If True, The Bulls Reportedly Telling Giannis' Camp That They Aren't Interested In Trading For Him Is Beyond Insane

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As each day goes by, we're inevitably going to get more and more "leaks" or "reports" about the future of Giannis. You may already be tired of it, but I'm here to tell you we're only just getting started. Especially with the latest news being that Giannis and the Bucks are currently talking about what his future in MIL looks like.

And while you'll eventually hear about the Knicks and the Lakers as potential destinations, yesterday we got some "news" that stopped me in my tracks once I read it

Chicago stoolies will have to inform me here, because I have no idea who Lou Canellis is. I guess he's a Fox 32 Sports Anchor, so I guess that's good enough for me. Now you may be saying to yourself

"No way this is true, why the hell would Giannis ever want to play for the Bulls??"

which on the surface, I can understand. I would just like to remind you, this moment exists

So I don't doubt that if Giannis and his team are putting feelers out around the league, the Bulls would be on his list. That's not the surprising part.

The surprising part, is that the Bulls have apparently already said "thanks but no thanks". That, is a bit insane.

On one hand, this could easily be the classic case of rejecting you before you have a chance to reject us, but if Giannis' camp is putting out the idea of him coming to the Bulls, are we sure he'd even block the move?

On the other hand, what are the Bulls doing? Who the hell are you to proactively take yourself out of the Giannis sweepstakes? You're the Bulls! You've been stuck in NBA purgatory since the Derrick Rose days. This is GIANNIS!

Let's just talk this through. The first objective? Finding a package that makes sense

You have to get pretty damn close to Giannis' $54M number, and as you can see there are a few ways to do that. For example, you could do something like Vuc/Hueter/White and a shit ton of picks for Giannis/Prince. That money works. Or, Vuc/Williams/Dosunmo and picks. That money works too. The point is, there are a ton of different variations the Bulls could try. 

My guess is the Bucks would try and get Buzelis in the deal, but this is where Giannis comes in. If he really wants to go to CHI, he can just demand Buzelis not be included. 

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The point is, there are multiple pathways to making the money work, which is the toughest part when a guy makes that much money. The Bulls are in a unique position where they have a bunch of mid-sized salaries to play with, and they're all mostly players you can live without, especially if the return is goddamn Giannis.

So to just flat out say you're not interested in Giannis when it might only take some expiring deals and picks seems….a bit crazy.

If we're to believe this actually happened, my next question to the Bulls front office would be OK, so what's your plan?

Collins/Vuc are UFA after this season. You're extending a 35 year old Vuc and a player in Collins who mostly gives you nothing? Same thing with Coby White/Huerter. There's no guarantee they even stay Bulls after this year! They can hit the market and can go wherever they want! Guess what? The same is true with Ayo Dosunmu! So you're telling me there's a chance you could flip players that might leave anyway for Giannis….and you're not interested?

Giphy Images.

In looking at the free agent class this summer, it's mostly dogshit. Why wouldn't you find a package that works, maybe keep some of the guys out of it (Buzelis, Ayo etc) if you can and call it a day? What am I missing here? 

It's not like the Bulls have any 2nd apron or CBA issues to worry about. They're $30M away as it is this season fromt he 2nd apron! They don't have a supermax player on their books, so they can absolutely handle Giannis $54M and beyond while still being able to build around him. I would argue the Bulls situation is the EXACT team that should be looking to get into the Giannis Sweepstakes, especially when he's telling you he wants to come there!

And hey, there is the possibility this is all a leverage play. Maybe this is how they think they can get the price lowered, by playing hard to get. Especially if this is somewhere Giannis wants to be, the price will come down. That's how things work in the NBA. Play hard to get now, the Bucks come back and say the price has lowered, and now all a sudden you're interested and boom, a trade happens.

I know Bulls fans aren't exactly thrilled with their ownership and how the front office has been operating, and I can't imagine this report is being taken all that well. At some point, an opportunity to push your chips in presents itself. When that opportunity is one of the best players on the planet and an all time great, maybe don't overthink things and just pull the trigger.