Now that the latest James Harden saga has been resolved, there’s no obvious major trade to be made in the coming weeks.
Activity might perk up a bit in mid-December, when many of the players who signed contracts as free agents this offseason will be trade-eligible again.
There are rumblings surrounding one particular team. The Chicago Bulls, possessing a roster of high-priced veterans, finished last season at 40-42 and lost in the play-in tournament.
Many wondered whether the front office would make major changes this summer and perhaps even begin a full rebuild. That didn’t happen. Instead, it took a “run it back” approach with only minor changes.
The Bulls re-signed center Nikola Vucevic and added under-the-radar free agents like Jevon Carter and Torrey Craig.
It hasn’t gone well for Chicago in the first two weeks of the season. The Bulls have a 3-5 record and there have already been some tense moments.
Vucevic reportedly exchanged words with coach Billy Donovan after the season opener. A players-only meeting was supposedly held after the regular season opener, even though Zach LaVine downplayed it, saying it was a “basketball conversation.” LaVine was criticized after a loss to Brooklyn on Friday for not taking responsibility for defensive errors.
The club declined to give Patrick Williams a rookie scale extension last month and the 2020 lottery pick has already been replaced in the starting lineup.
Lonzo Ball, of course, won’t play this season as he continues to rehab from his knee injuries.
Then there’s DeMar DeRozan, who will be a free agent after the season if he doesn’t sign an extension. DeRozan has said he’s not the type to ask for a trade, but he’d have value for a contender looking for that final piece.
Chicago could also get a nice trade package for LaVine, one of the most gifted scorers in the league. Vucevic isn’t eligible to be traded until Dec. 28 but he could attract interest from a team in need of a starting center.
Alex Caruso is another player that many contenders would covet if he’s made available.
On the flip side, it’s still very early. A nice winning streak would settle things down and quiet the speculation. Chicago defeated Utah 130-113 on Monday and Donovan noted the team played with better “spirit.”
That brings us to our topic of the day: Do you think the Bulls will make some major moves and revamp their roster this season? If so, which players do you believe are most likely to be dealt?
Please take to the comments section to weigh on this topic. We look forward to your input.
I doubt they will make major moves in-season. This front office has been very stubbornly sticking to their guns, and doesn’t seem likely to change course. If they underperform badly enough, I could see Donovan being fired before they trade away vets.
Donovan gets fired they don’t hire someone good enough. They are basically Washington Wizards bad and stubborn.
I could see
Drumm
Williams
and
White Mamba going to contenders
For assets if they are not 500 by January
Should they rebuild? Yes. Will they? Probably not.
Moving Caruso, LaVine, DeRozan, Drummond, and Craig would be the smart move. Get back a bunch of assets. Play for a Top-3 pick.
I would keep Vucevic, hes skilled, albeit defenseless. But it’s harder to develop a big. Might as well keep one in the fold, focus resources elsewhere.
I’d also keep William’s, hes going to be pretty cheap come the offseason with his current level of play.
White, Ayo, Terry, Williams, Vucevic and whomever they get in matching trades. Good enough to get a bottom 3 team no doubt.
But that would be too ballsy they’d never clean house.
I think there are a lot of quitters on this team. Most guys only appear to be here only because they can coast and the Bulls are dumb enough to pay them for it.
The Bulls are also stuck because these guys stink so bad that the Bulls cannot get what they hope for (especially with their bloated contracts), so they stick around.
Trade DDR target a veteran 4 and a young PG, like a Quickley.
Move Patrick Wiliams to the 3, and move White back to more of a bench scoring role and let him lead the 2nd unit along with Ayo, Caruso, Craig, and Drummond.
I think they should pull a 3-way trade with the Magic and the Knicks
Bulls acquire:
J.Isaac
Okeke
Quickley
Knicks Acquire:
D.DeRozan
Magic Acquire:
E.Fournier
Bulls 2nd Round Pick
Bulls right to 1st Round swap in 2025
The Magic clear Isaac’s salary and pickup a pick and a swap, The Knicks get another solid player to help get them over the hump in DeRozan, and the Bulls get younger by adding some quality depth and pieces.
New Bulls lineup:
Quickley
LaVine
P.Williams
Isaac
Vucevic
Ayo/J.Carter
C.White
Caruso
Craig/Okeke
Drummond
Why would the Knicks do this?
Quickley sure, Isaac no thanks
I realize Isaac isn’t ideal, and he certainly comes with his warts, but it’s very difficult to work out a trade for the Bulls where all the salaries match and they get a young PG and a PF.
Plus, for all his issues, if you can get Isaac healthy, he’s exactly the type of player the Bulls need. He helps with rebounding, he’s a true 4, he has tremendous length and size to help defensively, and he’s capable of scoring a little bit here and there.
Imagine a lineup with Quickley, Lavine, Patrick Williams, J.Isaac, and Vucevic, or even throw in Caruso over Quickley and that’s a lineup with an excellent blend of offensive and defensive potential. Not a top tier team, but they’d certainly be better and more well rounded than they are now
Why would the bulls give up picks?
Honestly, idk, I just added it for the Magic’s sake in case saving the money wasn’t enough of a factor for them to pull the trigger.
There are some NBA coaches that win with any players. Donovan isn’t one of them. They probably need better defense.
Should they blow it up, yes. Will they, no.
To say it’s early on is to ignore what the Bulls have done in the last 12 months, which is effectively nothing. Without Ball in the lineup making sure everyone is getting touches, the Bulls have a three man offence that is a clunky fit. I understand not letting Vuc walk for free this past offseason as the Bulls wouldn’t have had money to replace him anyway, but one of him, DeRo or Zach needs to be dealt by the deadline. The team just needs to freshen it up, this group is a play in team that too much talent to get a top 5 pick, but also not good enough to compete for more than a 1st playoff exit. Blow it up, add to it, make a sideways move, just don’t stay stagnant.
I’ve had issues with this roster basically from the word go. They’ve been a defensive-minded team with mid-tier defensive personnel. They’ve gotten by on scheme and individual production rather than fit, and it was never sustainable. Even if Lonzo was at full strength, they weren’t going to maintain the pace they were at with him active. DeRozan also has a very negative history in the playoffs. The numbers look passable on the surface, but his efficiency is bad, he doesn’t shoot the 3-ball at *all* in the postseason (averages less than 2 per game on 21%, and only in 4 series out of 11 has he attempted more than ten total), he has mental lapses often, and doesn’t pass the way he should. Even at their peak, this wasn’t a true contender. *Maybe* they could manage it, but only if everything broke exactly in their favor, which is *never* something to bet on.
Trade LaVine to the Sixers for the best package you can get; they’re the one team that would jump at the chance to make a quality move at the present time (with Barrett playing so well, the Knicks may be content to stand pat until the deadline). Trade DeRozan ASAP, but you may have to wait for the TD. Vuc will sadly have to wait for the offseason thanks to his extension. Sell off available veterans like Drummond and Caruso to teams that could use them at the TD, to maximize the potential return.
As for the young guys, P-Will and Dosunmu are the obvious building blocks. White could settle in at the 2 if given the opportunity as well; he’s a decent self-creator who can also pass when needed. But the frontcourt needs a direction. P-Will is a 3 and should only play the 4 situationally.
Maybe see if you can pry Charles Bassey or Sandro M. from the Spurs, given that they have Collins and Wemby in front of them, as well as other, younger bigs on the roster who are more likely to be part of the team when the Spurs are ready to compete again.
While I half-heartedly agree, it’s alot easier said than done. Majority of the time a team won’t get but potential late round future picks, and cast-offs in trades for even quality players from big time contending teams.
The best teams to trade for are those that are on the rise that might potentially jump the gun to try and make a statement. Finding fair value for a really good player like LaVine can be really tricky, and I’m not so sure I trust the Bulls to get a good enough return where it would be worth trading him.
DDR, on the other hand, just needs to go. He’s seemingly a great dude, and I don’t even like saying this, but he just doesn’t really play winning basketball. He’s become an inconsistent volume shooter who takes low percentage 2-pt shots, doesn’t pass well enough, and hinders/stops the flow of the offense way too often for isolation opportunities.
Lavine can be a much versatile scorer, so I think he could potentially at least part of a re-tooled squad.
I would agree on LaVine if he were signed to a contract of about 2/3s the value of his current one. He has several serious problems that prevent me from believing in him, at least at his age and current price point. While you raise a decent point about the return being potentially limited, his value is close to its peak right now.
First and foremost, while he’s a 3-level scorer, he doesn’t have any ability as a playmaker. His a/t ratio is barely 1.5, which isn’t good at all for a guard, and his assisting point generation and assisting FG% are both well below average. DeRozan, who has his problems as a playmaker, is about half again as valuable as Zach in that regard. It’s not a surprise that the Bulls are trying to limit his playmaking responsibility this season.
Second, he plays better off-ball than as a self-creator. Much like Jaylen Brown, he has unfortunate tendencies with turnovers. He’s got better handles, but the similarities are obvious. His assisted FG% is nearly greater by 10 percentage points than his unassisted percentages. And with Lonzo, the best PG he’s ever played with, the gap was nearly fifteen percentage points. On another retooling team, he’d have to carry a much bigger offensive load than he should.
Thirdly, his defense. As a 1-v-1 defender, LaVine is acceptable, sometimes even good. As a team defender, LaVine is one of the biggest liabilities in the NBA. He’s god-awful at scheme defense and doesn’t do well as a help defender either. A lot of that is probably because he’s carrying too much of a load on offense, but that’s not changing on the Bulls.
And finally? I don’t think LaVine himself is willing to go through another rebuilding cycle. The points of intense annoyance with the team and media were very obvious, and he’s going through the same thing again, what with refuting comments made by teammates and coaches, and refusing to accept responsibility for miscues. If he asks out, it will surprise literally no one.
Also, he’s at his physical peak right now and has already had a few concerning injuries. He turns 29 in three months. It’s only downhill from there for guys who rely heavily on their athleticism like Zach.
As stated the Front Office will be stubborn and refuse to do what is correct and that is unload everyone they can for picks and scrubs.
Vooch, DD, ZL, and AC should be on the block!
Keep Andre D for the center, move white to SG, move Williams to SF, and get someone that can play PF even if it is Favors for this season!
Your ideas will make the team worse in the short term. Drumond can’t throw a beach ball into the ocean. Whether White is a starting NBA player is questionable.
Basically anything but trying to add on despite the team’s limited resources will do that. Even standing pat. The Bulls are already stuck in the middle. Doing nothing isn’t feasible, adding is of limited use and won’t work longer term. Best to blow it up and get what they can.
Agree. The Bulls are stuck in the middle with no way to improve other than trying to improve from within. Maybe just trade DeRozan. Wish the Bulls still had DJJ.
I think trading DDR is their best route moving forward. Move PW to the 3, find at least ONE true PF for their roster, and then find a true PG to help iniate their offense.
It won’t fix everything, but it would be a heck of a start.
Agreed. Only way to find out what PW can be. Wish the Bulls had traded DDR in the offseason and picked up players such as Oubre, DJJ, Christian Wood.
Thoughts:
1.Billy Donovan-tried everything,but everything failed,need a new coach
2.Vooch-simply too slow whatever he does,team needs young,fast,athletic C
3.Zach-turnover machine,constant bad decisions,can’t be trusted to lead a team
4.DeMar-he is the best at what he is doing,but he brought this not very healthy midrange and clutch culture
5.AC-man,he so good,but his availability is constantly limited
6.Coby White and Pat-can’t be starters yet,to be NBA starter,you have to perform every night
7.Carter and Craig-they really good additions,they would make any team better
8.Drummond-starter,give him Vooch’s money
9.Julian and Onuralp-play them,they are too good to sit on the bench