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The Chicago Bulls had a prime opportunity to extend their winning streak to four on Monday night when they welcomed the cellar-dwelling Houston Rockets to the United Center. The vibes seemed better after recent rumors of on-court tension involving stars Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan, plus a halftime blowup during an ugly Bulls loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Instead, the Bulls laid an egg, giving up 133 points to the Rockets and suffering an embarrassing 15-point defeat. LaVine admitted Chicago took Houston “for granted,” despite the Bulls coming into the game with a 14-18 record while consistently struggling against bad teams.
This latest loss immediately wiped away the good feelings from those three consecutive wins and again signaled a team that just isn't all that good and is going nowhere. While the Bulls have some talent on their roster, it's not meshing well and the defense is falling off a cliff, especially with recent injuries. Chicago ranks 21st in offensive rating, 19th in defensive rating and 24th in net rating, per NBA.com.
As we approach the halfway point of the season, it's clear the Bulls must do something with this roster and make some trades. Lonzo Ball isn't going to come riding in on a white horse to save the day, and this group is just too inconsistent with too many roster flaws to be serious contenders. There's enough talent in place to win a decent amount of games, and Chicago does have a handful of big wins this season, but the sample size is getting big enough to suggest there won't be some major turnaround.
Arturas Karnisovas took some big gambles in putting together this roster over the last couple of years, and some of them just aren't working out. The Nikola Vucevic trade has backfired and Ball's injury has been an absolute killer. Now it's time for Karnisovas to do his job and figure out how to get out of this mess.
This and much more got discussed on the latest episode of Blue Wire's Cash Considerations: A Chicago Bulls Podcast:
Just what should the Bulls do? They don't necessarily HAVE to blow it all up, but they should be exploring all options and strongly considering a blowup if the right trade offers are on the table. It would be painful to trade guys like DeMar DeRozan and Alex Caruso, but perhaps Chicago can sell high. The Bulls need to look to move on from Vucevic, even though he's still a solid player putting up good stats.
The LaVine situation is a bit more complicated given he can't be traded until Jan. 15 and just signed a five-year max deal worth $215 million. He's starting to round into form after offseason knee surgery, but there have still been questions about defensive effort and decision-making, especially in the clutch.
The Bulls are in a tough spot right now after finally returning to the playoffs last season. They're right on the cusp of the play-in tournament and could try to stay the course to make that or even challenge for the No. 6 seed as the New York Knicks fall back to the pack. But where is the upside in all of that as this team meanders along?
Also, even if the Bulls do want to generally stay the course and try to win, there then should be moves made in an attempt to improve the roster. Sitting around and doing nothing, which has basically been the case since their big 2021 offseason, isn't an option anymore.
It's time for the Bulls to do something.
Cash Considerations: A Chicago Bulls Podcast is part of the Blue Wire Podcast Network. The pod can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts.
