Another eventful NBA trade deadline came, another year the Bulls sat on the side and did nothing. Are you not entertained?
What did you expect them to do? I expected them to unload Lavine; he’s hurt now. The Bulls haven’t been able to unload him ever since they signed him to that big contract. Even if he was still healthy, that was probably a pipe dream… one I continue to want to believe. I expected them to trade DeRozan. I like DD, but his best days are behind him. He is not going to get another contract here, is he? It would be the Bulls that give it to him, but most likely, if sane minds prevail, DD will be playing his last half of season here, and then will walk; we will get nothing for him. So be it… I guess what we were going to get for him wasn’t much anyways, so… The 2 big pieces that I wanted to move weren’t moved, but I guess it makes sense.
Continuing along… I thought we could have got a mini haul for Caruso. I didn’t want to necessarily trade him; I love Alex… he’s the perfect Bulls player, cut from that heart, hustle, and muscle cloth. If/when the Bulls get good again, he’d be awesome to still have on the roster. Assuming the Bulls will be back in the postseason at some point, the bigger question is when. Yeah, maybe another play in game this year; that don’t count. How long will Caruso play at this level? Since he’s still here, hopefully for at least a few more. I thought Drummond could have been a valuable piece for some teams. He’s low key been really good this year. He could match up with some of the other teams big man pretty well in the playoffs… but not upset that he’s still here; I like Andre.
So can I be that mad? Yeah, sure, but realistically… The Bulls have something here. As I said early on this year, the Bulls have really good pieces. The problem is, the “big 3”. Lavine has been an absolute bust, injury or not. DeRozan has been solid, but just isn’t as good as he’s been. Vooch… forget about it. But if the top 3 players on a team heading into a season don’t perform up to expectations, how can you expect to be a good team? Well, enter Coby White into the conversation; he will enter next season in that big 3 group. Caruso… team dude, defensive beast. Ayo, another nice piece… not a frontline scorer/all star, but a winning player IMO. Drummond… a straight banger. Like I said, we have some nice pieces… but it’s nowhere near enough. So did we expect to get a top 3 guy at the deadline? Because that’s what we need.
Assuming DD is gone, and Coby steps into that group. Assuming Lavine & Vooch are both back, we still don’t have enough, and that’s the frustrating part. The rest of the roster can be great, but if the top is weak… it will be more of the same next season, until that group changes. I don’t think it takes a rocket scientist to figure that out. I do think it’s difficult to reload at that level, but AKME needs to try. If not last trade deadline, if not last offseason, if not this trade deadline, then when? Patiently waiting… Go Bulls!
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