NBA Trade Rumors: Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks among teams interested in landing 3-time DPOY
The Chicago Bulls are looking at reinforcing their roster this summer and are considering Rudy Gobert. The Atlanta Hawks are another team vying for the services of the Utah Jazz's defensive stalwart.
According to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report, the Bulls might be looking to part ways with center vucevic" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">Nikola Vucevic to bring in Gobert. The San Antonio Spurs, Indiana Pacers and others were also mentioned. Pincus wrote:
"Some sources believe the San Antonio Spurs (Jakob Poeltl), Chicago Bulls (Nikola Vucevic), Hawks (Clint Capela, John Collins), Pacers (Turner) or even Kings (Richaun Holmes, Harrison Barnes) could look to swap out existing players for one of the top available centers via trade."
The Jazz are also reshaping their roster after coach Quinn Synder resigned. The franchise is expected to shop for Gobert and get the maximum value in return. Pincus continued:
"Many competing executives and agents believe the franchise will look to move Gobert, who has four years and $169.7 million left on his contract."
Should the Chicago Bulls and the Atlanta Hawks pursue Gobert?
The relationship between Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell has come to a point where the Utah Jazz have to pick one over the other. This has led NBA teams to believe that Gobert is more obtainable than Mitchell.
Gobert is one of the league's best defensive players. He's been named Defensive Player of the Year three times and made the All-Defensive team six times in eight seasons. Despite his struggles while guarding the perimeter in the postseason, the Frenchman remains one of the NBA's best rim protectors. Gobert averaged 15.6 points and 14.7 rebounds along with 2.1 blocks per game this season.
The Chicago Bulls are in desperate need of defensive reinforcements, especially at center. As great as Nikola Vucevic is on offense, he is a defensive liability. Gobert would fix this for the Bulls and offensively he averages only two points less than Vucevic.
Meanwhile, the Atlanta Hawks are in the same boat as the Bulls. The Hawks defense is what is holding them back. While Trae Young has become better defensively, they could use someone of the caliber of Gobert on their front court. The Hawks were ranked 26th in defensive ratings during the regular season and 12th among the 16 teams in the postseason.
The Bulls will have their work cut out for them in their pursuit of Gobert with the Hawks and others interested in the services of the big man from France.