Chicago Bulls · 9 updates
A proposed trade would send Kristaps Porzingis to Chicago for Jalen Smith and Leonard Miller. The idea comes as Porzingis remains out with an undisclosed illness, with coach Steve Kerr saying he hasn't seen him at the facility in over a week.
+2Bleacher Report's Zach Buckley pitched a trade sending Kristaps Porzingis, Moses Moody, Brandin Podziemski and a top-4 protected 2028 first-round pick to Chicago, while Bleacher Report colleague Dan Favale floated a similar version of the same swap.
ClutchPoints' Brett Siegel suggested the Lakers could dangle Dalton Knecht or Jaden Hardy, maybe with a second-round pick, to pry Jalen Smith away from Chicago, with Smith in the last year of a three-year, $27M deal and set to give Los Angeles a stretch big behind Walker Kessler.
+3A proposed three-team trade would send Bobby Portis to the Lakers to shore up their frontcourt behind Walker Kessler and Kevon Looney. Miami would get Jalen Smith, Tre Jones and Jarred Vanderbilt, while Chicago would take on Nikola Jovic and Dalton Knecht.
Fadeaway World's Fran Leiva names Jalen Smith as a Bulls player who could be dealt this season, pointing to his expiring $9.4 million salary as easy matching money in a deal. Leiva argues Smith's 37.3% three-point shooting makes him a useful stretch big for a playoff team.
+3A three-team trade concept would send Domantas Sabonis to Golden State, Jimmy Butler to Chicago, and Patrick Williams, Isaac Okoro, Jalen Smith, Tre Jones and multiple protected first-round picks to Sacramento.
Bleacher Report's Eric Pincus lists Indiana forward Jarace Walker among the Lakers' top five trade targets, with any deal likely sending out multiple players such as Dalton Knecht, Jaden Hardy or Jake LaRavia, possibly with a third team helping the Pacers duck the luxury tax.
With Jonathan Kuminga signing with Minnesota instead, the Lakers are exploring options to fill their power forward and backup center needs, per Khobi Price of the California Post.
+2After missing out on Jonathan Kuminga, who signed a two-year deal in Minnesota, the Lakers are left searching for two-way wing and frontcourt depth behind Walker Kessler and Kevon Looney.
