Chicago Bulls ‘circling’ this potential free agent center

The Chicago Bulls officially pushed the reset button this offseason, cleaning house in the front office. They also saw head coach Billy Donovan opt not to return for another year.

With the reset, there’s a new era in Chicago and the Bulls are expected to be aggressive in the rebuild.

Chicago holds two first-round picks with No. 4 and No. 15, allowing them to potentially draft two corner stone pieces to their roster. They also can’t get picky with who they target as they have needs all over the roster. But after the draft, free agency is a place where the Bulls are expected to be aggressive with a good cap situation. And one name continues to pop up as a target.

Chicago Bulls expected to pursue Jalen Duren?

One of the biggest needs for the Bulls will be at center, after they traded Nikola Vucevic during the season. They could be looking at a center in their division to pursue and one NBA reporter believes they are “circling” around Jalen Duren. Here is what The Athletic’s John Hollinger had to say on the situation:

Duren is supermax-eligible after making the All-NBA Third Team, but even getting the lower max (five years, $239 million) coming off his rookie deal will be a challenge after the postseason he had. On the other hand, Duren is only 22 and coming off an All-Star regular season, and cap-room teams like Brooklyn and Chicago will be circling with offer sheets if the Pistons get cold feet. A five-year, $200 million deal would value him at $40 million a year and keep him in Detroit through much of his prime; that feels like a potential endpoint.

As Hollinger notes, the key to all of this are the Pistons.

The Pistons haven’t had conversations in terms of a contract with Duren. But they will. It was thought that Duren could land a $200 million to $220 million deal over five years. However, his poor playoff performance may have steered the Pistons in the other direction potentially.

Detroit wants to retain Duren but it feels like they have to be careful in doing so. Low-balling him and getting negotiations to the point of rocky ground could be a nightmare for Duren, especially if he feels underappreciated. If he does hit the market, the Bulls should be in on the 22-year-old.

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