It’s NBA Draft Night! And while half of the league is in a tizzy, making deals, and scouting players, the Chicago Bulls have been quietly going about the business of doing nothing. Because, and I can’t emphasize this enough, the Bulls DO NOT have a pick in the 2023 NBA Draft… yet.
With that in mind, I came up with 4 different ways the draft could go for the Bulls tonight:
- The Blockbuster We All Saw Coming
In this scenario, the Chicago Bulls finally find a trade partner to dance with Zach LaVine. This might be a team like the New York Knicks, who have been rumored to be interested in LaVine for quite some time. A Knicks package for Zach might look like some combination of half their roster (whoever makes the salaries match up) and a number of draft picks. There have been other teams rumored to be poking around the Bulls with an eye on Zach, but the asking price for the 2 time All-Star and Olympic Champion is apparently pretty high (as it should be) and it sounds like interest in is beginning to wane.
2. The Blockbuster We Didn’t See Coming
As prevalent as the LaVine rumors have been, I have heard little to nothing about the Bulls trading DeMar DeRozan. I have been on the trade DeMar DeRozan bandwagon since early last season. He is a big part of the “Bulls Don’t Shoot Enough Three Pointers” problem, and while in an ideal world you would surround DeMar with a bunch of shooters, it’s just as easy replace DeMar with a bunch of shooters, and maybe find an upgrade on defense. I don’t know who is looking to trade for DeRozan, but if a trade for him does occur, I would expect the Bulls to net a pick or two and a guy of some sort.
3. The Easiest Trade They Can Make
If the Bulls really want to get into this draft all they have to do is make Alex Caruso available. I don’t know how smart a move that would be. Caruso was easily the best defender on the team last season, making All NBA 1st Team Defense, and without him, the Bulls would not have had a top 5 overall defense last season. But Alex Caruso is the kind of player that can turn a Championship Contender into a Championship Favorite, and neither of those labels fit the Bulls right now. If they do trade Caruso, I would expect the Bulls to get a mid to back end of the 1st round pick in return, or maybe, if Arturas Karnisovas is really shrewd, two 1st round picks. Again, I don’t think trading Caruso is the best, or wisest, move the Bulls could make tonight, it’s simply the easiest.
4. The Cheese Stands Alone
It’s not sexy. It’s not forward thinking. It’s doing nothing, something the Bulls Front Office has done a lot of lately. From a financial perspective, doing nothing tonight makes a lot of sense. Why lock yourself into a rookie scale contract and further constrict the already (artificially) tight budget the Bulls will be operating under during free agency? Buying a second rounder and bringing everybody back would put the Bulls into the luxury tax next season!!! Do nothing. Stand still. It’s the smart money way. If the Bulls do nothing, the Billionaire who owns the team won’t lose out on all the free money he gets at the end of the season by keeping the payroll under the tax apron. MMMMM! I can almost taste that sweet, sweet revenue sharing! I want to bathe in it. Yeeeeeeeeessssssssssssssss.
There you have it, 4 Chicago Bulls Draft Night Scenarios. At least one of them might come true. And until it does, thanks for reading and GO BULLS!
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