The Chicago Bulls just finished up a pretty encouraging season where they finished as the No. 6 seed despite a ton of injuries and they were able to steal a game from the then-defending champion Milwaukee Bucks in their Round 1 series.
However, there are still some issues that they must address as they continue to try and build a contender around DeMar DeRozan and Lonzo Ball.
The Bulls could use a big man who is one of the elite defenders in the league and is somebody who can make a difference out on the floor. As good and as skilled as Nikola Vucevic is, he is not the best defender and the Bulls could use somebody to protect the rim.
A mock trade from Bleacher Report has the Bulls acquiring Rudy Gobert from the Utah Jazz for Vucevic, Patrick Williams, and Javonte Green:
Chicago’s defense was predictably bad this season, falling all the way to 25th overall after the All-Star break (117.9 rating).
You know who would help? A three-time Defensive Player of the Year who’s still in his prime.
Gobert improved what was otherwise a pitiful Jazz defense by 8.4 points per 100 possessions when he was on the floor last season, a figure that ranked in the 96th percentile per Cleaning the Glass. He’s an elite rim protector and rebounder who could thrive catching lobs from Lonzo Ball and Zach LaVine.
As for LaVine, he is probably out the door per LaVar Ball, but the fact remains that Lonzo would be a perfect partner for Gobert in the pick-and-roll game on the offensive end of the floor. He is not the floor spacer that Vucevic is, but Gobert would fix a poor Chicago defense and help them in a big way on that end of the floor.
