming bench player, averaging a career-low 3.8 points and 8.9 boards, his lowest rebounding output since his third season in the league.
However, what makes Noah the best candidate to trade is because he is set to become an unrestricted free agent as his contract expires next summer.
Most of the teams know that Noah's underperformance is only because he is not fit with Fred Hoiberg's system, so he is still a valuable trade chip.
Meanwhile, getting Cousins and a proven perimeter shooter like Belinelli may finally establish the Bulls as the team to beat LeBron James and the Cavs out in the East.
Having Cousins will also most likely make Chicago retain the services of Pau Gasol next season while also allowing rookie Bobby Portis to have more minutes that he needed to grow as a frontcourt player.
A starting unit composed of Gasol, Cousins, Belinelli, Jimmy Butler, and Derrick Rose would really make Bulls fans ecstatic, but it remains to be seen whether Sacramento would be willing to give up their incumbent team leader for the pair of Bulls towers.
The ESPN NBA Trade Machine approves such a trade.