The day is March 25, 2021, the Chicago Bulls have just acquired Nikola Vucevic and Al-Farouq Aminu from the Orlando Magic in exchange for Wendell Carter Jr., Otto Porter Jr., and 2 first round picks in 2021 and 2023 (the 2021 pick was used by Orlando to select Franz Wagner). In my deadline recap I wrote about how much I loved the deal and how it gave the Bulls a legit All-Star next to Zach LaVine. That summer, the Bulls signed Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso, 2 moves that were good at the time and have worked out, though Ball’s knee injury is a concern, they also signed and traded for DeMar DeRozan sending Aminu, Thad Young, and a 2025 first round pick back to the Spurs while signing DeRozan to a 3yr/$85 million contract, a move that I questioned because I was not sure on the fit with LaVine and Vucevic. Last season, the Bulls got off to a hot start at 26-10, while staying in the one seed for most of January. Then, the wheels fell off and the Bulls finished 46-36, 6th in the East, and were eliminated by the Bucks in 5 games. This season, the wheels have completely fallen off and the Bulls are sputtering at 10-14, 12th in the East. As a result, the Bulls have some tough decisions to make over the next 2 months ahead of the trade deadline.
The season has not gone the way the Bulls would have hoped. At 10-14, the Bulls have gotten off to a rocky start, though they do have 2 wins over the Boston Celtics (the team with the best record in the NBA). Their trio of All-Stars have been shaky at times but all are averaging over 15 points a night. Patrick Williams has not progressed in his 3rd year the way Chicago had hoped. After missing most of last season, the 4th overall pick in the 2020 draft has stalled, his numbers look very similar over all 3 seasons of his career, 9.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.2 assists, are his career averages and they line up over all 3 seasons of his career with his career highs in all 3 categories coming in his rookie season. He has to be better because his defense is not good enough to make up for him being an offensive liability. Coby White is averaging career lows across the board but his minutes are down and the Bulls seemingly do not have him in their future plans. Ayo Dosunmu is a good player, good defender and good shooter, he will help the Bulls in the future. However, this team is not very good, so trades should be made.
Zach LaVine is not going anywhere, he just signed a 5 year extension and a trade would be shocking, though we have seen it before when the Clippers traded Blake Griffin to the Pistons in his first year of a 5 year contract. That said, though there are reports that he’s untouchable, DeMar DeRozan is a name I would keep an eye on. In the 2nd year of a 3 year contract, DeRozan is a very attractive player to a bunch of teams. One deal that has been floated around and I have seen people scoff at from a Bulls perspective is: DeRozan and Vucevic for Russell Westbrook and the Lakers unprotected 1st round picks in 2027 and 2029. If offered, the Bulls would have to talk about this. Is there a plan to resign Vuc? If not, which is highly possible and something I would not do myself, this trade is absolutely one I would do. DeRozan is 33 years old and if this team really is a 37 or 38 win team, why are you hanging on to him? Those 2 picks could be really high and 2 picks I would want, maybe they could get Austin Reaves in a deal as well. Another DeRozan trade I think could help the Bulls is sending him and Javonte Green to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for John Collins, Justin Holiday, and Sacramento’s protected first rounder in 2024. I wrestled with having a pick in the trade but I decided to add it as I think the Bulls would have more leverage because the Hawks have been trying to trade Collins for a while, DeRozan is a better player, and they are swapping Holiday and Green which helps the Hawks stay under the luxury tax. There are other players Chicago can trade and other moves they can make if they do not want to go this route, though I would.
Let’s start by saying they shouldn’t trade Williams. I know he has been a disappointment but your team stinks and trading any sort of young talent you have does not seem like a wise one. A move some think the Bulls would be wise to make is acquiring James Wiseman from the Golden State Warriors in exchange for Alex Caruso. However, I wouldn’t do it unless I get at least a couple of 2nd round picks. James Wiseman was bad his rookie year, he did not play due to injury last season, and he has been bad this season. There is no tape of James Wiseman playing in a real stretch of regular season NBA games that shows this guy can sustain good play over the course of even a few games, and he is due to make $12.1 million next season, so not only has he never shown he is good, he is expensive for next season as well. The guy is playing in the G-League currently, so trading him for a player who has really helped my team in his tenure as a Bull is a tough sell. Coby White is a player I would try very hard to trade as the team already has players like Caruso, Ball, and Dosunmu so they do not have a need for White, who will be a free agent in the summer with the Bulls being unlikely to re-sign him. There are a lot of teams who could be willing to take a flier on White even if he has not worked out in the NBA to this point as former Chicago draft picks like Lauri Markkanen and Wendell Carter Jr. have worked out elsewhere. The Bulls simply are not good enough and changes should be made.
In March of 2021, the Chicago Bulls knew they had to make a decision because Zach LaVine was entering the last year of his contract. It was either commit to LaVine and build around him or get out and trade him, they chose to commit to LaVine, sending out Wendell Carter Jr., Thad Young, and a bunch of draft picks to acquire Nikola Vucevic at the trade deadline and then DeMar DeRozan in the summer. It started off really well but then fizzled out and it is time to admit your mistake and make some trades but they probably won’t, as front offices are stubborn and rarely admit when they are wrong and ownership wants to make the playoffs no matter what. Nikola Vucevic might not get you a first round pick by himself but DeRozan would bring back a haul. Last September I said “I am not totally against any of the moves they made by themselves but giving up all of those picks to acquire a pair of players who are on the wrong side of 30 seems short sighted for a team that should not be all in on the short term.” This group was never going to compete for championships, the upside was never there and now we are seeing what the downside was.
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