Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
The Chicago Bulls have their eyes on the playoffs this season. Their rumored interest in Paul Millsap could bring them one step closer.
The Chicago Bulls went big this offseason, swinging big with free-agents Lonzo Ball and DeMar DeRozan in an effort to take a leap in the Eastern Conference playoff picture. However, they also cleared some space in their frontcourt rotation last week in a three-team trade that sent Lauri Markkanen to the Cavaliers with future draft picks as the primary return.
Now there are reports that they could be looking to fill that hole with veteran free-agent Paul Millsap.
What could Paul Millsap do for the Chicago Bulls?
Millsap is not the player he once was but he’s still a strong defender who can split time between the 4 and the 5 in small ball lineups. On offense, he’s a heady veteran who can pass, finish and even stretch the defense a bit. His per-game numbers declined over the past few seasons in Denver but he still made 37.1 percent of more than 500 3-point attempts over the last four years.
Second-year forward Patrick Williams will likely start at the 4 and Derrick Jones, who came in the Markkanen trade could see some minutes there as well. But Chicago could absolutely use some depth at this spot, especially with Nikola Vucevic (a neutral defender at best) as the only true center currently on the roster.
Millsap has the versatile offensive game to support what the Bulls are doing with DeRozan, Vucevic and Zach LaVine and could be a significant defensive upgrade, particularly in the postseason. However, Millsap will have his pick of suitors (the Warriors have been linked to him for weeks) and he has also implied that he may wait until after the season has begun to make his free-agent decision.