NBA Trade Idea: Denver Nuggets star to Chicago Bulls for $179 million.

The Denver Nuggets and Chicago Bulls would see significant changes as a result of this hypothetical transaction.

The Chicago Bulls are the team in the NBA that most needs a significant overhaul. For months, the franchise has been attempting to sell both Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic while also advancing a youth initiative. Although the Bulls haven’t been able to achieve each objective, one NBA trade proposal is trying to fulfill both.

A fresh potential transaction involving the Chicago Bulls and Denver Nuggets that entails exchanging Michael Porter Jr. for Zach LaVine was produced by Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley.

Zach LaVine and a 2029 first-round selection (top-three protected) are acquired by the Denver Nuggets.

Chicago Bulls receive: Michael Porter Jr. and Zeke Nnaji.

The Denver Nuggets could potentially use a third star like Zach LaVine to help ease the load of Nikola Jokic as the team ran its starters to the ground last season. Jamal Murray has been that second-star for Jokic, but when he’s cold, things get far more difficult for the team. The biggest concern for the Nuggets acquiring LaVine in place of Michael Porter Jr. is the fact that LaVine played 25 games last season while Porter Jr. played 81. For Chicago, Michael Porter Jr. is one of the better three-point shooters in the NBA. Last season, he averaged 16.7 points and 7.0 rebounds on 48/40/84 shooting from the field. While Porter isn’t quite an All-Star, he’s just underneath that threshold and only 26 years old with room to improve. The biggest concern for the Chicago Bulls in acquiring Michael Porter Jr. is the sheer fact of how big his $179 million contract is, but it’s still better to deal with than LaVine’s massive contract.

While a trade of this magnitude is a huge risk for both the Chicago Bulls and Denver Nuggets, it’s one that could potentially benefit both teams in an X-Factor type of way.