Bulls Hot Takes After 1st Month of 2023-24 NBA Season
The first dozen games of the Chicago Bulls' 2023-24 NBA season has made one thing clear.
They are who we thought they were—and not at all in a good way.
If anything, they've fallen short of what were tepid expectations to begin with, signaling change could be coming to the Windy City and allowing us to form the following three hot takes.
Alex Caruso Is Their Best Trade Chip
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Alex Caruso isn't the most productive player on the Bulls. He doesn't have the richest contract or the most accolades on his resume.
What he does have, though, is the most trade value of anyone on the roster.
That will surprise those who attach things like name recognition and counting categories to trade value, but which win-now club couldn't use a player like Caruso? He is an elite defender (All-Defensive first-teamer last season), a full-throttle hustler and a versatile offensive player who can fit any number of roles. The more he's involved, the better it's been for the Bulls.
Conversely, how many teams are willing to stomach the remaining money owed to Zach LaVine or Nikola Vučević? Who would pay a premium to add DeMar DeRozan while knowing the 34-year-old is only signed through the end of this season? We may not have the specific number for either inquiry, but it's clearly far fewer than those who'd love a chance to bring Caruso onboard.
Patrick Williams Isn't a Building Block
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If the Bulls were going to exceed expectations this season, they were most likely to do that on the strength of a Patrick Williams breakout.
Well, the No. 4 pick of the 2020 draft has fallen flat on his face, so it's no surprise this club has done the same.
It'd be one thing if he was merely plateauing, but he's actually backtracking toward the worst season of his career. If the campaign closed today, he'd average the fewest points of his career (6.3) while posting his worst shooting rates from the field (32.9) and from three (27).
With no evidence suggesting he'll snap out of this any time soon, it's possible the only thing that could help him get his career on track would be a ticket out of town.
"Williams isn't likely to ever live up to his selection as the fourth pick by the Bulls in 2020. In Chicago, that decision always will hang over him," The Athletic's Darnell Mayberry wrote. "Here, he'll be seen as and expected to produce like a top-five pick. But time is proving he's much closer to a role player than a featured player."
They Should've Torn Down the Roster a While Ago
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Look, this certainly isn't the hottest take you'll ever find. Analysts questioned the viability of this core from the second it was assembled, and calls to tear it down are far from a novel idea.
But there are clearly folks—namely, the ones in decision-making positions of this franchise—who hoped things might be different this time around. They can go ahead and ditch those dreams.
The LaVine-DeRozan-Vučević trio was always a strange one from the start, since none is an impact defender, nor the caliber of playmaker who can squeeze the best offense out of the others. Time and again, these three have proved to be a poor fit. This season has been no different. The three have played 242 minutes together, and the Bulls have lost them by 14.8 points per 100 possessions, per NBA.com.
It's past time for the Bulls to abandon ship. And they can't half-step into a rebuild, either. Dealing as many of the high-dollar players as possible is an obvious move, but Chicago should be shopping Caruso for the richest return it can get. When teams ring up the Bulls to talk trades, no one on this roster should be considered off-limits.
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