NBA Trade Rumors: Bulls Interested In Bosh, Rubio? What Would Be The Cost?

NBA trade rumors recently identified the Chicago Bulls as the newest potential landing spot for Miami’s Chris Bosh and the Timberwolves’ Ricky Rubio.

The question, of course, is what price would the Bulls, who are 23-23 for the season and tenuously holding on to the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spot, have to pay in order to pull off both of the highly sought-after deals.

Especially considering that Bosh is considered an extreme long shot to even play this season at all.

NBA trade rumors placed the Bulls at the center of Bosh speculation this week when ESPN reported that the Bulls are the first franchise to show an interest in the power forward and center in more than a year.

“If Bosh, who turns 33 in March, makes it back onto the floor,” presumably next season, noted ESPN, “word is that the Chicago Bulls are already plotting a run and will be at the front of the line to try to sign him.”

Sadly, Bosh, who was an instrumental part of the Heat’s 2013 championship run, may actually never step foot on an NBA court again. The 32-year-old star last played almost one year ago, in February 2016, before a series of nasty blood clots led to his being shelved by Miami.

Bosh, an 11-time all-star, is still due $52 million on two years of his contract and feels he still has plenty of gas left in the tank.

“I’m not the first athlete to do this regiment,” Bosh told Uninterrupted’s Open Run podcast back in September, continuing, “This particular doctor has had the same regiment with other athletes. So, this is nothing that is new. It’s not groundbreaking. We’re not reinventing the wheel here. It’s pretty standard. It’s been proven. Guys have played on it. Like I said, for anybody to have worries, there are guys playing basketball and hockey and football.”

According to the latest NBA trade rumors from ESPN, the Miami Heat are eligible to release the injured player from his contract as early as February 9 but are far more likely to wait until after the March 1 cutoff for other teams to sign players eligible for postseason play.

Just in case Bosh and another team decide he might be able to play this year.

NBA trade rumors further speculate that, given that logic, the Heat seem far more likely to consider entertaining a trade than cutting him without getting compensation.

That is where a.500 Chicago Bulls team looking for one or two small boosts to improve their playoff potential could really come into play.

Other NBA trade rumors regarding the Bulls and their push for improved playoff success center around the highly touted T-Wolves point guard, Ricard “Ricky” Rubio, whose relative under-performance this season, swelling contract, and progress by his understudy Kriss Dunn seems to make him expendable in Minnesota.

According to iSports Times, the Bulls believe it would upgrade the team to add the Spanish guard, who is currently averaging just 2.3 points per game in almost 32 minutes of play, and casting off their own point guard, Rajon Rondo.

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NBA trade rumors centered around Rondo, who is consistently benched in Chicago and often seems at odds with Bulls’ management, indicate that the former Celtic may once again best benefit from a change of scenery as well.

In particular, Rondo was at the center of controversy following obvious frustration in the face of a five-game benching earlier this season.

“I got a slight explanation from another guy on the staff. A guy told me that he was saving me from myself,” said Rondo, per the Chicago Tribune. “I don’t want to say any names. But that’s what the explanation was…. I thought it was [expletive]. Save me from myself. I never heard that before in my life.”

Conventional wisdom, of course, dictates that Rondo would be far more likely to serve as a backup to Dunn were he to touch down in Minnesota. Rondo’s stats this season are marginally better than those of Rubio, as he earned 2.8 points per game on almost 27 minutes of playing time.

Regardless of the ultimate decisions that are made regarding Rondo, who has not enjoyed his time in Chicago, as well as Bosh and Rubio, there is little doubt that each player is likely to improve with a fresh start in a new home.

[Featured Image by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images]