Jakob Poeltl is the type of a paint protector that the Bulls need.

The Chicago Bulls need halfway-decent rim protection to climb up the ladder of the Eastern Conference. As the starting center, Nikola Vucevic played tremendous basketball, racking up one double-double after another and anchoring the Bulls’ offense down low. Defense, though, clearly isn’t Vucevic specialty, and opposing players took note of that whenever they faced off against Chicago.

If the Bulls want to give their fans more reasons to cheer next season, they must find a player capable of providing the sort of rim protection that Vucevic could not. Recent reports have linked them to Jakob Poeltl – a 7-foot center who’s one of the league’s best when it comes to swatting away shots.

Paint protector

According to Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley, paint protection should be a priority for the Bulls this offseason, and Poeltl, who’s an unrestricted free agent, can provide plenty of that.

“The Bulls need a paint protector in the worst kind of way, and that just so happens to be the specialty of Jakob Poeltl,” Buckley wrote of Poeltl who averaged 12.5 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game this season.

“He blocks shots, he rebounds, and he can survive a perimeter switch when needed. He plays sound defense and could be a tone-setter for this team at that end,” Buckley added.

Doesn’t need the ball often

On offense, Poeltl isn’t high-maintenance, often just setting screens and getting points off rolls to the basket or from offensive rebounds. In addition, the 7-foot-1 center from Vienna, Austria, is just 27 years old, which means he can fit in the team’s timeline—whether that’s to win now or build for the future.