NBA trade rumors: A Lakers-Bulls package to send Alex Caruso back to LA
By Jason Reed
Why the Chicago Bulls could say yes to this Alex Caruso trade:
This all comes down to how the next few weeks play out for the Chicago Bulls as well as the kind of offer they receive for Alex Caruso. The Los Angeles Lakers will undoubtedly have competition for Caruso and they have to make sure the Bulls are selling first.
Chicago is having a bad season full of dysfunction and common sense says to commit to tanking in a year that has the most special draft prospect since LeBron James. That being said, if the Bulls string together wins over the next few weeks before the trade deadline then they are not going to be selling an asset like Caruso.
But if it goes the other way and the losses start to pile up then it makes sense to trade the assets that the team has, including Caruso. There are definitely going to be contenders that are interested that dangle draft picks to compete with Los Angeles.
There are two things going for the Lakers, though. The first is that not a lot of contending teams have draft picks to trade for Caruso. This naturally dwindles down the market as a team like the Milwaukee Bucks can’t make it happen.
Second is the fact that the Lakers’ future pick is pretty valuable compared to a pick from a contender. It all depends on what the Bulls value but would they rather take a chance on a valuable pick from a team that could be horrible in five years or take the 28th overall pick in 2024 from a contender?
Personally, I think the former is more valuable. It might mean that the Lakers have to give it outright unprotected, but that is still more valuable than a late first that is essentially a lottery ticket.
