Bulls Takeaways from 2023 NBA Trade Deadline
The Chicago Bulls could have taken a blowtorch to their roster at the 2023 NBA trade deadline.
They also could have added players for the stretch run, like someone to cover Lonzo Ball's perpetual absence, for instance.
Instead, they went through Door No. 3 and did nothing. They were one of two teams, along with the Cleveland Cavaliers, that didn't make a move during trade season.
What can we glean from the franchise's inactivity? More than you might think, actually.
The Core Remains...for Now
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The Bulls still don't seem certain of how good their Big Three is—or how good it can be without Ball, who did a masterful job as a two-way connector last season before suffering a meniscus tear in Jan. 2022.
If Chicago was bullish or bearish about the trio of Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vučević, that would have shown in its deadline activity. The decision to stand pat, on the other hand, seemingly suggests that even the Bulls are still figuring this core out.
Once the deadline came and went without a deal, Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Artūras Karnišovas told reporters the organization's next step "is to evaluate this group over the next 28 games."
With these roster-wide evaluations ongoing, anything seems possible for the future. If the Bulls show more fight than they have all season, maybe that motivates the front office to add talent this offseason. Should they stumble, though, they could still opt to self-destruct this nucleus and start over.
They Are Interested in Re-Signing Nikola Vučević
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Vučević's contract with the club is down to its final few months.
That's why his name bounced around the rumor mill and surfaced in so many fake trades. If the Bulls don't want to commit long-term to the 32-year-old, the deadline was their chance to negotiate a divorce that gives them something in return.
Keeping him through the deadline was revealing on its own, but in case the franchise's desires weren't clear, Karnišovas informed reporters the Bulls are "confident" they can bring him back and "want him to be here."
Vučević has enjoyed a strong season. There aren't many third options putting up 17.8 points, 11.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists per night. He may not be the cleanest fit with LaVine and DeRozan—all three of whom do their best work on the offensive end—but if the Bulls want to buy into Vučević's talent, it's hard to blame them.
Coby White Has a Chance to Stick Around
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If anyone assembled a list of likely trade candidates at the deadline, Coby White was on it—no matter the list's length.
The No. 7 pick from the 2019 draft has both an expiring contract (he'll be a restricted free agent) and the smallest workload of his career. Throughout his three-plus seasons in Chicago, he's seen the franchise add one point guard or combo guard after the next.
Yet, he's still residing in the Windy City for now, and one can only assume he'll have a chance to remain there even after restricted free agency.
While the Bulls' hands are hardly tied here—they could explore sign-and-trade possibilities if they wanted to—it's tough to imagine they'd get more for White than they would have at the deadline, since their trade partner would have had him for the stretch run and gained control of his restricted free agency.
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