This past season, the Chicago Bulls were bounced in the play-in tournament. They took a step back after making the playoffs the year prior in their first season with the current core. Unfortunately, the trio of Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic doesn’t seem to be a championship-caliber group.
Just because LaVine may not be a No. 1 doesn’t mean the Bulls should break up the trio. Will Gottlieb of CHGO pointed out how difficult it is to find a true first option on a title team, noting how hard the Bulls have tried to put LaVine in a position to win. At the same time, he urged Chicago to constantly keep LaVine and everyone else on the table in trade talks.
Gottlieb didn’t advocate for the Bulls resetting the roster and starting over immediately, but he said they shouldn’t take anyone off the table in potential trades.
“Because the Bulls are so far away from putting that caliber of team together, they do need to be shopping him and everyone else on the roster,” Gottlieb wrote. “That’s not necessarily a knock on LaVine, it’s just the reality of the Bulls’ circumstance.”
As mentioned, Gottlieb also discussed Chicago’s attempt to put a quality team around LaVine.
“With all of that said, I do believe the Bulls have done their best to invest in LaVine,” Gottlieb wrote. “They moved future draft picks and operated above the cap to bring in talent. They addressed his weakness in defense by putting (Alex) Caruso and (Lonzo) Ball next to him. They addressed his playmaking weakness with Vucevic and DeRozan to help unburden him. While it worked for half of a season, it’s clear that it’s not going to work in the future.”
The Bulls may not have a title-caliber team, but for now, they should just be content with pushing for the playoffs.
