Bulls Pegged to Make ‘Buyout Addition’ After Trade Deadline

Getty Will Billy Donovan and the Chicago Bulls see any new talent added to the roster prior to the trade deadline?

With the NBA trade deadline approaching in less than a month and a win-now roster that isn’t winning nearly enough, many fans and analysts alike are wondering whether the Chicago Bulls will make a bold move or two.

That’s highly unlikely, according to at least one prominent NBA analyst. NBA.com’s Sam Smith was asked for his thoughts on the matter in his January 21 mailbag, and his response isn’t going to please those who want Bulls’ vice president Arturas Karnisovas and company to add a big name while also shedding some of the team’s higher priced contracts.

Smith thinks the Bulls’ VP may want to see how players like shooting guard Zach LaVine, who has a cap hit over $37 million this season, and small forward DeMar DeRozan, who is making over $27 million guaranteed in 2022-23, look over the rest of the year before any big decisions are made.

Smith: Karnisovas Has Preached Patience From the Beginning

There are also players like former second overall pick Lonzo Ball to consider. The 25-year-old point guard inked a four-year, $85 million contract extension in August of 2021, but he tore the meniscus in his left knee and has had two subsequent surgeries to repair it. He has yet to play in a game since, and even if he misses the remainder of the season — which is entirely possible — Smith believes Karnisovas will stick with the players he already has.

“Arturas Karnisovas from the beginning made point of being patient and preferring continuity, which no matter what’s going on suggests he’s not likely to do anything dramatic,” Smith wrote, adding: “Despite the slow start, I get the sense he still believes in this group, would like to see them have a chance to play it out this season even if Lonzo can’t return, or not at a high level or high minutes.”

Ball told Bulls insider K.C. Johnson on January 16 that he doesn’t “have any concern” about his knee injury being a career-ender, so it makes sense for Chicago to exercise some patience there. That doesn’t mean the Bulls won’t make any moves, however.

Bulls Could Make ‘Tristan Thompson-Type’ of Addition, Smith Says

In February of 2022, the Bulls signed veteran big man Tristan Thompson, who was 30-years-old at the time, off the buyout market. Chicago added Thompson to back up starting center Nikola Vučević when the team was making a push for the playoffs, and Smith feels like Karnisovas might make a similar move in the coming weeks.

Lavine had arthroscopic surgery on his knee last year after going down in the first round of the playoffs against the Milwaukee Bucks, and he was slow to return this season as he recovered. Considering how badly the injury bug has bitten some of its young players, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Bulls make only a minor addition for depth purposes.

“I think he also feels he owes it to them to have another chance after last year’s playoff appearance when Zach was hurt,” Smith wrote about Karnisovas. “I can see a Tristan Thompson-type of buyout addition, but probably not anything that anyone would consider substantial at the trade deadline.”

Anything is possible, of course, but Smith makes some solid points. Don’t expect any moves to be made by the Bulls until after the trade deadline on February 9.