The Sixer Sense
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NBA Rumors: Bulls Perfect Trade Partner for Philadelphia 76ers

By Josh Wilson

Apr 13, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler (21) dribbles the ball against the Philadelphia 76ers during the first quarter at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 13, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler (21) dribbles the ball against the Philadelphia 76ers during the first quarter at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports /
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Based on recent NBA rumors, the Chicago Bulls and Philadelphia 76ers could be perfect trade partners.

The time period in between the NBA Draft and free agency market opening is one of the most fun times in the NBA year, despite there being no games actually played. It’s full of NBA rumors, speculation, and excitement for what’s next for all 30 teams in the NBA. For the Philadelphia 76ers, there’s a lot of excitement, and a lot of relevant rumors since this offseason is such a big one for the Sixers.

According to recent rumors regarding the Chicago Bulls, it’s safe to assume that they could be a solid trade partner for the Philadelphia 76ers.

On Monday, it was reported that Taj Gibson of the Chicago Bulls is being shopped around and likely will be traded by the team, and it was also reported that Pau Gasol would decline his player option, which will make him a free agent on July 1st.

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What we also must remember to make these two things relevant in the context of the Sixers is that Joakim Noah is likely not going to return to the Bulls next season.

These rumors could make it easy for the Sixers to sneak in and establish themselves as a good trade partner for the Bulls. Look, the Bulls and Sixers are both in odd places. The Sixers are coming off of one of the worst NBA seasons in history, and the Bulls just traded away Derrick Rose and seem to be losing pieces of their franchise every single day.

Sure, drafting Denzel Valentine makes the future look pretty good for Chicago, but he is far from the key to success that this team will be looking for.

The Bulls need more pieces, bottom line, and one of those pieces could be Jahlil Okafor. Okafor, who was raised in Chicago, has been brought up as a possible trade piece for the Sixers since the team has so many big men.

It was tough this past season for Okafor and Nerlens Noel to play together, since both took a majority of their shots right at the rim. Add Joel Embiid who is supposedly coming back from injury this season into the mix and you’ve got yourself a classic logjam. The Sixers may be looking to clear that as soon as possible.

Perhaps the Bulls would be open to taking Jahlil Okafor in return for Jimmy Butler in order to get more fresh pieces. It seems like the Bulls are trying to do away with any player who was a part of the Rose era, and Butler was certainly a piece of that.

Okafor would be great with Nikola Mirotic in the frontcourt, since Mirotic takes most of his shots beyond the 3-point arc.

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This seems like a long shot, since Butler is likely worth more than Okafor, and since it seems like a step back to move Butler and take Okafor on. The Sixers may have to offer up other players — maybe a Nik Stauskas, Robert Covington, Jerami Grant, or others — to make this a reality, but I think it’s a trade scenario that could be on the horizon for both teams.