NBA Fans Rip Bulls Front Office for Limited Returns in Lonzo, LaVine, DeRozan Trades
Well, the Chicago Bulls have done it again.
ESPN's Shams Charania reported Chicago is trading guard Lonzo Ball to the Cleveland Cavaliers for wing Isaac Okoro. It appears to be a one-for-one swap without any other assets included.
This continues a wider trend for the Bulls. Ball is the fourth notable player from their 2021-22 playoff team to get moved, joining Alex Caruso, DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine.
All of those transactions combined have failed to net a single additional first-round pick. The Bulls got their own 2025 first-rounder back in the three-team deal that involved LaVine and De'Aaron Fox at this year's trade deadline.
Bulls fans and neutral observers alike are struggling to understand the objectives of Artūras Karnišovas, the executive vice president of basketball operations:
Two days after Chicago's season ended with a loss in the Play-In Tournament, Karnišovas said he "cannot define the actual timeline" for a return to serious contention. Still, he asked the fanbase to keep trusting his overall vision.
"We always look to improve our roster, draft trades or free agency; keeping an eye open all the time," he said. "I'm asking fans for patience because we are in the first year of transition. I thought the way we finished the year shows promise, to finish 15-5. It's not a victory lap, but there are positives and we have to keep on building on this group by adding another player in the lottery, going to free agency and adding another piece. And our players to focus this summer on getting better and come back so we can make another jump next year."
It's hard to see how flipping Ball for Okoro helps Chicago "make another jump" in the short term, and the trade clearly wasn't about focusing on the future because no picks were involved.
The Bulls hired Karnišovas in April 2020 and they've made the playoffs just once — a first-round loss in 2022 — since then. That's also the only year they've finished with a winning record.
Few franchises have defined treading water more than Chicago, and fans won't be wrong for thinking more of the same is ahead after Saturday.
