The NBA trade deadline is quickly approaching as is it on February 8th, just over a week away. One team that has some stuff to address is the Chicago Bulls. Trade talks around the Bulls were lively early in the season when some of their star players didn't seem to gel with the team, and the on-court product in Chicago was not looking good. However, the Bulls have really turned things around in the past couple of the months, and they are now a team fighting for a playoff spot. They are currently 23-27 and the nine seed in the East. If the season ended today, they would be in the play-in tournament.
There have been a lot of trade rumors surrounding the Bulls this season, and most of them are surrounding Zach LaVine. LaVine is often regarded as the best player in Chicago, so when the team was struggling at the beginning of the season, it seemed like there was a mutual want for a trade. However, injury trouble for LaVine and a turnaround for the Bulls have created some question marks.
When Zach LaVine first went out with an injury this year, the Bulls were not looking good as they had gotten off to a 5-14 start. Then, with LaVine on the bench, the team had a lot of young talent step up, and they started to win some games. People were wondering if LaVine coming back would end up hurting the Bulls, but when he came back from his lengthy injury absence, the team didn't miss a beat. Things were looking good for the Bulls, but there was still a lot of talk in regards to LaVine being traded. Then, injury #2 happened.
LaVine is currently out with his second injury of the season, and because of that, a trade isn't going to happen anymore. At first, there was a possibility that LaVine would be able to return to the court and play for the Bulls before the trade deadline, but that is no longer a possibility. LaVine decided that foot surgery was the best option, and because of that, he will have to miss the rest of the season. Obviously, the best case for the Bulls would've been LaVine coming back as soon as possible and remaining healthy through the trade deadline. Unfortunately, that isn't going to happen because of the recent injury news and the fact that LaVine will be out for the season. Now, the Bulls might be changing their course of action last minute in terms of what to do before the trade deadline.
When we say the Bulls might be making a last minute change, we really mean last minute. Just a few days ago, before the LaVine surgery news, this is what we thought the best case scenario was for the Bulls:
“At this point, it definitely still seems like the mutual interest is there for a trade. The Bulls and Zach LaVine likely both want this to happen, so this is still the most ideal option for both parties. Obviously, the best case scenario would be if LaVine could come back from his injury ASAP and show the league that he is healthy, because that would make it easier for Chicago to make a trade. Because of the multiple injuries that he has suffered this year, teams might be starting to think that he is too injury prone, and they aren't going to want to go after someone that might not end up playing very much. A trade would be the best case scenario for the Bulls because they could likely could get a package of young talent for LaVine, and that could be the start of an important build for the future. This team is already loaded with a lot of young talent like Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu who have both taken massive leaps this year, and it might be smart for the organization to think about the future instead of this current season. There is a chance that trading LaVine could hurt the team's chances of making a playoff push this season, but that isn't a huge risk. The Bulls have shown this year that they can win without LaVine, and either way, the ceiling of this current team is squeaking into the playoffs as high seed or making it in through the play-in tournament. While making the playoffs is always a good thing, the Bulls aren't built for any type of run in the postseason. If they do happen to make it to the playoffs this year, they would more than likely have a first round exit.”
Obviously, all of that is now out the window for the Bulls, and they are going to have to take another course of action. There are a lot of rumors right now about what the team might do, but at this point, no one really knows what's going to go down in Chicago before the trade deadline. Here a couple good options for the Bulls as the deadline looms.
Best options for the Bulls before the trade deadline
One option for the Bulls is to make the exact same type of trade that we previously discussed with LaVine, except do it with DeMar DeRozan. DeRozan is also a veteran player on this team, and he is also one of the best players on this team. He is also going to be nearing the end of his career in the next few years as he is currently 34 years old. The Bulls might make the playoffs this season, but they aren't going to win any championships. They could trade DeRozan to a contender for a package of young talent, similar to what they could've done with LaVine. That way, DeRozan could go somewhere with a chance to win, and the Bulls could continue to build a young, talented squad. There would likely be mutual interest.
The other option for the Bulls at this point is to just not make any big moves and keep things the way they are. Chicago is having a good year based off of preseason expectations, and you really never do know what can happen once the playoffs get here. It's very unlikely that this team makes any sort of run, but it could happen, and this team has been playing pretty well since their rough 5-14 start. So far, most of their trade plans have had something go wrong and they haven't been able to get anything done. With just a couple of days until the deadline, don't be surprised if they don't make any big moves like we originally expected.
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