NEWSLETTER
The second the Chicago Bulls’ season came to a close was the second the rumors started.
This upcoming offseason is expected to be stuffed with storylines for a franchise that has now faced back-to-back Play-In Tournament exits and below-.500 finishes. The core of Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Nikola Vucevic has repeatedly failed to produce a consistently competitive product. In fact, it’s only gotten worse with time, as that three-man combination had a -10.3 points per 100 possessions this year. That is their worst mark since teaming up three seasons ago.
The time is now to address these unsatisfactory results. Tearing it down and prioritizing the development of young talent is one obvious path, especially after the breakout seasons of Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu. However, ESPN’s Jamal Collier is already reporting that the Bulls might try to go in another direction.
Here’s what he wrote following last night’s loss:
“Chicago will be monitoring for a star player who could become available in a trade, such as Atlanta’s Trae Young, whose contract is similar to LaVine’s. The Bulls will also keep a close eye on impending free agency situations such as the Clippers’ Paul George or Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell, sources told ESPN. But both the Bulls and LaVine are also preparing for the possibility that he will start next season in a Bulls uniform.”
Make sure to give Collier’s full article a read here. Lots of good stuff from my fellow Illini alum.
Can the Bulls Even Land a Star?
First things first, every front office should be “monitoring” the availability of star talent. That’s part of their job. Where the real conversation starts is whether or not the Bulls’ front office believes they actually have an avenue to add any of the players Collier listed above.
Paul George is a free-agent and the Bulls aren’t projected to have the finances to make a serious run at him. In the case of Trae Young and Donovan Mitchell, we’re likely talking about pretty substantial trade packages. The Bulls do not own their 2025 first-round pick, which means they can not trade their 2026 first-round pick due to the Stepien Rule (you can’t trade picks in back-to-back drafts).
They do own their 2027-2030 first-round selections, but we have to remember the 2025 pick that San Antonio owns is top 10 protected. With that in mind, the Bulls might need to remove those protections in 2025 (which is shaping up to be a stacked draft) to ensure they don’t run into a situation where that first-rounder doesn’t convey and moves to 2026. To put it simply, the Bulls don’t have effortless flexibility with their future draft picks right now (they could always try to do pick swaps, which is allowed but also less appealing).
The team does own an additional first-rounder from the Portland Trail Blazers, but that is lottery-protected and holds pretty little value. Otherwise, they have just three second-rounders in 2028-2030.
Are they thinking that Zach LaVine is going to be the anchor or a blockbuster trade? If so, they’re probably grossly mistaken. While his money can help land a big fish, most franchises will see themselves as doing the Bulls a favor by acquiring him. He is coming off one of his worst seasons in quite some time, as well as a season-ending foot surgery.
Would the Chicago Bulls consider throwing Coby White and/or Ayo Dosunmu in a deal? Look, I might consider something like that for a player as talented and young as Mitchell, but it could still be another huge risk! The team would further damage their depth and ability to add worthwhile pieces around that new star – which might as well defeat the point of adding that player.
Indeed, that is where I think this whole conversation comes to a head. The Bulls aren’t overflowing with assets to retool this thing around another star, specifically when we consider the assets they’d have to give up to get that star. I would at least respect some sort of aggressive change of direction, as literally anything would be better than the Bulls sitting on their hands again. But they also just screwed up a win-now approach and basically threw away two seasons! Will they learn from their mistakes and do it right or dig themselves a deeper hole?
