A recent report from the Chicago Sun-Times mentioned that the Chicago Bulls are shopping Rajon Rondo and Nikola Mirotic before the trade deadline. Good luck.
Rajon Rondo has been one of the worst point guards in the NBA this season, while Nikola Mirotic has been one of the more disappointing young players in the league for the Chicago Bulls.
“According to multiple sources, the Bulls have been shopping guard Rajon Rondo and forward Nikola Mirotic in hopes of bolstering the roster and making a second-half run in the wide-open Eastern Conference,” Chicago Sun-Times reporter Joe Cowley wrote over this past weekend.
(If there are doubts that stem from the source of the reporting, the Chicago Tribune‘s K.C. Johnson briefly mentioned similar things in a piece over the past weekend, too.)
Cowley’s main source in the piece also mentioned that although the Bulls have apparently looked around for a potential trade suitor, the replies haven’t been to their liking.
“Obviously, you knew that would be the case with Rondo,” the source said, via Cowley’s report. “But don’t like what they’re hearing back on , either. Then again, that’s a that tends to overvalue its assets.”
Why would they?
Here’s a notable on how ineffective Rajon Rondo has been this season:
UPDATE: Rajon Rondo did not attempt a free throw tonight. He has not attempted a free throw since Dec. 16 and has not made once since Dec. 6
— Jason Patt (@Bulls_Jay) January 22, 2017
Furthermore, Rondo’s field goal percentage (35.9 percent), 2-point field goal percentage (37.3 percent), effective field goal percentage (39.2 percent) and offensive rating (91) this season are all career lows. He’s shooting 42.6 percent at the rim where 44.9 percent of his shot attempts are registered. The league average for shots at the rim is 56.2 percent.
He’s a minus defender that makes any team’s defense worse when he’s on the floor. It’s been a messy scenario with Rondo at times, due to his performance this season (which has led to him being benched for a period of time) and with his attitude, stemming from being suspended a game on Dec. 5 for a minor altercation with Bulls assistant coach Jim Boylen.
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As for Mirotic, there’s still hope for the 25-year-old’s career in his third season.
The major issues stem from his offensive production, where he’s shooting just 31.1 percent with a five attempts per game average. But, the Bulls are +2.2 points better per 100 possessions with Mirotic on the floor in 901 total minutes this season, compared to being -0.9 points worse per 100 with Rondo on the floor.
Mirotic is a solid rebounder (rebounds 21.5 percent of the team’s misses when he’s on the floor) and a better defender than he’s given credit for at times. (According to NBA.com’s stats page, Mirotic has the best defensive rating on the roster of guys that have played more than just 15 games at 103.3.)
But, Mirotic’s flashes of being a good NBA player are here one day and gone the next. That inconsistency, plus his health issues in the last couple seasons have been noticeable. Mirotic missed a bulk of the season last year after two surgical procedures stemming from an appendectomy and hematoma removal. He just recently came back to the Bulls’ rotation after a bout with strep throat.
Players get sick. It happens. They’re human.
Players continuing struggling with giving consistent performances however, is an issue.
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Cowley’s source makes a good point. The Bulls don’t like what they’re hearing? Maybe that’s because they are overvaluing their assets. Mirotic had high expectations even before he set foot in the NBA. He won the Spanish League MVP award in 2013, along with two EuroLeague Rising Star awards in 2013 and 2014. Plus, being in the same draft class as Jimmy Butler (who went seven picks after Mirotic went No. 23 overall) brings a few more expectations.
Butler’s become one of the best players in the league today. The same can’t be said for Mirotic.
Mirotic’s three-year, $16.6 million deal ends after this season concludes. Rondo’s two-year deal is partly-guaranteed next season, so even if the Bulls do decide to cut him, they’ll still have to pay a bit off the salary cap.
Back in late November, Mirotic stated that he wants to stay in the NBA and with the Bulls. The problem is if the Bulls do decide to blow this whole thing up and start anew, he might not be in their plans, and Rondo probably isn’t either.
Next: Trade idea: Taj Gibson to the Toronto Raptors?
The question isn’t whether or not the Bulls should move Rajon Rondo or Nikola Mirotic.
The deeper question is, what do the Bulls really think they can get for them? Because it doesn’t appear to be much.