We told you already that the Lakers may be the front runners to land either Dwight Howard or Chris Paul, although there are plenty of obstacles and other bidders that could get in the way of that.
Like the Chicago Bulls. Because who doesn’t want to play with Derrick Rose.
In the same article where Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski says the Lakers may be the frontrunners, he says the Bulls are in the mix.What’s more, the Chicago Bulls are still a sleeper for Howard, several league executives believe. “Chicago may tell Orlando to take any two players – or three – besides Rose,” one GM said. Howard isn’t keen on the cold weather, but the Bulls would have the best point guard-center combination since Magic and Kareem.
The Bulls have Omar Asik developing fast as a potential replacement for Joakim Noah should the Bulls include Noah in a package. Noah would have to be a part of it, but would a combination of Noah and Luol Deng or Carlos Boozer – bringing back Howard and one of those bad Orlando contracts – be enough?
Normally you wouldn’t want to break up the core of a young team that went to the Eastern Conference finals last season, but Howard is the exception that would have me blowing up the Bulls. Rose and Howard, likely with Boozer (if I were Orlando I’d want Deng and Noah) would be a force that would make Chicago serious contenders for the next decade.
The question becomes, what is better for Orlando as it tries to rebuild? Do they prefer Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom from the Lakers? Is there another offer out there that works for them?
Orlando isn’t ready to make the trade yet, they want to find a way to keep Howard, it’s just hard to see how they do that with their current expensive but unimpressive roster. But if they decide to deal, the Bulls will get a look.