I’d like to think the Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis megatrade Saturday shamed the Bulls into doing something Sunday. But that would be like shaming a two-ton boulder into doing something.
So I don’t know what spurred Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas to action. All I know is that the Bulls sent Zach LaVine, the subject of trade rumors for eons, to the Kings as part of a three-team trade. In return, they’ll get the Spurs’ Zach Collins and Tre Jones, as well as the Kings’ Kevin Huerter. The Bulls also get full control of their 2025 first-round pick, which had been top-10-protected.
Yay?
The big news, I guess, is that they actually did something, which rates as an upset. Hey, grab on to anything resembling a positive, Bulls fans.
If the idea was to get away from the sort of player LaVine is — hugely talented but apparently incapable of meshing well with teammates’ skills — then the Bulls did their job. If Huerter, Collins and Jones don’t stir Bulls fans’ blood, there’s a reason for that: They’re not that exciting. Huerter has averaged 11.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists in his career; Collins, 7.9, 4.7 and 1.8; and Jones, 8.2, 2.8 and 4.7. Lots of teams apparently looked at LaVine the same way some of us did: You can’t win because of this guy. Maybe the Kings can coax him into being a different player, but he is what he is after 11 seasons. That he’s being reunited with former teammate DeMar Rozan is another example of life’s ceaseless ironies.
Many of us agitated for years for the Bulls to break up their ineffective Big Three — LaVine, DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic — only to be met with Karnisovas’ blank stare. Well, sure, you can understand why he would be so protective of the team’s talent. The Bulls’ record, in order, since he arrived in 2020: 31-41, 46-36, 40-42, 39-43 and 21-29. Here’s a towel to wipe off the sarcasm.
But now he has done something, and one doesn’t know what to do with oneself. It’s worth noting that Karnisovas didn’t get a first-round pick for LaVine, DeRozan or Alex Caruso. If this is a rebuild, it looks like a demolition without the necessary paperwork for a future structure.
LaVine averaged 24.2 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists with the Bulls. Damn good statistics. But he either is flawed enough to bring little in a trade, another example of the Bulls’ inept front office or proof the Bulls are on failed Rebuild No. 45. Pick your poison.
The good news is, the franchise is moving forward from LaVine. It’s good news not because he’s a bad player or a bad guy but because they weren’t going anywhere with him. The bad news is, Karnisovas will be the guy calling the shots going forward.
There’s nothing wrong with LaVine other than the Bulls can’t win with him. Can any team win with him? It’s a legitimate question, not a mean-spirited one. LaVine is sort of Doncic Lite, a guy who can score, pass and rebound. OK, very lite. Doncic is a superstar, a walking, talking triple-double machine. LaVine is a star. Big difference. But they do have something in common: Neither has won an NBA title.
When watching both players do their thing, I always feel like I’m . . . watching them do their thing. A roster seems to be there for the sole purpose of helping them get the most out of their game. If they’re going to get 10 assists, they’re going to need someone to accept their passes. If they’re going to get 10 rebounds, they’re going to need teammates to block out or miss shots on the offensive end. If they’re going to score 30 points, they’re going to need people to set screens for them or, short of that, to get the hell out of their way.
This is what I had written earlier in the day, before the big news late Sunday:
‘‘The NBA had a blockbuster trade on Saturday night, and, no, it didn’t involve LaVine, mostly because it never does and mostly because Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas doesn’t seem to do much of anything. Last year, when the Bulls traded Alex Caruso for Josh Giddey and then DeMar DeRozan for Chris Duarte and two second-round picks, it was the franchise’s first trades involving actual players since 2021.’’
But, look: The Bulls made a trade Sunday!
This wasn’t Doncic to the Lakers in exchange for the Mavericks getting Davis. This was something much, much less. As usual.