Per reports, the Bulls have expressed confidence that they can swing a deal for a high-caliber veteran player before the February deadline.
“I can relay that I have heard the same and even a confidence emanating from the Windy City that the Bulls believe they will strike at least one significant deal before the Feb. 6 trade deadline to shed at least one high-profile veteran from the roster,” wrote NBA insider Marc Stein for The Stein Line.
Should the Bulls blow it up?
Moreover, the Bulls have several assets they can put in a trade to entice playoff contenders or emerging playoff teams looking for a person to fill a need or lift them to the postseason, a la Rasheed Wallace for the Detroit Pistons in 2004.
For instance, the Bulls can consider a trade involving “Zach LaVine, Nikola Vucevic, and Lonzo Ball before the deadline,” Stein continued, going from a previous report from Jake Fischer.
The three players are the team’s remaining core after DeMar DeRozan signed with the Sacramento Kings in the offseason and the team traded Alex Caruso to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Josh Giddey.
But it’s clear that these players, despite their talent, are simply not good enough together to lead the Bulls to postseason success.
However, to be fair, Ball has just returned from injury that sidelined him for two years, but the roster he returned to is not the same one that once had the best record in the Eastern conference at one point.
Trade scenarios
Likewise, it might be in both the Bulls and Lonzo’s interests to seek deals to put him elsewhere. Additionally, Vucevic has seen a bit of a late-career resurgence, which means a lot of contenders who need big men might want him as a backup for a deep playoff run.
“Ball is on a $21.4 million expiring contract and thus theoretically the most tradeable, but Vucevic–twice an All-Star previously–is playing at an All-Star level again at 34,” Stein added.
Moreover, LaVine has a monster $215-million contract that would make him hard to trade, but his value around the league might be low enough now for other teams to bite on him, especially those who need additional scoring from the guard position.
Sometimes, in the NBA, it’s better to be outright bad than mediocre, and the Bulls might have seen the light before it was too late.
