The Chicago Bulls just completed their last major piece of business in a busy 2021 offseason (there are still smaller moves to make to fill out the roster), sending Lauri Markkanen to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a sign-and-trade as part of a three-team deal that also included the Portland Trail Blazers. The Bulls got Derrick Jones Jr., a protected first-round pick and a second-round pick in the trade.
It was a good piece of work for Chicago to get this return for a disappointing player who didn’t want to be there anymore. Jones will provide depth in the frontcourt and is on an expiring contract, so the Bulls aren’t taking on any money past 2021-22. The 24-year-old could also be flipped during the season. Getting a first-round pick back is a plus after sending out three of them in order to acquire Nikola Vucevic and DeMar DeRozan. The second-round pick is just a cherry on top.
With Markkanen gone, Zach LaVine and Coby White are currently the only players left from the old front-office regime of John Paxson and Gar Forman. In just over a year, the new front office of Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley has flipped this roster over almost in its entirety, which was necessary after several years of a failed rebuild.
Karnisovas and Eversley were patient in their first offseason running the team, with the drafting of Patrick Williams and signing of Garrett Temple the only notable roster moves. The front-office duo also fired Jim Boylen (after a lengthy wait) and replaced him with Billy Donovan. Once they saw this team was going nowhere with its young core, the decision was then made to aggressively shift into win-now mode with Zach LaVine’s free agency approaching in 2022.
The Bulls sent the Orlando Magic a haul for Vucevic right before the last trade deadline. An argument could be made that Chicago gave up too much for a 30-year-old center who isn’t a two-way player, but the front office wanted to make a splash to add more talent around LaVine. The Bulls also acquired Daniel Theis, Troy Brown Jr. and Javonte Green before the deadline.
The moves didn’t work out last season in terms of making the postseason, with Theis ultimately moving on to the Houston Rockets this summer, but they set the table for an aggressive 2021 offseason. After a quiet draft in which Ayo Dosunmu was the only pick, Chicago struck quick (maybe too quick) and nabbed its top target in Lonzo Ball right as free agency opened. Alex Caruso got snagged away from the Los Angeles Lakers later that day.
A few days later, the Bulls went big again, working out an expensive sign-and-trade deal for DeRozan. The move has been panned by some critics who both think the three-year, $81.9 million deal for DeRozan was too lucrative and that giving up Thaddeus Young, Al-Farouq Aminu, a first-round pick and two second-round picks was too much.
Even so, getting DeRozan in addition to the other moves was a signal that Chicago means business and is ready to act like a big-market team again. The front office has injected this roster with an influx of talent, and while it may not have a championship ceiling right now, the hope is that this overhaul will be a stepping stone to title contention.
It’s clear that Karnisovas and Eversley are willing to make bold moves in order to improve, which is a breath of fresh air after the stagnation of the prior regime. If this roster renovation works, they’ll do whatever they can to get the Bulls to an even higher level. If it doesn’t work, they’ll aggressively flip the roster again, assuming they get the chance.
It’s now on Donovan and his players to make it work this season. There will be some growing pains, especially with a difficult start to the schedule, but this team has a chance to make some noise. That’s important with LaVine set to hit free agency, and he’s preparing for that by joining Rich Paul’s Klutch Sports.
After these big moves, there’s little reason to think LaVine is going to leave Chicago. With all these new pieces in place, it’s time for these new-look Bulls to win some games.
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August 30, 2021 at 07:11PM
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Chicago Bulls’ New Front Office Executes Dramatic Overhaul In Just Over A Year - Forbes
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