Bulls connected to fascinating trade for player compared to Nikola Jokic

The Chicago Bulls are entering a pivotal offseason in which they must take advantage of the golden opportunity at their fingertips.

The Bulls have a solid chunk of cap space and also own a pair of first-round draft picks, including the No. 4 overall selection thanks to some luck in the NBA Draft lottery.

Chicago has also been tabbed as a team that could be rather active on the trade market given its flexibility, and it could be only a matter of time before new top executive Bryson Graham decides to move Josh Giddey.

But in terms of players the Bulls could potentially acquire, who is actually on the list? Do they have any specific targets in mind?

Well, Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale ran down a list of three players every NBA team should be pursuing in trades this summer, and for Chicago, he mentioned an intriguing candidate: Portland Trail Blazers big man Yang Hansen.

Chicago Bulls linked to trade for Yang Hansen

Hansen was selected by the Blazers with the 16th overall pick of the NBA Draft last year and performed very well in Summer League, so well, in fact, that many started comparing him to Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic.

That comparison is obviously pretty rich, but it does indicate just how skilled Hansen truly is.

“Good luck convincing the Portland Trail Blazers to give up on the Yang Hansen experiment after just one season,” Favale wrote. “He’s bound to be called Baby Jokic again during Summer League. Yet, between Donovan Clingan’s emergence and Portland’s willingness to play smaller, he’s a good ‘It never hurts to ask’ option.”

Hansen played in 43 games with the Blazers this past season, averaging a meager 2.2 points and 1.5 rebounds over seven minutes per game while shooting 31 percent from the floor. Clearly, he wasn’t very Jokic-like in Year 1, but perhaps he can flourish with a more significant opportunity.

The Bulls can provide that for Hansen given their need for a big man, and if Portland feels that Clingan is obviously the future at center, it might be willing to listen to what Chicago has to offer.

Of course, Hansen’s subpar defense is certainly problematic, and it makes you wonder if the 7-foot-1, 270-pound behemoth will ever be able to establish a legitimate role in the league, regardless of how many times people liken him to Jokic.

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