NEWSLETTER
I’ve never actually been in a Rage Room (link for those not in the know), but the Chicago Bulls could be on the brink of changing that.
At least, that’ll be the case if the latest from K.C. Johnson (NBC Sports Chicago) means what I think it means.
“Only Zach LaVine and Coby White remain from the roster Karnišovas inherited, and trading LaVine is the main organizational focal point for now. In fact, league sources said that, at least for now, Karnišovas is responding to inquiries on other players by saying he wants to see what the roster looks like post-LaVine trade first,” Johnson shared in a recent column.
For the sake of my mental health, let’s look on the bright side first. Perhaps all Johnson is saying is that the Chicago Bulls want to be extra patient. Whatever they get back for Zach LaVine could help them decide what they look for in return for their other pieces. For instance, if they settle on a deal that is centered around a promising young talent, maybe they focus on adding draft capital via trades that include players like DeMar DeRozan and Alex Caruso.
On the dark side, however, is the thought of Karnisovas believing he can trade Zach LaVine while maintaining a short-term win-now mindset. This was a fear that started to set in over the offseason, when a report implied the Bulls could look to move LaVine in a deal that helps “raise its floor.”
Karnisovas shared a comment with reporters for the first time since this disastrous season tipped off on Tuesday. He claimed that he is “seeing what everyone else is seeing.” As far as I’m concerned, this means seeing a team that has rotted from the core.
In other words, I think it could be organizational malpractice to rebuff conversations about other players on this roster because you want to see what this team looks like without Zach LaVine. Restructuring the team around 34-year-old DeMar DeRozan and 33-year-old Nikola Vucevic makes little to no sense when it comes to building a sustainable winner. Not to mention, it would be a waste of an asset like LaVine to trade him for win-now role players to put around those two veterans.
I honestly can’t think of a more self-destructive path forward than that. If a bright future is the goal, turning these veteran assets into draft capital and intriguing young talent is the only logical position to take.
Is there a world where this team sees some addition by subtraction after moving LaVine and putting vets around a more motivated DeRozan and Vucevic? Sure. It’s not that hard to be better than 5-14. But the ceiling of that team still isn’t going to be anywhere near high enough to justify that decision. It would be the ultimate endorsement of mediocrity.
The Chicago Bulls need to look no further than the very team that embarrassed them a few seasons ago for how to approach this season. The Orlando Magic didn’t trade their best player Nikola Vucevic only to try to retool around Aaron Gordon and Evan Fournier. Instead, they opted for the fire sale that led to the stockpiling of tremendous assets. They have now rebuilt to a 12-5 team in the same amount of time as the Bulls have crumbled.
Of course, the Magic did end up with the No. 1 pick in the draft, which helped tremendously. But they still committed fully in one direction and built a roster stuffed with high-upside young talent. The Chicago Bulls MUST do the same.
Arturas Karnisovas screwed up when he decided to sit on his hands after the 2021 offseason. He chose not to continue his aggressive win-now mindset and not to immediately address the weaknesses with his core. We talked all about this in an edition of our morning bullets the other day. If he wants to do things right this time around, he has to push all his chips in. The more you try to play in the middle, the longer that’s where you’ll be.
