The Chicago Bulls are in a rough spot. After going all in on a core of Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Nikola Vucevic two years ago, they only have one playoff win to show for it. Sure, Lonzo Ball‘s injury slowed them down significantly, but they can’t use that as a perpetual excuse for mediocrity.
Arturas Karnisovas has made it clear that he has no intention of rebuilding the roster. He wants to push forward and compete with the current core. But that would be a huge mistake. Morten Stig Jensen of Sports Illustrated urged the Bulls to ditch their plans and get into the draft.
He noted Chicago’s middling play and the stacked 2023 NBA Draft class as primary reasons for the Bulls to hit the reset button this summer.
“The organization is entering the offseason with needs of retaining Vučević, an unrestricted free agent, as well as Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu, both restricted free agents,” Jensen wrote. “That’ll eat up most of the space they have under the luxury tax, and for… what, exactly? A 40-win team that’ll find themselves beaten out of the play-in tournament?
“This is my not so subtle way to say: Get into the draft, Bulls. Particularly, this draft.
“Forget about the current core, that offers a very limited ceiling, and pivot off both Vučević and DeMar DeRozan. Even if the most you can get in return for DeRozan is a late lottery selection, pull the trigger. You can then see which type of player fall into your lap, and from there determine whether or not to trade Zach LaVine during the summer.”
With Chicago’s ceiling likely being a middle-of-the-pack playoff team, the time to rebuild is now.
