NEWSLETTER
Like a little kid who refuses to admit he has to go to the bathroom, I’m not sure who the Chicago Bulls are trying to impress.
This upcoming NBA trade deadline will give the franchise an out. They can accept defeat on this three-year trial run and restock assets for the future. Considering their record (9-14) with a max player who wants out, absolutely nobody would blame them for waiving the white flag. Yet, recent reports continue to suggest that they may refuse to do just that.
Michael Scotto of HoopsHype recently spoke about the NBA’s top trade candidates with colleague Yossi Gozlan. In their conversation, he touched on how the Chicago Bulls could approach a Zach LaVine trade in the coming months:
“If you’re trying to keep DeMar and Vooch, you’d almost be more in a win-now mode. That has been the sentiment that rival executives around the league have gotten,” Scotto said on the HoopsHype Podcast. When I wrote the top trade candidates piece recently, we touched on that they’re not necessarily looking for straight draft capital. They’re looking for players that can help them win now and maybe a pick down the line if they can add to their cupboard.”
I don’t have the energy to whine about this anymore. As I’ve repeated time and again, choosing to trade a 28-year-old multi-time All-Star to build around two players in their mid-30s makes extremely little sense. This feels only more painfully true when we consider that DeMar DeRozan is up for an extension. Adding win-now pieces via a LaVine trade likely means paying a player who will turn 35 years old before the start of next season. And that player will not come cheap.
To be clear, DeRozan getting paid isn’t the issue. He deserves to be compensated handsomely for his excellent play over the past two seasons. The issue is paying DeRozan when you’re not a contender. And if the Bulls think they can become one by merely adding a few veteran players in a LaVine trade, they’re lying to themselves.
Look, I also understand that the Chicago Bulls will need to eat some salary to get a LaVine deal done. It’s also possible those players help the Bulls win a little in the short term. For example, if Chicago takes back guys like D’Angelo Russell or Rui Hachimura from Los Angeles. But it all comes back to the motive. Are you accepting win-now players in a deal because you must or because you genuinely believe you don’t need to rebuild?
If Arturas Karnisovas is going into negotiations operating under the latter mindset, it likely means he isn’t prioritizing young players and draft picks. Likewise, it could very well mean he doesn’t go on to consider deals for veterans Alex Caruso and DeMar DeRozan, who may have tons of value as the deadline approaches. I can’t imagine a bigger mistake.
Am I glad to at least hear Scotto reference draft capital? Sure. If the Chicago Bulls do not get a first-round pick in a deal for Zach LaVine, they have really dropped the ball. But it makes me uneasy that the draft picks sound like an afterthought – let alone how there is zero mention of the team wanting to add more young talent.
Anyway, I rambled more about this in a post the other week, which you can find here. While I’m at least confident that some sort of roster change is on the horizon, I hate how little confidence I have in it being enough change. Please prove me wrong, Arturas!
