There are professional sports franchises that only pretend to compete and seemingly revel in their fans’ collective misery. Then there are the Chicago Bulls — a dark pillar of perennial mediocrity enabled by owner Jerry Reinsdorf sitting on his hands time and again.
The latest example of the Bulls’ ineptitude by choice comes on the heels of an embarrassing Alex Caruso trade fiasco.
According to CHGO’s Will Gottlieb, Chicago has fielded multiple calls for the difference-making All-Defensive guard, even receiving an offer that included a top-10 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. The Bulls have ultimately declined everything, opting to stay competitive for the playoffs (read: straddle the line of the Eastern Conference play-in tournament) off an apparent mandate from Jerry Reinsdorf and Bulls ownership.
Because of course they have. That is the least surprising news regarding any Reinsdorf-owned team and how it treats its roster and fans.
The Bulls took calls on Caruso, but never made them. According to a source with knowledge of the situation, the Bulls have received offers from multiple teams, consisting of multiple protected first-round picks. One of those deals included a pick in the top-10 of the 2024 draft, the source said. The Golden State Warriors were among teams who made a strong offer for Caruso, multiple sources confirmed.
Ultimately, they declined …
However, the source indicated that there was a mandate from the Reinsdorfs to fight for the playoffs. That, no doubt, impacted the front office’s decision making when it came to pulling the trigger on any Caruso deal.
Caruso is eligible for a monster four-year, $78.8 million contract extension this offseason. The veteran has earned such money. He’s also on the wrong side of 30 and, as such, fits much better with a championship-caliber team ready to compete for the NBA title, not scrap and claw for a .500 record like the Bulls seemingly always do.
But this is the situation the Reinsdorf Bulls clearly prefer.
Rather than pull the plug on the current iteration, which will assuredly never go anywhere, Chicago will double, even triple down on its current roster if it means simply maintaining the illusion of relevancy. That means likely extending another older guard in DeMar DeRozan and making no other discernible quality upgrades.
Because Reinsdorf and his family aren’t actually interested in sustained excellence or catering to his team’s loyal fans. They’re just happy if there are enough butts in seats at the Bulls’ arena come late March and early April.
Anything else for this laughable organization is gravy and takes entirely too much effort.
