5 Buyout Candidates for Bulls to Explore After Idle Trade Deadline

5 buyout candidates for Bulls to explore post-deadline originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

The Chicago Bulls stood pat at the trade deadline, but that doesn’t mean their roster is set in stone.

The buyout market remains as an avenue to pursue reinforcements, however marginal. Yes, there will be competition. And yes, the Bulls will need to waive a player before adding another.

But if there are players in the ether that can offer assistance, expect executive vice president Artūras Karnišovas to explore.

“When the dust settles after trade deadline, I think we’re going to look at some things,” Karnišovas said in a post-deadline media session. “But we’ll see what happens, what’s going to present.”

Here are five names that could hit the market — and would be worth a look if they do:

Tristan Thompson, C, Pacers

If Thompson, who served as salary filler in the Domantas Sabonis-Tyrese Haliburton trade, and the Pacers decide to part ways, he figures to have plenty of suitors.

But if the Bulls can sell him on a steady rotation role, it’s hard to envision a better available option to back up Nikola Vučević.

While far from the championship linchpin he was with the Cavaliers in the prime of his career, Thompson plays with toughness, a high motor, and remains a monster on the boards; over a sample size of 452 possessions this season, he boasts a defensive rebounding rate of 20.4 percent (73rd percentile) and an offensive rebounding rate of 15.3 percent (95th percentile), per Cleaning the Glass. Both gaudy figures.

The Bulls, as of this writing, own a top 10 defensive rebounding rate, but are the second-worst offensive rebounding team in the league, and have been prone to lapses with Vučević off the court. With Vučević on the floor, the Bulls rebound 76 percent of opponent misses, a figure which would rank first in the NBA; with him off, that figure craters to 69.3 percent, which would slot dead last.

Thompson would be a boon eating Vučević’s off minutes, and brings plenty of playoff experience — 83 games, to be exact, more than any player currently on the Bulls’ roster.

Robin Lopez, C, Magic

Bulls fans know Lopez well. He spent three seasons in Chicago during the team’s recent rebuild, and quickly blossomed into a fan favorite for his quick wit and candor.

Now, the 33-year-old is averaging 8.2 points and 3.8 rebounds in 17.8 minutes per game for the 13-43 Magic, who are undergoing a massive youth movement in their frontcourt. In fact, Lopez has appeared in just three of the team’s last 10 games, lending credence to the buyout possibility.

If Lopez does hit the market, and is willing to move out of Disney World’s backyard, he’s a solid backup five and likely a seamless locker room fit.

Goran Dragić, G, Spurs

Dragić has hardly played this season after being included in the Kyle Lowry sign-and-trade between the Heat and Raptors last offseason. Now, he’s a Spur, as part of the deal that sent Thad Young to Toronto.

But not for long.

The question, then, is where he will land. The Mavericks were once a logical favorite because of Dragić’s connection with Luka Dončić, and the team’s need for secondary playmaking. But Dallas’ deadline day deal for Spencer Dinwiddie, and general manager Nico Harrison’s on-record dismissal of the buyout market, lessens that likelihood.

ESPN reported the Bulls, Clippers and Bucks — who lost Pat Connaughton to a broken hand Thursday night — as other potential suitors.

While the veteran guard would be a curious fit in Chicago given its crowded guard room, that room won’t be whole for at least another month with Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso recovering from respective surgeries. Dragić is a more-than-capable stopgap — he averaged 13.4 points, 4.4 assists and shot 37.2 percent from 3 last season — with experience running a team and playing deep into the postseason.

Gary Harris, G, Magic

Harris doesn’t necessarily fill the Bulls’ season-long need in the frontcourt, or short-term need at ball-handling guard, but if he and Orlando reach a buyout agreement on his expiring salary, he could be the best player available.

That means he would have plenty of suitors, and the Bulls would be selling him on a marginal role, especially when the team is healthy. But you can never have enough 3-and-D wings, and Harris, still 27, defends the perimeter doggedly while shooting 38.8 percent from behind the arc this season. Both welcome traits for any team.

And, for what it’s worth, Karnišovas was part of the Nuggets front office that drafted him in 2014.

Paul Millsap, F, 76ers

Millsap hitting the market would be a surprise after Philadelphia acquired him as a toss-in of the James Harden trade. The 76ers have championship aspirations and dealt away their backup center, Andre Drummond, in the Harden package, leaving Georges Niang and Furkan Korkmaz as their primary frontcourt reserves.

But if Millsap were to come available, expect the Bulls to have interest. Millsap and Karnišovas have a strong connection from their shared years in Denver, and he was nearly a Bull last August before choosing Brooklyn.

While he didn’t show much in 24 appearances there, Millsap is a high-IQ vet that may have something left in the tank if given more opportunity.

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