NBA Rumors continue to explode over Philadelphia 76ers: Now Chicago Bulls Derrick Rose is Linked to Nerlens Noel
A rose by any other name is still a rose. But Chicago Bull point guard Derrick Rose is not the same as he once was. Is he enough to tempt the Philadelphia 76ers to consider his service in the race for Nerlens Noel?
That’s the question that is making the circuit.
"“Derrick Rose is another option for the team to consider should the Bulls look to deal him,” Chris Crouse of hoopsrumors.com wrote. “Philadelphia would give Rose a comfortable situation to re-establish himself as a star in this league. Trading a package headlined by Rose may not be enough for the Bulls to bring Okafor to Chicago, but some version of a Noel-Rose deal makes sense for both sides.”"
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If the rumors truly have some punch to them, this is a rumor with some interesting characteristics. In the scenarios that are laid out, the trade takes on the dual aspects of trade and salary dump by the Chicago Bulls. In the scenario laid out by Yibida, the 76ers would receive Rose, Mike Dunleavy, Taj Gibson, and the number 14 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. In return, the Bulls would end up receiving just Nerlens Noel, and this is something that a lot of people are doubting as balanced, but it could work out.
The move would free up an extra $30 million in cap space for the Bulls, giving them more leverage to pursue top free agents this summer. As for the 76ers, they would get Rose and veteran players in Gibson and Dunleavy to lead the team’s young core of talents.
"“The Bulls can not only offer Rose, they also have veterans Taj Gibson and Mike Dunleavy to offer in a trade – and the two of them are probably as good or better than any veterans they could sign as free agents. The Sixers have at least $60 million in cap space, enough to absorb all three contracts and still have more than $30 million available,” the Yibida report disclosed."
A report like this could be something that the Sixers listen to. While the Sixers have plenty of cap space, they have already thrown in the towel on signing the upper tier of free agents. Of the players named, Derrick Rose started 66 games for the Chicago Bulls in the 2015-2016 season and averaged 16.4 PPG on 31.8 minutes. Power Forward Taj Gibson started 55 games for the Bulls, and averaged 8.6 PPG on 26.6 minutes. Finally shooting guard Mike Dunleavy started 30 games for the Bulls, scoring 7.2 PPG on 22.7 minutes.
With the 14 pick added to the 24 and 26 picks of this NBA draft, the Philadelphia 76ers could conceivably have enough fire power to trade up for a second top ten pick of the 2016 NBA draft if they wanted to do so.
Now keep in mind, this is a scenario that is UNCONFIRMED as of yet by any credible league sources. We only know that the Sixers are discussing interest in Nerlens Noel with many NBA teams, including the Chicago Bulls.
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If this were to happen, it would feel very similar to a trade that would have happened last year. Can Dr. David T. Martin get Derrick Rose back to his old form? If the Bulls include that 14 pick, it may be worth finding out.