When a team is 1-6 and in the the thick of a rebuilding year, it's never too early to talk trades!

The Chicago Bulls came into this season well aware that they had more moves to make. Bryson Graham essentially said as much during the team's Media Day, specifically pointing out this season's trade deadline as another opportunity to reinvent the roster.

“We accomplished some, and we’re still in the game for some others. The free agency period is just one period, but we still have the trade deadline in February. We had a lot of cap space. We were able to fill that cap space appropriately where because of new rules be able to raise the floor a little bit but not mortgage the future …

Did we check every box, being an off-ramp and all that? The market has changed, I think everyone knows that. But we’re still not out of that game. That’s still a focus of ours.”

Graham would go on to mention the Bulls' full remaining room exception, which he can use to absorb roughly $9.4 million to the books. This is also a front office that strategically left the 15th roster spot open, making it even easier to talk business with interested teams.

So, again, as silly as it may be to start trade conversations two weeks into the regular season, the Bulls were never "out of the game." And that's why a recent rumor from Jake Fischer comes as no surprise.

Norman Powell Already a Trade Candidate to Watch

To be frank, the moment Norman Powell signed with the Chicago Bulls this offseason was the moment the trade talk started. As a 33-year-old player coming off his first All-Star season in Miami, he didn't make a ton of sense on paper with the rebuilding Bulls. Powell is clearly a win-now piece offering up some of the best basketball of his career. He belongs on a contender.

At the same time, that's a big reason why the Bulls aggressively pursued him. They were able to use their significant cap space to offer an enticing two-year, $44.0 million deal that accomplished two things: (1) got Powell paid, and (2) instantly made him a trade chip. Not only is this a pretty reasonable price tag for someone with his scoring upside, but Graham also slapped a second-year team option on the contract. In other words, Powell can be viewed as an expiring contract, which will only make him more intriguing to contenders.

Jake Fischer pointed toward this flexible contract during a Bleacher Report livestream, throwing Powell into his early-season list of trade candidates:

“Chicago, of course, hopes that Norm Powell will draw real trade interest around the NBA, particular teams looking for extra scoring and an off-ball shooting place. He will be getting interest without a doubt because he just continues to perform," Fischer said.

The NBA Insider, who works alongside Marc Stein at The Stein Line, went on to also mention Powell's past standing around the league. He said half the NBA called about the sharpshooter back in 2020-21 when the Raptors moved him to Toronto. Of course, Powell also drew interest a year later when Portland sent him to the Los Angeles Clippers.

Yes, he's several years older, but he has remained an incredibly serviceable and starting-caliber player. And once again, the contract makes taking a chance on him a low-risk, high-reward move.

Does Powell provide value to the Bulls? Absolutely. He is a fantastic veteran voice for a young locker room – let alone the kind of mature scorer they need on the court. However, this isn't reason enough to ignore phone calls, and Fischer all but suggests the Bulls are well aware of that.

Now, does this mean we should expect trade conversation to heat up soon? Not at all. Powell isn't even trade-eligible until December 15 due to signing a new deal this offseason. However, the fact that Fischer already considers him a big name to watch virtually confirms what many believed the moment he was signed. The Bulls have a strong trade chip in their hand, and this will now be up to Bryson Graham to play his cards right.