Bulls Better Off Without Holiday, Payne

I could rehash what the Bulls did Thursday, but I’ll direct you to the official release instead:

Don’t expect Brooks to stick around, either.

There’s no proper way to analyze the second-round picks the Bulls got back because for all we know, they’ll sell them to Golden State a la Jordan Bell. What we can do is look at Holiday and Payne’s departures and let out a collective “Thank God.” I’m sure we’ll express similar sentiments for Jabari Parker and Robin Lopez before too long (though Lopez remains likeable), but let’s embrace what’s happened in the present. As they say, there’s no time like it.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with Holiday as a player, his team-low 38.3 field-goal percentage notwithstanding. After all, the Grizzlies acquired him to be a scorer that could help them out of the major slump they’re in. The problem was the situation he was in. When a player approaching 30 is starting every game for a young squad and averaging a team-high 34.9 minutes a game, it hinders the development of players behind him, and no more Holiday means Chandler Hutchison finally will get ample opportunity to prove he was worthy of a first-round selection.

As for Payne, I can’t see him off fast enough. The once “point guard of the future” who was acquired in a trade package that included Taj freaking Gibson never found his footing in Chicago, and it never should have taken Gar Forman and John Paxson this long to realize it. This season, he was surpassed in the rotation by Ryan Arcidiacono and Shaquille Harrison. Slipping to the fourth point guard on a rebuilding team is a one-way ticket out of town sooner or later.

Now that we’ve closed the book on both of these players a month before the trade deadline, we know (or is it hope?) more moves are coming. That’s what rebuilders do. The question is whether Parker or Lopez will be the next to go. Compelling cases could be made for both.

Lopez is the definition of a good teammate. He didn’t pout after losing his starting spot to Wendell Carter Jr. and continues to push through every night despite averaging only 5.8 points and 2.6 rebounds a game. While that’s attributed to his minutes being cut as much as anything else, he stays healthy and does just enough to remain in the rotation. Oh, and he’ll come to your aid in altercations, too.

Meanwhile, for all of Parker’s offense, he’ll have a lot of rust to shake off as he remains firmly in Jim Boylen’s doghouse. Every active Bull played in Wednesday’s 112–84 loss to the Orlando Magic except him. Though Lopez might be an easier player to move, the Bulls might want to get rid of Parker first so that any suspense surrounding him, Boylen and the rest of the organization is removed. The longer he sits, the more intriguing his case becomes and not in a good way.

The trade front only is heating up in Chicago. Anyone not seen as vital to the Bulls’ future is up for grabs. Perhaps more obvious trade candidates will emerge over the next few weeks. In the meantime, let’s keep this clearance sale going.