Chicago Bulls linked to another big trade before NBA Draft

The Chicago Bulls were able to sneak into a three-team trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Brooklyn Nets on Monday night, acquiring big man Nic Claxton while giving up basically nothing in the deal.

It was a solid trade for the Bulls, who now may have a defensive anchor in Claxton and could potentially pair Caleb Wilson with him assuming they select Wilson with the fourth overall pick of the NBA Draft on Tuesday night.

But could Chicago swing yet another major trade between now and draft time?

The Bulls currently own a pair of top-15 picks. Not only will they be on the clock at No. 4, but they also possesses the 15th overall selection, so in a deep draft, Chicago could come away with a couple of critical players.

Andrew Hanlon of Pippen Ain’t Easy doesn’t think the Bulls will stop there, though, proposing that they trade into the top 10.

Chicago Bulls linked to trade to land Keaton Wagler

Hanlon would love to see Illinois guard Keaton Wagler on Chicago, and he thinks that the Bulls could swing a trade with the Dallas Mavericks to acquire the No. 9 overall pick to do so.

“Keaton Wagler would be the ideal next step as a high-IQ guard with good positional size, versatility to play on or off the ball and an elite 3-point stroke. If Wagler begins to slide and is still on the board at No. 9, the Bulls could pull off a trade with the Dallas Mavericks using future draft capital to land a second top-10 pick and their point guard of the future,” Hanlon wrote.

Chicago owns all of its own first-round draft picks in the years to come, but it seems unlikely that the Bulls would part with a pair of first-rounders to move up six spots. Would including second-round selections — or potentially another player — in the deal be enough to get the Mavericks to budge?

Wagler averaged 17.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.9 assists over 33.9 minutes per game at Illinois this past season, shooting 44.5 percent from the floor, 39.7 percent from three-point range and 79.6 percent from the free-throw line.

The 6-foot-5 combo guard also possesses impressive potential as a defender on the NBA level, so there are plenty of reasons to be excited about him. But whether or not Chicago would want to pay the price to move up and draft him remains to be seen.

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