The Chicago Bulls finished up yet another mediocre season about two months ago as they lost to the Miami Heat in the NBA play-in tournament. It was a disappointing season, so it was fitting for it to end in disappointing fashion. The Bulls got out to a good start in Miami as they hit a few threes early to go up 11-6, but it was all Heat after that. Miami won the game 112-91, and they went on to lose to the Boston Celtics who have now made it to the NBA Finals.
After going up 11-6, the Bulls surrendered a massive run and ended up going down by 20 in the second quarter. After they went down 20, the Bulls actually did a good job of weathering the storm. Chicago fought back and made it a seven point game in the third quarter, but the Heat turned things back on and ended up winning in blowout fashion.
The Bulls finished the regular season with a 39-43 record. They did get a win against the Atlanta Hawks in their first play-in tournament game, but they once again failed to make it into the playoffs. Chicago was just one win away and a victory in Miami in the play-in tournament would've sent them to the playoffs, but they couldn't get the job done.
So, another season is in the books for the Bulls. After starting 5-14, things went pretty well, but they are still far from satisfying this hungry fan base. No one really expected this team to make it to the postseason in the early stages of the year, so making it this far was exceeding expectations, but the fan base wants more. The Bulls front office has said that they are going to make some changes this offseason, but fans will believe it when they see it.
The first thing that the Bulls need to do is have a good NBA Draft. The Bulls have the 11th pick in the draft, but with this draft proposal from ClutchPoints NBA expert Brett Siegel, they would also get the 17th and 52nd from the Los Angeles Lakers. Let's take a look at the hypothetical trade.
- TRADE: Lakers trade pick No. 17 and a 2026 first-round pick (top-5 protected) to Bulls for G Alex Caruso. | Bulls also receive pick No. 52 from the Wizards, who receive G Gabe Vincent from the Lakers.
“Zach Edey is one of the biggest question marks in this draft in terms of where he will end up,” Brett Siegel wrote. “There are some teams picking in the lottery that are interested in Edey's talents, but there is a concern about drafting the Purdue big man so high, seeing as he doesn't have much room for growth. The Lakers, who are looking for win-now talents, seize their opportunity during the draft with this pick to bring back Alex Caruso from the Bulls. In doing so, Chicago gets the No. 17 pick and ends up with Edey, who can immediately become a factor for them in the paint, either behind or in place of Nikola Vucevic. At this point, given the trajectory of their team, it just makes sense for Chicago to part ways with Caruso.”
Trade grade: B
Trading Alex Caruso is something that wouldn't surprise anyone, and a lot of Bulls fans are expecting that to happen. Caruso has done a good job in Chicago, but Siegel is right, it just makes sense for the Bulls to trade him this offseason. That part of the trade is good, but what's up in the air from that hypothetical is the Bulls using that 17th pick on Zach Edey.
Zach Edey is a traditional big. He is a beast in the paint, but he is slow, not that athletic, and he can't shoot. If Chicago was to make this trade, picking someone else at 17 would maybe be the smarter move.
Who knows, maybe Zach Edey will work out in the NBA, but there's a reason why the top player in college basketball for the past two seasons isn't a projected lottery pick. It's because Edey's style of play doesn't typically translate well to the pros.
The Bulls have been one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the league the past couple years, so Chicago fans would likely rather see the team try to fix that area of the game with the 17th pick in the NBA draft. Getting more picks with this hypothetical trade would be good, but they need to be used wisely.
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