SACRAMENTO, CA - FEBRUARY 6: Paul Zipser #16 of the Chicago Bulls looks on during the game against the Sacramento Kings on February 6, 2017 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)

This is part three of my series, where I make the Philadelphia 76ers do a fake trade with every team in the NBA. Today’s trade will be with the Chicago Bulls.

It’s a shame the Bulls traded Jimmy Butler on draft night. Otherwise, this exercise could’ve been a lot more fun. Pairing Butler with Covington on the wing would’ve given Philadelphia one of the best perimeter defenses in the NBA. With the Eastern Conference as bad as it is, a lineup of Markelle Fultz/Butler/Covington/Ben Simmons/Joel Embiid would’ve been dominant.

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Sadly, this wasn’t meant to be. The Bulls inexplicably traded Butler for peanuts. So we’ll have to find another trade idea. Chicago doesn’t appear to have many players the Sixers would want. Kris Dunn, Lauri Markkanen, and Zach LaVine one must assume are off the table. The Bulls must be big fans of them considering they will be the legacy of Jimmy Butler’s time in Chicago. The Sixers don’t need any bigs, so players like Portis or Lopez are out of the equation. However, there is one player Philadelphia may be interested in.

76ers Get Paul Zipser Bulls Get Jahlil Okafor

Why Philadelphia does it: Philadelphia finally moves on from Jahlil Okafor. Zach Lowe said a Jahlil Okafor trade was “inevitable.” The fact the Sixers are shopping Okafor is the worst kept secret in the NBA. He almost got traded to New Orleans at the deadline, but the trade fell through. The Sixers acquire Paul Zipser, the German forward who was selected in the second round of the 2016 draft. It’s not much, but it’s better than nothing. If Brett Brown can turn Zipser into a contributor off the bench, that would be excellent. The Sixers will need cheap bench contributors in the future due to Covington’s inevitable extension, Embiid’s probable max, and Philadelphia’s future big free agent signings.

Why Chicago does it: Jahlil Okafor is finally free. His reward for having to play for the Sixers the past two years is he gets to be sent to his home town Chicago Bulls. One would assume this would be best case scenario for Okafor. He would get a lot of minutes on a rebuilding team. The Bulls will be bad next year. However, they’d have a lot of young players they could play. In 2018 they could evaluate who they want to be a part of their core for he future.