Chicago Bulls: Who had the better offseason trade?

Last summer, two teams changed the direction of their franchises by letting go of their superstars: The Chicago Bulls and the Indiana Pacers. Who had the better trade?

I think from a media perspective, we assumed that when the Chicago Bulls let go of Jimmy Butler and the Indiana Pacers let go of Paul George, that they both had similar intentions. But we couldn’t have been more wrong.

Chicago traded their superstar for a lottery pick, a young athlete with tons of potential coming off a knee injury, and a former 5th overall pick. The Bulls most definitely had tanking in mind. With that being said, you could also make a case that they acquired this years lottery pick in that trade as well. Whoever the Bulls end up taking is going to be a big part of their future.

Indiana, on the other hand, traded Paul George for a young guy who hadn’t lived up to his hype (Sabonis) and another young guy who also hadn’t lived up to his hype (Oladipo). Everyone assumed that Indiana had tanking in mind and that they didn’t get nearly enough in return for Paul George.

But then came the rise of Victor Oladipo.

Oladipo averaged a career-high in nearly every statistical category this season. He’s likely to be named the NBA’s Most Improved Player. He averaged 23.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 2.4 steals. Sabonis also has had an incredible year for Indiana, nearly doubling his production from his rookie season.

While the Chicago Bulls had a relatively successful tanking season (6th in the lottery odds), the Pacers won 48 games behind their new leader. They also have a game seven tomorrow afternoon against the NBA’s best player – Lebron James.

So the Bulls and Pacers both handled their off-season business by dealing their superstar players last summer – but they handled the season differently.

So who had the better trade?

On the surface, it’s easy to say the Pacers. They were projected to be one of the worst teams in the league but they ended up finding themselves a superstar in Victor Oladipo and are making some serious noise in the playoffs.

But what’s their ceiling?

They have some nice pieces other than Oladipo, but unless they make a splash in free agency, they don’t have enough to make a championship run.

The Bulls, on the other hand, had one of the worst seasons in franchise history. But their future is extremely bright. They found their own potential superstar by way of the draft in Lauri Markkanen. They also have some other brilliant young pieces and two really nice draft picks this season. Not to mention that Chicago is assuredly a more sought after destination spot for free agents.

So as far as who won the battle of trading their superstar, maybe the Pacers won it for the immediate future. They’ve been awesome and found their cornerstone piece. But I think the Bulls have the brighter future.

Next: Should the Bulls prioritize Mo Bamba in the draft?

In other words, I think in five years when these two roster overhauls seem long in the past, the Chicago Bulls will be a much better team than the Indiana Pacers.