Analyst Issues Reality Check on Bulls as a Trade Spot for LeBron James

Getty Alex Caruso defends LeBron James during a game between the Chicago Bulls and the LA Lakers.

Just when the vultures begin to circle and fans and pundits alike start pondering on the possibility of a Chicago Bulls rebuild, the team goes and does something to inspire confidence. Something that leaves Bulls Nation feeling like the right trade or free-agent signing would get the club right back into the race.

This week, it was a dramatic overtime win over the No. 2 Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday and a 132-point eruption against the Detroit Pistons (wins four and five over Chicago’s last six games) that undoubtedly had some armchair GMs thinking about all-in moves.

But if Bulls decision-makers Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley did decide to make some kind of splash, it would probably take acquiring another star to truly elevate their club to elite status.

As it happens, one of the greatest stars in league history — LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers — just stoked some trade flames by saying, “I’m a winner, and I want to win,” after his team’s record dropped to 14-21 with a loss on Wednesday.

But if you’re someone who actually believes the Bulls have a shot at pulling LeBron, one analyst is here to rain on your parade.

CBS Sports Throws Cold Water on the Notion of a LeBron James Trade

In honor of James’ 38th birthday on Friday, CBS Sports‘ Sam Quinn decided to rank all 30 of the Association’s teams as potential trade destinations for the 18-time All-Star and four-time champ.

Alas, the Bulls joined roughly half the league in the bottom tier — affectionately dubbed the “Not Without Bronny” group — ranking them as the 18th most-likely landing spot for James. Quinn did note that Chicago has a few things working in their favor, however, writing:

The Bulls haven’t won a championship since Jordan’s retirement. James might relish the opportunity to change that … and team up with beloved former teammate Alex Caruso in the process…

Zach LaVine and Lonzo Ball are Klutch clients, and DeMar DeRozan was a guest on LeBron’s unsanctioned 2021 offseason ripoff of The Bachelor.

In the end, though, Quinn doesn’t seem to believe that the Bulls are in a spot to make a legitimate title run even with James — who’s averaging 27.8 points, 8.1 rebounds and 6.6 assists per contest this season — on their roster.

“The real question here is whether the Bulls can even contend with James? They’re 15-19 as currently constructed while rapidly getting older and incurring more injury risk.”

Alex Caruso Is Back in Effect

While the big story coming out of the Bulls’ win over the Pistons was Zach LaVine dropping a season-high 43 points, the game also marked a return to action for Caruso, who had missed the team’s previous three games with both a shoulder sprain and a concussion.

In 20 minutes off the bench for the Bulls, Caruso logged the kind of line we have come to expect from him — eight points on 3-of-4 shooting with two triples, two rebounds, two assists, two steals and a blocked shot. Meanwhile, Chicago outscored the Detroit by seven points when he was on the floor.

Before the game, Caruso noted that he was feeling good and ready to go.

“I don’t think there’s anything limited. Maybe just a little bit of pain at the very end range motions, the very extremes. But you don’t really play basketball with those, so it’s not too bad,” he said, via NBC Sports Chicago.