With the NBA trade deadline approaching, several teams will be looking at San Antonio Spurs big man Jakob Poeltl. It makes sense for any contending teams to trade for him since he is one of the best rim protectors in the NBA, which is something many teams, particularly in the Eastern Conference, will be seeking.

Let’s take a look at three teams that might gain from Poeltl’s addition to their roster.

 

Jakob Poeltl NBA Trade Deadline

NBA

1 Trade Idea for Every NBA Team Before the Deadline

3. Chicago Bulls

According to reports, the Chicago Bulls made an offer for Poeltl that included a first-round spick for San Antonio. This trade was apparently rejected by San Antonio, which makes sense. Chicago is clearly only looking to see if they can get him for the bare minimum, which San Antonio would not do given that they are in the midst of a rebuilding process and could use any asset they can obtain.

If the Bulls want to have any chance in the playoffs, they’d need an excellent rim protector, and Poeltl is one of the best in the league. The negative is that he doesn’t have a particularly strong offensive game, which will almost certainly hamper the Bulls in the playoffs. Teams will purposefully foul him to put him on the free-throw line late in the game, as we witnessed last season with Ben Simmons.

If the Bulls find themselves in this circumstance, they will have to bench him, which is something they’ll not want to do in the playoffs for one of their important players, as Poeltl would be.

The fact is that until they go out and get an exceptional rim protector, they will not be able to achieve the success that they desire. They will almost certainly face Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks and Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia Sixers. Both of these players are arguably the best in the world, and if they don’t have anybody who can even come close to slowing them down, they’ll get blasted by them, allowing their teams to win the series.

We witnessed on Sunday night that the Bulls had no answer for Joel Embiid, who was able to take control of the game. Despite DeMar DeRozan scoring nearly 50 points, Joel Embiid was able to match him and help Philadelphia win.