Chicago Bulls: Trading Coby White to save money
Closing the regular season by winning 15 of their last 20 games, there was hope that the Chicago Bulls could do just enough to qualify for the NBA Playoffs. However, losing in the first Play-In Tournament game to the Miami Heat left them on the outside looking in. Despite the team's inconsistency this season, Coby White continued to emerge as a pleasant surprise for the Bulls.
White has now put together back-to-back impressive breakout seasons for the Bulls. Theoretically, you'd expect him to be a mainstay for the Bulls heading into the future. However, the fact that the Bulls have to pay Josh Giddey this summer leaves much doubt about whether they're going to be willing to give White the contract extension he's likely going to demand on the free-agent market next summer. It would make sense for Chicago to prematurely explore his trade market to get ahead of this entire situation. Still, White would be quite the interesting trade candidate heading into the summer.
Cleveland Cavaliers: Trading Max Strus
The Cleveland Cavaliers have been one of the most dominant teams in the NBA this season. Expected to make a deep playoff run, this season could be described by some as a championship-or-bust year for Cleveland. No matter how their postseason run ends, it would be surprising if the Cavs entered the offseason with the intention of trading any of their core players; that would be extremely surprising and misguided.
However, one other key part of their build that they could theoretically explore trading is Max Strus. Especially with the NBA Trade Deadline addition of De'Andre Hunter, it could make Strus and his contract movable. If the Cavs found themselves in a place where they needed to slash some salary, Strus would probably emerge as a prime candidate for the team to trade heading into the offseason. Even though he's not considered a star player, the trade market for Strus would probably be strong and populated.