Report: Bulls discuss Anthony Davis trade, but not ready to pay the price

The Bulls have kicked around the idea of trading for Mavericks big man Anthony Davis, according to Jamal Collier of ESPN.

Davis checks the obvious box for Chicago (namely, interior defense), but Collier reports the front office is reluctant to break up any part of its young core until the Bulls look more like, well, a real contender.

“I don’t think going out and chasing X megastar is the way to proceed, at least today,” one team source told ESPN.

Chicago has the ammo if it ever wants to fire. The Bulls own all their firsts for the next seven years, plus a 2026 pick from Portland. They could also walk into nearly $70 million in cap space next summer.

But the Davis situation is complicated. Dallas is 6-15, Cooper Flagg looks like an eventual franchise centerpiece and Davis has only played six games this season.

You’re trading for talent, salary and a medical file that deserves its own Wikipedia page.

The Davis chatter popped up as part of Collier’s deeper look at Chicago’s slide from 6-1 to 9-10. Billy Donovan has tried leaning into an Indiana-style, pace-and-space attack, but last year’s Pacers had something the Bulls do not. As in, Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam.

“That’s who we have to be,” Donovan said. “We have to be better than the sum of our parts.”

Chicago hopes Josh Giddey can grow into its Haliburton. Now it just needs its Siakam.

Management still sees Giddey, Coby White, Matas Buzelis and rookie Noa Essengue as the long-term core, and the plan is to keep adding around them.

For now, the Bulls are monitoring everything. Just not rushing into anything.