The Bulls Have A Tough Decision To Make…
The Bulls head into the offseason in need of a big change but feel destined to chase “continuity.”
The Chicago Bulls have a very obvious and tough decision to make. Notice that I did not call it an “easy” decision, but rather an obvious one. The Bulls finished the 2022–23 season 40–42. They defeated the Raptors in the first Play-In Tournament game, before losing to the Miami Heat in the Play-In game to make the actual NBA playoffs.
And then after all of that, Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic wrote a report that included a interesting nugget of info, that a source indicated that Arturas Karnisovas had been “quietly handed an extension” from Bulls COO Michael Reinsdorf. The timing of this extension — like head coach Billy Donovan’s before it — would be very odd considering the Bulls haven’t exactly had an impressive season. But regardless, if Karnisovas is locked into the Chicago job for the long-haul then he has plenty of work left to do.
The obvious decision that Bulls President of Basketball Operations Arturas Karnisovas faces is:
Should he break up the Bulls core?
Zach LaVine is locked into a long-term deal. DeMar DeRozan has a year left on his deal but will surely be looking for a well-deserved extension following two great individual seasons from him.
Nikola Vucevic — the key piece of the Wendell Carter Jr. trade — is a free agent this current offseason. Vucevic’s production was great for Chicago, to the point where they simply can’t afford to let him walk.
I would like to see Chicago go in a different direction at center but a sign-and-trade would likely be the only way the Bulls can get a different starting-caliber center and even then the options are quite limited. While I think there will be a market for Vucevic, it is tough seeing the Bulls finding a team willing to swap center-for-center in a deal.
That leaves LaVine and DeRozan.
There were whispers of a LaVine-to-the-Knicks deal this season that ultimately went nowhere.
I don’t see the Bulls ever dealing LaVine, but Bulls fans should definitely pay attention to how the Knicks do this postseason as they could always come back to the idea that LaVine could help them take the next step.
That original rumored trade was LaVine to the Knicks for a combination of Derrick Rose, multiple first-round draft picks and other young players including Quentin Grimes (but not R.J. Barrett).
Trading LaVine is the Bulls quickest route to restocking their asset cache, and a deal headline by several picks is nothing to sneeze at even if you don’t love the prospects you are getting back.
The chances of LaVine getting dealt are low, but as I said I would keep my eye on the Knicks.
DeRozan is a tough fit on most teams in a 3-point heavy league, but win-now veteran teams like the Lakers, Clippers and even a team like the Grizzlies could convince themselves that DeRozan’s scoring and playmaking could be just the boost their squads need.
Unfortunately, any of the above moves would be the Bulls admitting defeat and taking a step back now in the name of being better in the long haul. It’s probably the right thing to do, but by no means the easy thing. And because of that, I simply don’t see the Bulls taking an honest look in the mirror.
But to provide a bit of a silver lining for BullsNation, if the Bulls do indeed bring (mostly) the same team back there is a great chance that the aging veterans will naturally cede some responsibilities to the younger players on the roster in the name of preservation and development.
