Anthony Davis, any chance of joining the Bulls?

With the collapse of their record, the Mavericks recently stated that most of the players on the team can be traded. From the perspective of the team's situation, Flagg is the future core of the team. Irving is still injured, and the only remaining bargaining chip is Davis.

Considering that he was born in Chicago, it is inevitable to have some guesses:

Is it possible for Davis to be traded to the Chicago Bulls?

Let’s put aside the Mavericks first, and purely from the perspective of the Bulls, is it appropriate to trade to strengthen Davis at this time? The discussion on this deal mainly depends on how much chips the Bulls are willing to offer, and whether the transaction content can match the strategic goals of the two teams.

Personally, if the Bulls can trade Davis in the middle of the season, they should still try hard to get it. At least this deal has a chance to give the Bulls more room to operate.

The first is the salary space in 2026. The second is that among the contracts expiring in 2026, there are many high-quality rotations that are worth keeping for a long time at the right price. The third is that in the next three years, Gidi, Buzelis, Tre Jones and others will occupy the team's salary space of less than 41 million at most.

If you choose to trade for Davis, the salary space in 26 years will naturally be significantly reduced. However, judging from the team's past operation cases, recruiting multiple high-paying targets in the player market at one time rarely has a running-in effect. However, if Davis is added in advance, it will allow the Bulls to clarify specific signing targets in the summer of 2026.

With Davis in charge, the Bulls will be more attractive in the offseason market. Even if the signings fail, the lineup flexibility of the trio of Davis + Gidi + Buzelis is worth looking forward to.

As for the Mavericks' perspective, their problem is what level of chips they want to get back from the Davis trade.

The first point is how the Mavericks view Davis's team value. Do they still hope to maintain the window of strength, or have they clearly defined the team's reconstruction route.

The second point is that in terms of team strategy, Davis' role can be traded or kept with the team for his own use, or he needs to be liquidated as soon as possible in exchange for other assets. Different attitudes will have completely different results for the Mavericks' trade negotiations.

The third point is that if the Mavericks choose to cash out as soon as possible, then they will be the party with greater trading pressure. Then it is entirely possible for them to abandon their own trading standards and even accept a market quotation that is far lower than expected; and whether the Bulls can outbid other potential buyers, this is the key.

The fourth point is that when considering trading Davis, his past injuries also need to be taken into consideration, which will also be directly reflected in the chip quotation.

And if the Bulls choose to trade Davis, does it mean that they will immediately start to compete for the championship?

Personally, even if Davis is added to the current team, the Bulls are still far behind the championship team. A more suitable choice is to join the top team in the Eastern Conference after acquiring Davis. Wait until the 2026 or 2027 offseason to recruit one or two young All-Stars during Davis's contract period and officially start looking for opportunities.

If such a plan is to be achieved, Davis' injury risk and subsequent reinforcement flexibility must be taken into consideration; the Bulls are bound to strictly control the chips in the Davis trade. In addition to the space other than the subsequent Davis salary, they also need to reserve room for Gidi and Buzelis.

As for the Mavericks, it is of course impossible to obtain the same level of chips as the Pelicans and Lakers obtained by trading Davis now, but there are still many teams in the market who are willing to bid for potential rookies with more than two first-round chips. Just considering the team's goals of the trading team, the draft pick will naturally not be too high, unless the trade takes over the Thunder.

In short, unless Davis makes a personal statement, it will be very difficult for the Bulls to gain an advantage among the many next offers.