Rajon Rondo (Photo : Getty Images)
The Chicago Bulls may not get too much in any potential deal involving Nikola Mirotic and Rajon Rondo, but there are plenty of scenarios the team could explore before the February 2017 trade deadline.
With Chicago in danger of not making it into the playoffs, the team could be sellers in the trade market to further improve its roster. According to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, the Bulls are "actively shopping" Mirotic and Rondo to propel the team's run in the second half of the season.
"So the Bulls front office isn't sleeping through this 22-23 start after all. According to multiple sources, the Bulls have been actively shopping Rajon Rondo and Nikola Mirotic in hopes of shaking up the roster, as well as making a second-half run in the wide-open Eastern Conference," Cowley wrote.
Rondo, who is averaging 6.6 points on 35.9 percent shooting from the field, has been relegated to the bench since his five-straight DNP-CDs from head coach Fred Hoiberg, while Mirotic has been ineffective for the Bulls this season, only averaging 9.6 points on 38.7 percent shooting from the field, his lowest since joining the Bulls in 2014.
But despite their respective struggles, their talents would still be a tremendous boost for those looking to add a veteran playmaker and an outside shooter.
Mirotic is making $5.7 million this season and Rondo is playing the first year of a two-year $28.1 million deal signed this past summer. Their salaries combined would give the Bulls $19.7 million worth of trade assets enough to acquire talents on the trading block. One of the targets the Bulls could consider is Minnesota Timberwolves' Ricky Rubio, who is among the available PGs on the market.
Rubio isn't known for his shooting, which is something the Bulls lack on their roster. But the Spanish playmaker's ability to find open men effectively should help Hoiberg run a more refined offensive scheme.
It could be too much for the Bulls to pair two non-shooting point guards in Rubio and Michael Carter-Williams, but Movistar+ journalist Antoni Daimiel believes Chicago are interested in forming such backcourt duo. A package including Rubio and Shabazz Muhammad could work under the NBA salary guidelines, although it remains to be seen whether Minnesota would be interested in Mirotic and Rondo.
Another player the Bulls could get for Mirotic and Rondo is Milwaukee Bucks center Greg Monroe.
According to Sean Deveney of Sporting News, the Bucks are less likely to trade Monroe this season, but his contract could remain a factor in any potential move before the deadline.
"He's not a locker room problem for the Bucks, and they're less likely to trade him now than they were before the season. But he is an offensive talent and still has two years (at $35 million) on his contract. He should be a starter somewhere, and the Bucks would have to listen to offers," Deveney wrote.
Despite losing his starting role in Milwaukee, Monroe has become a more effective frontcourt piece for the team, averaging 10.6 points and 6.8 rebounds a game this season. But while there are no indications the Bucks are willing to go all-out in moving him like they were during the offseason, Monroe is a talented center that could help the Bulls in many ways.
The Philadelphia 76ers may also emerge as a potential landing spot for Mirotic and Rondo, with the team in need of playmaking and outside shooting.
It is no secret that Ben Simmons will be Philly's top playmaker once he returns from a foot injury. But it would still behoove the 76ers to add another floor commander who could ease some pressure off of Simmons' playmaking duties. Rondo could help fill that void, while Mirotic would provide the 76ers with a much-needed outside scoring.
Whether the 76ers would be interested in acquiring Mirotic and Rondo remains to be seen, but the team has plenty of tradable assets they could throw in if a deal emerges. Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel are some of the names being consistently mentioned in trade rumors, and Chicago would certainly be intrigued in adding the two young big men at the price of their expendable pieces.
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