The Chicago Bulls have found success against the top teams in the east this year despite their underwhelming start to the regular season. While it remains unseen if the Bulls will turn their season around and make a serious playoff push, there is still hope, given their impressive record against the elite teams in the league.
The Bulls have two options at the trade deadline: either trade away their core pieces for draft assets and commit to rebuilding this failed experiment, or they can add a few players to the roster that could help them make the playoffs. There are numerous issues to list, but one is spreading the floor and consistent points from the bench. This is where Jordan Clarkson can make a big difference.
The Jazz where set to tank for Victor Webanyama before the season started, but Lauri Markkanen and Jordan Clarkson had other plans in mind giving Jazz an impressive start to the regular season. Almost 40 games into the season, the Jazz are still one game above .500 which is keeping them in the playoff picture. If the Jazz decide to go full tank mode as their plan was all along for this season, Jordan Clarkson is a prime candidate to be shopped at the deadline.
Clarkson, 30, is averaging the most points in his career this season at 20.3 points per game along with 4.4 assists per game. In perspective, Zach Lavine is averaging a similar 22 points per game along with 4 assists per game this season. By adding Clarkson off the bench, the Bulls could see this move as adding a Lavine-caliber player on their roster which should propel them into the playoff picture.
There are risks any time a team trades for a player above 30 who is having a career year. More times than not, the team ends up overpaying with draft capital when acquiring a high-volume scorer. The Bulls will likely give their 2023 draft pick to the Magic as a part of the Nikola Vucevic trade which makes acquiring Clarkson a little tricky.
Last year, Patrick Williams’ value was high enough to land Jerami Grant or Rudy Gobert over the summer. If Danny Ainge is still interested in Patrick Williams and is willing to roll the dice on his potential, a simple swap for Clarkson could entice the Jazz. The Bulls would be swapping an underwhelming prospect for a win-now player. The Jazz will take their chances on Patrick Williams while keeping their eyes on Victor Wembanyama.
