The Chicago Bulls have started the season 19-31. It's an improvement from last year but again, the Bulls look like they'll be out of the playoffs. On the other hand, it's a miracle that Chicago is the Eastern Conference's ninth seed and just 3.5 games behind the Brooklyn Nets for eighth.
Regardless, The Bulls aren't yet a “good” team and that may lead to fans urging for the franchise to make a trade at the upcoming trade deadline. I'm here to argue otherwise.
The Bulls have a lot of great young pieces. Zach LaVine is an absolute scoring machine, Wendell Carter Jr. has shown great improvement in his second year, Coby White has shown flashes of stardom as a rookie and despite a disappointing season, 22-year-old Lauri Markkanen has yet to scratch the surface of his potential.
Chicago has all that young talent without even mentioning Otto Porter Jr. who the team acquired at last year's deadline. Porter played just 15 games for the Bulls last season and has been sidelined for pretty much all of this season. However, in the games that he has played, the former No. 3 overall pick has looked like a great secondary option.
Article Continues BelowPorter is reportedly set to return for the Bulls sometime soon and fans should finally get a real chance to see what the former Georgetown star is all about. If I was the Bull's I'd avoid making a major decision at the deadline.
I think the best-case scenario, the Bulls pick up a major contributor and sneak into the playoffs as the eighth seed. But in that scenario, Chicago may be jeopardizing some of their future. The Bulls have the pieces to compete in the East, it's just not this year.
A minor trade for smaller role players would be fine as the team can still address their needs without risking too much. The Bulls young core will continue to develop and improve and I'm not convinced they need to do anything to ruin that.
I understand the frustration of not winning now but, in my opinion, the fault for the Bulls' success is more with the team's coaching and front office rather than the actual roster. The Bulls are in a lot better position than many other teams in the future and actually have multiple players to be excited about. Being active in the trade deadline could lead to a few more wins but I don't think there's anything the team could do to help them compete now.