Bulls Acquire Noah Vonleh From Trail Blazers
(670 The Score) Less than an hour before the 2 p.m. trade deadline Thursday, the Bulls took a low-risk flier on a young player.
Chicago acquired 22-year-old forward Noah Vonleh and cash from Portland, whose impetus for the trade was to get under the luxury tax threshold. As part of the deal, the Bulls traded the rights to European big man Milovan Rakovic to the Blazers.
Vonleh was the No. 9 pick in the 2014 draft but has never become a difference-maker in his four NBA seasons, the first of which was spent in Charlotte before playing for Portland the last three. Vonleh is averaging 3.6 points and 5.1 rebounds in 14.4 minutes across 30 games this season.
Vonleh is in the final season of his rookie contract. He will be a restricted free agent if the Bulls extend a $4.7 million qualifying offer to him this summer.
Rakovic is a 32-year-old from Serbia who has never played in the NBA and almost certainly never will. The Bulls acquired his rights back from the Magic in 2014 as part of a deal to offload Anthony Randolph's salary.