Tomorrow is December 15th, the unofficial start of the NBA trade season, the day on which a good number of last summers free agent signings become available for trade. With that in mind, let’s trade the Chicago Bulls roster!
From the start of the season I’ve been leaning into the “Blow It Up” narrative for this Bulls team. They have a lot of very talented players that just don’t seem to fit together very well. It’s been obvious to a lot of us arm chair GM’s that this Bulls roster isn’t “it.” Three seasons of bad basketball kind of tips you off to that fact. So let’s do something about it.
First, let’s identify the players that have value and can be turned into “assets”. This is pretty easy to do. Here are the Bulls players from most valuable to least…
- Alex Caruso – The utility defender and (now) big shot maker is the best chance for the Bulls to net big time draft capital. With a good enough bidding war you should be able to get two 1st round draft picks (and maybe a young player) for Caruso.
- Zach LaVine – With his big contract it’s a little more difficult to move off LaVine, but the fact that he is under contract for several seasons and is a great offensive talent makes him tradeable. The Bulls will hope to get some “bad” contracts, a young player, and a draft pick or (fingers crossed) two back for the scorer.
- DeMar DeRozan – Is starting to look a little long in the tooth by NBA standards, but he is still a deadly closer. He has played hero enough times in his career that he could be the perfect addition to a contending team that needs just a little extra oomph to finish games. You’ll probably get a couple 2nd rounders and a guy back for DeMar.
- Coby White – is playing the best basketball of his NBA career. He’s young. He’s fun! He’s under contract for a couple seasons. If the Bulls decide to do a full on tank, White could get you a decent 1st round pick.
- Patrick Williams – The last couple weeks of the P. Will experience have been hopeful. He is a good defender and a high percentage 3 point shot maker. He is still very young and has shown himself capable of growth (very, very slow growth, but growth none-the-less). I’m not sure what Williams could get you on the trade market but it won’t be nothing.
- Torrey Craig, Andre Drummond, and Jevon Carter – All veteran journeymen with skills any contending team might want. You might get more than a bag of balls for these guys, depending on the team asking about them.
- Ayo Dosunmu – A strong defender and fast break starter, Ayo has value in the NBA, but it’s more about finding the team that wants to develop him (I’m looking at you Toronto). He needs to be more consistent from beyond the 3 point arc, and he can’t have games where he just doesn’t contribute on offense. Nobody wants a shrinking violet. If the Bulls find a team with some patience and an eye toward rebuilding, Ayo can be moved.
- Julian Philips and Dalen Terry – Young, dumb, fun, and they run. I’m not sure why you’d trade these two if you’re doing a full rebuild, but someone would be willing to take them off the Bulls hands if they shopped them around.
- Nikola Vucevic – He just signed a largish contract with the Bulls and he probably won’t live up to it. If you get a bag of balls for him then the Bulls have fleeced the opposing GM. It’s not that Vooch is bad (well, maybe he is), it’s more the contract isn’t what any other team in the league is looking to be saddled with.
- Lonzo Ball – To be honest, I don’t even know if he is trade eligible due to his injury status, and it seems inhumane to even try. So let’s not trade Lonzo Ball.
Now we have to identify teams that might be willing to trade with the Bulls. When it comes to some of the higher profile players, some teams have already been floated in rumors as having an interest.
According to rumors, every contending team in the league has enquired with the Bulls front office as to the availability of Alex Caruso. This is why I have him as the Bulls most valuable “asset” (he’s a human being, with real feelings and needs, but let’s reduce him down to some kind of monetary value because basketball). If Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley have any kind of bartering skills, they might be able to play desperate teams against each other for a sizable return on a Caruso trade.
Rumor has it DeMar DeRozan has also been asked about by multiple teams. I would hope that the Bulls can find a solid deal for DeMar, but his return will be limited due to his expiring contract and age. DeRozan has expressed interest in going to either the New York Knicks or Miami Heat, but it’s been the Los Angeles Lakers that have been kicking the tires on ol’ Deebo.
Evidently, nobody wants Zach LaVine. This seems a little ridiculous considering his All-Star ability, but in the age of feelings over facts, nobody in the league appears to be “feeling” Zach LaVine right now. If Zach wants to be traded he needs to get on the Tik-Tok (that’s what the kids are on now a days, right?) and rehab his image a little. Teams still loosely attached to LaVine are the Lakers and Philadelphia ’76ers.
The last player that has had some minor trade rumblings is Andre Drummond. I don’t know who is looking to acquire my current favorite Bull, but if it were up to me, “Nope.” But also, yes, you trade Andre Drummond if somebody comes up with anything of value for him.
Now let’s get stuff back for these players!
Golden State has always seemed to covet Caruso and more importantly they have draft picks! Gary Payton II is a decent player from what I remember of him, but more importantly, draft picks! Maybe you can get Brandin Podziemski in this deal too, the money works.
I’m pretty sure the money works on this LaVine trade, but you’d have to wait until January 15th in order for Rui Hachimura to become trade eligible. Most Bulls fans would want Austin Reaves to come back in this trade, and if you can get him that would be great, but I’ve always like Jaxson Hayes and I’m the dope writing this post, so there. Any trade of LaVine to the Lakers is going to feature D’Angelo Russell and Rui Hachimura in Bulls uniforms, that’s the only way for the money to work, the other players and/or picks attached are mostly filler.
Okay, let’s send DeMar to New York City!
Any trade with the Knicks is going to include Vucevic’s best buddy from their Orlando days, Evan Fournier. Hopefully the two of them still get along. Immanuel Quickley has been a bit disgruntled with his role so he might be gettable. Also, how could you not bring back Ryan Arcidiacono. No ‘diacono, no deal.
This is a bad trade for the Bulls, but I like Ivey and I am trying to trade everyone.
DJJ never should have left.
Is this a good trade? No. Have I become bored with this and want to quickly move on with my life? Yes.
Let’s see if we can get anything back for Andre Drummond.
It’s frustrating that this deal failed. The two players are obviously comparable in ability, but the draconian NBA salary cap rules appear to hinder this otherwise fair and equitable deal. Too bad. I feel sorry for all the Nuggets fans who are going to miss out on the joy of Andre Drummond Basketball simply because of the business of the NBA is so heartless. Oh well.
This has gotten out of hand, and I already feel the wraith of Nugget fans emanating through the internet, so let’s just end it here. By my count, if all these trades go through, the Bulls roster will be somewhere in the vicinity of 40 players, so they might have to cut a few guys.
Seriously though, the Bulls need to shake up this roster, and they need to do it in a major way. Even if AKME don’t pull the full rebuild panic lever, they have to maximize whatever trades they do make. The moves they make can’t just be “win now” moves, there has to be a draft pick or two added to the cupboards. Do I want to see any of the Bulls players traded? In my most passionate and frustrated moments as a fan, I want them all gone. But not really. I like them all and their foibles. We just can’t have the same crap year in and year out. Something has to change, and that something is the roster.
Until it does, thanks for reading, thanks for subscribing, and GO BULLS!
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