NBA Trade Rumors: Chicago Bulls Not Looking To Trade Derrick Rose For Nerlens Noel

Will Derrick Rose be with the Chicago Bulls when the next NBA season starts? That is the question that is heavy on the minds of Bulls fans everywhere. Will the Chicago-native remain in his hometown city? If not, will the Chicago Bulls send Derrick Rose to the Philadelphia 76ers of all teams?

Many of the NBA trade rumors have the Bulls looking at trading Derrick Rose to one team or another. The most prominent NBA trade rumor has the Bulls and 76ers working on a trade that will ship out Rose, Taj Gibson, Mike Dunleavy Jr., and the No. 14 pick of the draft for Nerlens Noel.

That is it!

That is all! The Chicago Bulls would just get Nerlens Noel. Under this trade, the Bulls would not get a draft pick. The Bulls would not get an additional player in return. The Chicago Bulls would only get Nerlens Noel.

If you are a Bulls fan, let that sink in for a moment. Now take a sigh of relief because that trade is not going to happen. If there were some additional players, or picks coming back to the Bulls, that would change.

Sorry to disappoint any fan of the Philadelphia 76ers. There has been enough disappointment suffered in the city of Brotherly Love. But this NBA trade rumor will turn into a pumpkin at midnight. This is a trade that would get a general manager fired. Almost immediately actually.

NBA Rumors: Bulls Target Nerlens Noel For Derrick Rose? – https://t.co/2Hgl0mjVyo pic.twitter.com/g3bd0Xi4ZO

— Morning News USA (@MorningNewsUSA) May 31, 2016

The rumor of Rose for Noel has a nice feel to it as a player for player deal, but it would not work. That may be a good thing because there were fans who did not want to see this trade happen anyway. Some of the groans have come from Bulls fans, the others from Sixers fans.

Consider this first and foremost.

The Chicago Bulls have put in a lot of time and effort in helping get Derrick Rose back to a basketball court. Even if the Bulls have given up on him because of the investment made into three stints of knee rehab, it is inconceivable for them to give him away. That is exactly what the Bulls would be doing if they were to make the Derrick Rose for Nerlens Noel swap.

Until the new NBA year begins in July, the Chicago Bulls are over the salary cap. And all NBA trades involving teams that are over the cap with salaries coming and going must have a 25 percent difference between them. That does not include draft picks the Bulls and 76ers would send out.

According to this setup, the Bulls trading Derrick Rose’s salary of $21.3 million would require just over $18 million in assets coming back.

Noel is set to earn $4.3 million. This is just those two players. That does not include the $8.9 million that Taj Gibson will earn or the $4.8 million owed to Mike Dunleavy Jr. That would be an additional $13 million dollars going to the 76ers. Adding a draft pick would make this NBA trade rumor one of the most lopsided trades since the last NBA lockout of the 2011-12 season. According to Yibada, the Bulls would save over $30 million in the Rose for Noel trade as rumored.

Per the rules, a trade can happen in July. The Bulls will have renounced the right to forward Pau Gasol and center Joakim Noah by then. They would have to kiss free-agency goodbye until a trade is made. Will the Chicago Bulls wait the process out? If it would cost them a chance at center Hassan Whiteside, they will not wait.

With the 76ers committed to winning, would they be a "player" for Derrick Rose should the Bulls try and trade him? https://t.co/LE9ln2CBt4

— The Chicago Bulls Charge (@thebullscharge) May 23, 2016

The Bulls have a lot of things on their plate and they are plotting on how to build a winner. Adding players who can get them closer to being a contender is what the Bulls want to do. They are not that far away from being the best team in the Eastern Conference.

That is evident by how the NBA Playoffs have worked out for the East. Watching the Cleveland Cavaliers run through the first three rounds, only to scuttle in the NBA Finals, has to open up the eyes of the Bulls’ front office. The Bulls had a winning record against the Cavaliers in the regular season. If it were not for injuries and a lack activity near the trade deadline, the Bulls would have made the playoffs and likely gave Cleveland trouble. Now there are questions surrounding LeBron James and his commitment to the Cavaliers if they suffer a bitter NBA Finals defeat.

No LeBron James in Cleveland means a wide open Eastern Conference, at least an open Central Division. One or two of the right moves would have the Bulls right back in the hunt. Contention does not happen without Derrick Rose or a suitable replacement on hand.

A team that is this close, as the Bulls believe they are, will not make a trade that will subtract three of their top eight players. Adding a draft pick to the rumored 76ers’ trade would be an insult to the Bulls and a bad sign to fans. Even if it is for a talented player such as Nerlens Noel. He alone is not enough for the Bulls to put together that rumored trade.

Derrick Rose is not going to the Philadelphia 76ers. It will take more than Nerlens Noel for the Chicago Bulls to gut their team in a winnable Eastern Conference.

[Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images]