The Chicago Bulls are 8-12 on the season with plenty of incentive to be as bad as possible.
To get there and keep their 2025 first-round draft pick, they might need to make some subtractions from their roster. Specifically, the Bulls might need to trade guards Lonzo Ball and Zach LaVine and center Nikola Vucevic.
The trio has four All-Star appearances between them (LaVine and Vucevic). They are on the Bulls’ books for $84.4 million this season.
However, moving either LaVine, Vucevic, or Ball could come at a price to the Bulls.
“To take on any Chicago player earning a significant salary, more than one rival team told The Stein Line that they would be seeking former first-round pick Dalen Terry and recent second-round selection Julian Phillips as part of any package,” The Stein Line’s Jake Fischer wrote on November 29.
Terry was the No. 18 overall pick in the 2022 draft. He has gotten off to a slow start in his career. Terry averages fewer than 5.0 PPG in all three of his seasons in the NBA.
But the energetic Terry is 6-foot-7, handles the ball, defends, and is shooting 36.4% from deep.
The Bulls selected Phillips with the No. 35 overall pick in 2023. He has often rotated in over Terry, showcasing his two-way skill set and athleticism. Phillips has yet to find his range from downtown.
Interest in the Bulls’ youth is not high across the board, though. And the biggest exception is disappointing for the Bulls.
“Few rival executives … expressed much interest in swingman Patrick Williams,” Fischer wrote. “There had been chatter around the league about Charlotte, Oklahoma City and Toronto potentially lurking for Williams when he entered restricted free agency in June.”
The Bulls are actively trying to rid themselves of their pricey trio.
Bulls Actively Shopping $84 Million Trio Before Trade Deadline
Fischer reports the Bulls are expected to talk through scenarios with LaVine and Vucevic’s respective representation in December.
Other veterans’ agents are also “monitoring possibilities” if the Bulls lean into being bad.
“Bulls executives, according to league sources, have been messaging to rival front offices that they are willing to discuss the majority of their roster in trade talks leading up to the Feb. 6 trade deadline. Most notably, sources say, Chicago has expressed a desire to move LaVine, Vučević and Ball,” Fischer wrote.
“Rival executives have also openly questioned Chicago’s inaction since that initial flurry of acquisitions in 2021 … especially when the Bulls could have been a significant seller during last February’s deadline activity.”
ESPN’s Jamal Collier reported similar intentions from the Bulls’ front office for LaVine. The two-time former Slam Dunk Contest champion is in Year 3 of a five-year, $215.1 million contract.
Collier also mentioned Vucevic. The center is in Year 2 of a three-year, $60 million pact.
“Chicago is still expected to explore trade options for both LaVine and Vucevic later in the season, sources told ESPN, but the focus now is for both players to rebound after disappointing 2023-2024 seasons,” Collier wrote on November 9.
Ball, meanwhile, is on an expiring four-year, $80 million deal – recovered from a rare knee surgery.
The Bulls’ decision-making – like extending Williams – has come into question multiple times.
Bulls’ Alex Caruso-Josh Giddey Swap Revisited
The Bulls began their youth movement this past offseason with a trade sending Alex Caruso to the Thunder for Josh Giddey during the offseason. That move was criticized at the time and that has continued into the season.
“The trade was met with confusion and criticism around the league, primarily about Chicago’s failure to get additional draft compensation,” Collier wrote about the Caruso trade. “Sources told ESPN the Bulls were offered as many as two first-round picks for Caruso before the 2024 trade deadline.”
It turns out the Bulls also turned down offers for Caruso and others. At least one other would have included first-round draft capital, possibly tying into Collier’s report.
“Golden State believed it nearly had a deal for Caruso before the 2024 deadline buzzer sounded, sources said, which would have delivered multiple first-round picks to Chicago,” Fischer wrote. “Philadelphia was ready to send several second-round picks to Chicago for Andre Drummond, sources said, only for the Bulls to abruptly take Drummond off the market … and then watch him walk to Philadelphia without compensation in July in free agency.”
There were even more teams in on Caruso.
“The Kings … were close to a trade for defensive ace Alex Caruso last week, according to league sources, offering the No. 13 pick to Chicago as the key chip,” The Athletic’s Sam Amick and Anthony Slater wrote on June 24. “The Bulls, to the surprise of many within the league, instead opted to send Caruso to Oklahoma City for Josh Giddey.”
The Bulls’ decision to let Drummond walk proved informative about their strategy for trading Caruso.
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