Bulls' Complete 2024 NBA Trade Deadline Preview, Predictions
The closer the Chicago Bulls get to the Feb. 8 NBA trade deadline, the less likely it seems they'll use it to make wholesale changes to their team.
In fact, there's now a non-zero chance this front office simply stands pat, as it did at the last two deadlines.
A month or two ago, an inactive deadline would've felt like a nightmare scenario for this franchise. At this point, though, it might just be their reality. Zach LaVine's trade market is non-existent, and Chicago's willingness to trade anyone else is, at best, difficult to gauge. The Bulls have been just competitive enough to convince the front office not to tear things down but also not competitive enough to warrant sacrificing assets to get them additional help.
So, will Chicago really let another deadline pass without making a deal? Or do the Bulls have more up their sleeves than people seem to think?
Assets
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Attempting to discuss Chicago's asset collection is tricky, because you don't really know from which side of the coin you should approach. The word asset can mean a number of different things depending on whether a team is buying or selling.
If the Bulls plan on chasing any players this trade season, they don't have a lot to offer. They owe a 2025 first-round pick to the San Antonio Spurs, but it carries protections through 2027, so they can only offer a first-round pick two years after they send one to San Antonio. They could swap firsts in 2024, 2028, 2029 or 2030, though.
They also are owed an upcoming first-rounder from the Portland Trail Blazers, but it's lottery-protected and keeps that protection all the way until 2028. Portland's rebuild could conceivably take long enough that this protection activates every season, and the Blazers wind up only sending their 2028 second-rounder.
In terms of young talent, Chicago doesn't have much to offer, unless it has an appetite to let go of someone like Patrick Williams or Ayo Dosunmu. Coby White is clearly a keeper and arguably already the most important player in this organization.
If the Bulls opted to sell veterans for long-term assets, they have plenty to shop around. LaVine might not have a market due to his injury issues and massive contract, but DeMar DeRozan and his expiring $28.6 million salary, per Spotrac, would surely interest any offense-needy shoppers. If the Bulls ever made Alex Caruso available, he'd have contenders lined up like Black Friday shoppers.
Needs
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Again, assessing Chicago's needs requires knowing which direction this front office will take. The wish lists when loading up for the stretch run or taking a step back now for the possibility of multiple forward steps in the future are two wildly different things.
If it was up to us, we'd be clearing out the veterans and seeking out picks and prospects to put around White.
Chicago has engineered some competitive stretches here and there, but during their two-plus seasons together, DeRozan, LaVine and Nikola Vučević have posted a minus-2.8 net rating in their shared floor time, per PBP Stats. How much more data do the decision-makers need to see before accepting that this trio isn't working?
The Bulls have been so hesitant to give up on competing, though, that they could look for on-court help at the deadline. If they go that route, their laundry list of on-court needs includes shooting, passing, point-of-attack defense and frontcourt athleticism.
Predictions
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The Windy City should be buzzing with trade talks at the moment.
Their win-now roster isn't winning, and you'd think that might guarantee major changes are in the works. Yet, there's barely a peep about the Bulls of late, and most everything you hear suggests those big deals just aren't happening.
"With a week remaining before the NBA's trade deadline, few within or around the Chicago Bulls organization anticipate the franchise making a major move," The Athletic's Darnell Mayberry reported. "If the Bulls swing a deal before the Feb. 8 deadline, most will be surprised. It's not that the Bulls can't make a trade, but there's a prevailing belief that the front office won't commit to something substantial."
The Bulls don't seem to have the appetite to part with anyone other than LaVine, and he's essentially impossible to move at the moment. They also at least seem to recognize that this core has too many flaws to put real resources into adding pieces around it.
So, Chicago might be stuck with what it has, for better or worse. The Bulls could sleep through this deadline like they did the last two and forego making any big-picture plans until the offseason.
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