A different take on the current Chicago Bulls roster.
The Chicago Bulls find themselves at a crossroads. After missing the NBA Playoffs, the teams’ decision-makers have some very tough calls to make, which will impact the future of the once-proud franchise. As currently constructed, the Bulls have some very talented players on their roster in All-Stars DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, and free-agent-to-be Nikola Vucevic.
Despite having their “Big Three” play most of the season—Vooch even played the entire 82-game schedule—the Bulls still finished outside of the playoff picture. It’s easy to point to the team’s lack of depth and outside shooting, but t’s also hard to argue against trading away one or more of these stars to start a seemingly necessary rebuild in Chicago.
Get some value back for the Bulls’ current assets
According to Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic, trading away DeRozan and/or LaVine could serve the Bulls well. After all, DeRozan will be playing the last year of his contract, so trading him now would give the team something in return.
“DeRozan is entering the final year of his contract, and the Bulls know they are nowhere close to a championship-caliber team even with him. So why keep him for what could be one last, mediocre season?” Mayberry wrote.
Meanwhile, trading away LaVine would allow the Bulls to get rid of his massive contract, which still has four years remaining.
“They might want to get off the final four years of LaVine’s max contract now rather than continue to build around him. Parting with one or both will bring the quickest reboot,” claimed Mayberry.
Going nowhere
Yes, the Bulls were a force to be reckoned with when the “Big Three” was playing with dynamic guard Lonzo Ball. However, Ball is nowhere close to recovering from injury and several surgeries, so it would be surprising to see him suit up next season. And given how serious his knee injury was, it’s highly unlikely he’ll get back to playing top-notch basketball. Mayberry added that the first step to making this Bulls team better is for management to accept that keeping this core as it is would be a huge mistake.
“But to pull themselves out of mediocrity — it’s not a mess — the Bulls first must concede that the ceiling of this current core is limited and likely has already been hit. Then they must pivot and part with the players they seem to be overvaluing in terms of their importance to the franchise’s long-term health. If Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic all return next season, I doubt much will change in the team’s results.”
