NBA: Chicago Bulls exploring trade for Jahlil Okafor

By Brian Yalung

The Chicago Bulls may be looking to get bigger up front with reports that they are interested in Jahlil Okafor of the Philadelphia 76ers. With the team seemingly crumbling internally, all this could be part of the criticism that Dwyane Wade and Jimmy Butler threw at the younger players of the team.

The Sixers do have an overloaded lineup though the person persistent in NBA trade rumors was really Nerlens Noel. All that changed a bit when Noel paired up more effectively with Cameroonian Joel Embiid. The Sixers are expected to deal out someone and Okafor’s name has suddenly overtaken Noel.

Getting the deal done could be easier said than done. Depending on who the Bulls offer, the rookie-scale deal of Okafor could pose a problem, CSN Chicago reported. A guard is what the Sixers have been looking for and the best that the Bulls may have to offer are Denzel Valentine and/or Jerian Grant.

Rajon Rondo could have been a reasonable guy to deal but the salary differences are millions apart. The 30-year-old guard has had a colorful history with coaches, something that coach Brett Brown may be apprehensive of.

For now, all these are nothing more than rumors though something could be whipped up before the NBA trade deadline this Feb. 23. Adding Okafor to a rebuilding Bulls sounds interesting though a lot of strings need to be pulled.