Opinion: The Bulls And Heat Should Consider This Trade
The Chicago Bulls are in a tough spot.
They have a talented roster that made the NBA Playoffs last season for the first time since 2017.
However, they are off to a 9-14 start to the 2022-23 season and are the 12th seed in the Eastern Conference.
Star point guard Lonzo Ball has yet to play this season (he had surgery over the offseason), and his absence from the lineup is a big reason they are struggling.
Ball signed with the Bulls in the summer of 2021, and in the 35 games he played last year, they went 22-13 (he also had surgery on Jan. 28).
The roster featuring Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic needs a floor general.
I believe the Bulls and Miami Heat should consider making an intriguing trade that would swap Vucevic and Kyle Lowry.
Why?
The Bulls are in desperate need of a point guard with Ball out of the lineup.
Meanwhile, the Heat don't necessarily need Lowry considering Jimmy Butler is a talented playmaker.
Lowry is 36 years old and is under contract until the end of the 2024 season.
He is making $28.3 million this season and $29.7 million next season.
Right now, the six-time NBA All-Star is averaging 14.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 6.0 assists per contest.
However, he is only shooting 40.2% from the field and 35.2% from the three-point range.
As for Vucevic, he is 32 years old and will be a free agent at the end of the season, and is making $22 million this season (so their similar salaries will be very easy to make a trade happen)
The two-time NBA All-Star is averaging 15.8 points, 11.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists per contest.
He is shooting 47.8% from the field and 34.6% from the three-point range.
That being said, the Bulls also have former All-Star Andre Drummond, who is averaging 6.5 points and 7.7 rebounds per contest in only 14.2 minutes per game.
Therefore, they would already have their replacement center.
I think this move would give the Bulls the point guard they need to help facilitate their offense and save the season.
They do not need Lowry to score the ball because of DeRozan and LaVine; all they would need the NBA Champion point guard to do is be a distributor who can make an open shot.
Lowry and DeRozan played together for six seasons on the Toronto Raptors and had success.
Ric Bucher of Fox Sports reported on Dec. 2 that the Heat would be open to moving Lowry.
Bucher: "One league source said the Heat are willing to move Kyle Lowry, but at 37, and with another year left on a three-year $85 million deal, it’s hard to identify a team that would take him on and provide the Heat with an upgrade."
Vucevic shot 40% from the three-point range (on 6.3 attempts per game) in 2021, so he has the potential to space the floor and play next to a player like Bam Adebayo.
While this is an unlikely deal, it could benefit both teams.
