Chicago Bulls Can't Lose Sight of Long-Term Priorities Despite Recent Success
As expected, last week’s trade deadline came and went without much action from the Chicago Bulls. That’s been the story for the past half-decade.
Rather than make a major move like dealing Pau Gasol, the Bulls chose to hang onto their major pieces—their only move was shipping out Kirk Hinrich in a cost-cutting deal and bringing in little-used swingman Justin Holiday. The non-action represented a bet that the current core, even with all the injuries it’s faced, has another playoff run in it.
A deal to send Gasol to the Sacramento Kings reportedly gained some traction prior to the deadline before falling apart, as those things tend to do. The decision not to trade Gasol was a perfectly defensible one—any trade of involving him would invariably make them worse in the short term. But it raises questions about management’s awareness of the team’s position and priorities going forward.
“We really like Pau,” Bulls general manager Gar Forman told K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune after the trade deadline. “We were thrilled when he came [in summer 2014]. We think he has been very good for us these last two years. We see him as a part of our core.”
Three of those four statements are indisputably true. The Bulls organization and coaching staff like Gasol, and his signing two summers ago gave them some added star power after their high-profile, ultimately failed pursuit of Carmelo Anthony.
And Gasol has been great in his season-plus in Chicago. He’s been a deserving All-Star selection both seasons and has averaged 17.9 points and 11.4 rebounds over those two years, serving as the Bulls’ most consistent offensive weapon this year with Jimmy Butler injured and Derrick Rose just recently starting to find his footing.
But the idea that Gasol, especially at the price he’s going to command this summer on the open market, is part of the Bulls’ long-term core is troubling, if that’s how management really feels.
Gasol will have the ability to opt out of the final year and $7.7 million on his deal this summer, and he’s said that he intends to. With the salary cap set to jump by nearly $20 million this summer, he won’t be cheap to re-sign, even though he turns 36 in July. With nearly every team set to have significant cap space in the offseason, and so few top-level free agents on the market, it’s almost a lock that Gasol will command between $15 and $20 million annually, even on a shorter-term, two- or three-year deal.
Since coming to Chicago last June, head coach Fred Hoiberg has preached an offensive philosophy built on pace, shooting and ball movement. With the Bulls set to have as much as $20 million in cap space this summer (provided Gasol opts out and Joakim Noah is not re-signed), the opportunity will be there to add younger talent more in line with the style Hoiberg wants to play. Spending most or all of that money to bring back Gasol, essentially running back this group, would do a disservice to everyone involved.
In all likelihood, even with a healthy Butler (he’s expected to be back in a few weeks after suffering a knee injury before the break), these Bulls aren’t more than a second-round out. They’re too banged up, too lacking in depth beyond their starters at every position and too out of step personnel-wise from the style Hoiberg wants to play.
But lately, glimpses are starting to emerge as the kind of team the Bulls can be under Hoiberg long term. Derrick Rose is playing his best basketball in four years. The younger, less-proven reserves (such as Doug McDermott, Bobby Portis and E’Twaun Moore) are beginning to gain confidence and find the kind of rhythm that could establish them as long-term candidates to stay in Chicago.
When free agency hits, the Bulls’ front office will have the opportunity to bring in players that complement the handful of promising young talents on the roster, and they will be hamstringing themselves if they don’t take full advantage of that flexibility.
Since the All-Star break, a Bulls team that looked to be fading fast in the Eastern Conference balance of power has started to gain some forward momentum. They’re 3-1 since the break, including three straight wins at home after previously failing to win a game at the United Center since January 7.
If everything breaks right and everyone gets healthy, maybe this team can make another push in the playoffs. Depending on the matchup, they could win a series or maybe two. But the Bulls cannot let that success fool them into thinking that the current team, the one that has been unable to get over that hump in years past, can contend without some changes.
This summer will be a pivotal one for the Bulls, and they must make the most of it. Being seduced by present success is not the way to do that.
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