The Chicago Bulls are ready to move on from this core as it is currently constructed.
Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas voiced his displeasure with the team’s 5-14 record. They are on a five-game losing streak. It was a rare display from the typically reserved executive.
The fallout is an increased sense of urgency to trade two-time All-Star Zach LaVine, per NBC Sports Chicago Bulls insider K.C. Johnson.
“Only Zach LaVine and Coby White remain from the roster Karnišovas inherited, and trading LaVine is the main organizational focal point for now,” Johnson wrote on November 29. “In fact, league sources said that, at least for now, Karnišovas is responding to inquiries on other players by saying he wants to see what the roster looks like post-LaVine trade first.”
Zach’s up to 32 points with over 7 mins left in the 4th 🔥
This is a shift from various previous reports that the Bulls could look to wait until closer to the trade deadline in February when they would have more options.
But LaVine entered the season openly admitting this season was critical.
He is in just the second year of a five-year, $215 million contract. But the trio of him, DeMar DeRozan, and Nikola Vucevic are in their third season together. Aside from their 35-game experience with Lonzo Ball at the helm on the floor, the results have been bad.
Bulls Have Struggled Without Lonzo Ball
Chicago went 22-13 with Ball. They have gone 63-79 since then and are on pace to miss the playoffs for the second consecutive season.
They needed a 14-9 rally to sneak into the Play-In Tournament last season, and they stumbled into the playoffs after Ball’s injury in 2021-22, going 19-23 down the stretch including an 8-15 finish to the regular season. The Bulls’ star trio is the team’s third most-used three-man combination on the season. It has a minus-15.5 net rating, per NBA.com.
That is the worst mark among all trios with at least 385 minutes together.
What’s more, the second and third-worst marks also belong to the Bulls, with two of their three stars on the floor in each instance. This could very well point to a larger issue than just LaVine but, as Johnson previously reported, management and the coaching staff are safe.
Zach & DeMar working after practice.
This shakeup will fall on the players. LaVine’s name has come up in trade rumors since the summer ahead of last season when he was an unrestricted free agent.
“The Bulls are currently valuing players who can help them win and a potential draft pick, depending on the incoming player(s), over tearing down the roster completely and rebuilding by taking expiring contracts and more draft picks, wrote Michael Scotto of HoopsHype on November 29.
Knicks Denied Bulls Quentin Grimes in Zach LaVine Trade
One of the teams the Bulls discussed a LaVine trade with is the New York Knicks. Those talks did not go very far. Reports emerged that LaVine would prefer not to land in New York. This is due to team president Leon Rose, per Stefan Bondy for the New York Daily News in June. LaVine’s camp feels the Knicks prefer clients of Creative Artists Agency (CAA) where Rose used to work.
The Bulls have also placed a high asking price on LaVine, a Klutch Sports client. One that Fred Katz of The Athletic described as “giant”.
We may now know where the Knicks were drawing the line: Quentin Grimes.
“In years past, the Knicks shied away from including Grimes in trade talks with the Clippers for Paul George, the Bulls for Zach LaVine, the Jazz during Donovan Mitchell trade talks, and the Hawks, who also inquired about him,” Scotto continued on November 29.
GRIMES. TIME. 👌
“One league source said the Bulls would be focused on getting a good young player, multiple first-round picks and salary filler if they decide to trade LaVine,” Johnson wrote on June 19. “Another said one first-round pick and an established, high-end player might be sufficiently intriguing.”
The Knicks are currently 10-7 and entered play on November 29 as the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference.
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Insider Reveals Bulls’ ‘Main’ Focus Amid Zach LaVine Trade Rumors