Bulls free agency targets

The Bulls came into the summer with the most cap space of any team in the NBA. They dipped into that $55 million total by trading for Nic Claxton (you can see my full feelings about that deal here if you didn’t read them last week), but still have a healthy $32 million to spend.

There’s no $32 million player that they should target in this free agency class, unless you’re a Jalen Duren fan (and he will in all likelihood earn more than that figure). Instead, the Bulls should either continue to acquire players like Claxton in salary dumps or look for a handful of role players that can fill out the rest of the roster.

I outlined the top 20 realistically gettable free agents at Sporting News. Please go through the list here, because that’s what pays the bills. I’ll highlight some of the ones that I like and don’t like through a Bulls-specific lens below:

Norman Powell: The Bulls have been weakly linked to Powell by HoopsHype’s Mike Scotto (“expected to have interest”). Powell is likely to be the best free agent to switch teams this offseason, due to Miami’s cap crunch. He made his first All-Star game at the ripe age of 32 last season.

Bulls fans don’t appear very excited to add Powell. His age doesn’t fit the timeline at all. He does fit pretty much exactly what the team needs in terms of shooting and shot creation though.

This team is very much in danger of being in the relegation zone if they don’t add this level of talent (I’d put them in the mid 20’s in wins with their current roster), so I can see a case for and against it. He’s a good player who has defensive issues but has extreme confidence in every shot he takes.

My salary model has Powell at a $21.5 million valuation. At that price on a short-term deal (emphasize short-term), he’d be a completely reasonable signing to get the Bulls out of the bottom three teams and could have positive trade value towards the tail end of that deal.

Jalen Duren, Walker Kessler, Robert Williams III, Mitchell Robinson, Kristaps Porzingis, Deandre Ayton: The Claxton alternatives that are off the board now. Probably not realistic targets.

Tari Eason: Reasonable two-way restricted free agent who is only 25 years old and fits Bryson Graham’s scouting philosophy. Was probably the most streaky shooter in the league last season, which would be an issue.

Peyton Watson: Another restricted free agent who had some breakout-looking moments for the Nuggets last year. He’s a good wing defender that shot 41 percent from 3 and saw a significant scoring increase up to 14.6 points per game.

That’s a super valueable skillset in the league, and he’s only 23 years old. I have him at $17 million in value. He will probably get some offers in that range.

Sandro Mamukelashvili: Mamu should be a target for the Bulls at around $10-15 million annually. He’s a high-motor, sweet-shooting big man with defensive limitations that kept his minutes low in the playoffs. He’s a good regular season player though and in his prime years at age 27.

Quentin Grimes: Grimes is capable of playing very good defense and scaling up as a big-time scorer on a bad team. He averaged 21.9 points per game in his first partial season with the Sixers, while they were missing all of their top guys.

The league wasn’t fooled by that scoring binge (and neither was Georges Niang). Grimes came back on his $8.7 million qualifying offer last season after failing to secure much interest in free agency. His scoring dipped to 13.4 points per game, and his shooting and defense slipped off. He’ll try free agency again this summer.

Grimes is kind of the perfect fit for this Bulls team because he can go back to that scoring role that he showed two seasons ago and still have value as a 3-and-D wing down the line if the Bulls ever get good.

I have heard through the grapevine that Grimes may have some attitude issues as far as thinking he should be the guy, so that may be a reason to stay away. From an on-court perspective though, he fills several needs and should be affordable (my model has him at a $12.9 million valuation).

Anfernee Simons: The impact metrics have always been pretty low on Simons due to his very poor defense. The guy can shoot the heck out of the ball though, which makes him a good target to return to Chicago. He’s worth about $10 million a year. The Bulls have to be very careful not to overpay him.

Collin Sexton: A Billy Donovan favorite, Sexton provides a lot of offensive value and not much on the defensive end. I think he’s probably gone. The Magic or Heat could use him.

Jock Landale: Landale was an essential piece for the Hawks last year and an underrated role player who I like a lot. He plays with great effort, makes smart plays, and can shoot capably from 3. That fits exactly what the Bulls need out of a backup. He’ll be cheap.

Kevin Huerter, Tim Hardaway Jr., Buddy Hield (not a FA but likely to be waived), Luke Kennard: This is the crop of veteran shooters. Not a particularly inspiring list, but the Bulls badly need to add one or two of them at a low price.

As I said earlier, this list of free agents isn’t all that great. Go through the full top 20 and see if I missed anyone that you’d be interested in.

The trade market is probably a better allocation of the team’s remaining cap space. It is totally feasible and probably wise to keep some of that cap space open into the season in order to help make deals at the trade deadline, when teams face pressure to desperately shed salary.

If the Bulls do try to add free agents, I would prioritize Grimes, Landale, and Mamu on cheap deals.