Following another disappointing finish to the season and questions about the state of their roster going forward, the Chicago Bulls could undergo a major restructuring this summer.
Per Sean Deveney of Heavy.com, the Bulls are “open to reshaping” their roster with Zach LaVine as their clear No. 1 option and could consider trading DeMar DeRozan.
One idea suggested by Deveney is a swap between the Bulls and Phoenix Suns involving DeRozan and Deandre Ayton. Chicago could be in the market for a center with Nikola Vučević set to become a free agent.
The report does note the Bulls have not yet shopped DeRozan in potential trade talks, but it could happen soon because 2023-24 will be the final season of his current contract.
The Bulls are in danger of falling into a state of purgatory, if they aren’t already there. They were one of the best stories in the NBA for the first half of the 2021-22 season.
The additions of DeRozan, Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso helped propel them to the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference standings as late as Feb. 25, 2022. They closed the year with 15 losses in their final 22 games, but they still made the playoffs for the first time since 2016-17 before losing in five games to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Things didn’t completely bottom out this season, as the Bulls finished 40-42 before losing to the Miami Heat in the play-in game to determine the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Ball hasn’t played since Jan. 14, 2022, because of ongoing knee issues. He originally had surgery to repair a torn meniscus that was expected to keep him out for six to eight weeks. The Bulls shut him down for the rest of the year on April 6 when he had a setback in his recovery.
It’s unclear when Ball will be able to play again. He had a second surgery before the start of this season and a third in March that was a cartilage transplant surgery.
While the Bulls didn’t announce a timetable for Ball’s return, Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported he will likely miss “most, if not all” of the 2023-24 season.
Given the uncertainty around Ball, LaVine is the best long-term building block on Chicago’s roster. The two-time All-Star signed a five-year max contract last summer.
DeRozan could potentially bring back a strong return for Chicago. He’s had arguably the best years of his career with the Bulls. The six-time All-Star has averaged 26.2 points on 50.4 percent shooting and 5.1 assists per game in 150 starts over the past two seasons.
Source: bleacherreport.com
