Where the Chicago Bulls can take the rebuild from here after a massive front office personnel shuffle might not be deciphered until later this offseason.
Since there’s no clear option for where the Chicago Bulls go from here to help the rebuild technically heading into its fourth year, there’s a lot of speculation as to what the new look front office regime could do. Now that former vice president of basketball operations John Paxson and Gar Forman are out of power in the front office, there could be a brighter immediate future on the table in the Windy City.
Former Denver Nuggets general manager Arturas Karnisovas will be taking over as the Bulls next executive vice president of basketball operations. He’ll be replacing Paxson as the lead voice in the front office. And former Philadelphia 76ers vice president of player personnel Marc Eversley was brought aboard to replace Forman as the next general manager.
This new front office regime looks much more promising to redirect the Bulls collapsing rebuild than GarPax did. Despite a handful of what looked to be decent free agent signings at the time last offseason, the rebuild didn’t improve at all during the 2019-20 season. The Bulls finished out the 2019-20 season prior to the novel coronavirus-induced hiatus back in mid-March with a record of 22-43.
And the Bulls would only get 65 games before their offseason hit to prove the point of where they sat at the end of the third year of the rebuild. It left nothing but question marks heading into the 2020 offseason. Could making a big splash on the trade market to nab a big name be the way to go this offseason?
Here’s a look into the three potential offseason trade targets that would be worth the gamble for the Bulls.
3. Jrue Holiday, Point Guard
Adding a veteran point guard that would actually help move this Bulls backcourt rotation further heading into the fourth year of the rebuild would be a great move in theory for the new front office. But the Bulls would have to make sure it comes at the right price since they do have a few decent pieces they need to develop in the current backcourt rotation.
The crucial pieces to the Bulls backcourt in place right now includes shooting guard Zach LaVine, point guard Coby White, and point guard Kris Dunn. While LaVine and White could very well be the backcourt of the future for the Bulls, they haven’t shown that ability as of yet. And Dunn is facing restricted free agency this offseason.
The Bulls are going to have to add depth and talent from some source this offseason if they don’t bring back the likes of Dunn along with combo guard Shaquille Harrison and shooting guard Denzel Valentine. A place they could look is with a big time guard trade target, which could be the New Orleans Pelicans standout veteran point guard Jrue Holiday.
Depending on how the rest of the season shakes out in the restart later this month for the Pelicans, they could be very active in the trade market this offseason. Holiday might be one of the first to go. But he brings a lot to the table on both ends of the floor as he registered at least a 2.0 box plus/minus rating in the last two seasons and more than a dozen win shares in his last 100 regular season games played.
2. Kyle Kuzma, Forward
A common name that appeared in the rumor mill discussion earlier in the 2019-20 season was the Los Angeles Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma. Even though nothing came of it through the 2020 trade deadline, Kuzma could still be a piece that is not in the long-term plans for the Lakers building around an aging superstar forward LeBron James and big man Anthony Davis.
There was a point in time where Kuzma was supposed to be that third piece that stars alongside AD and LeBron. But that has not come to fruition as of yet. And that could eventually lead to the Lakers shopping Kuzma to try and add a more productive part to LeBron and AD’s supporting cast.
Kuzma actually had his least efficient season in the NBA to date with the Lakers. He averaged 12.5 points per game, 4.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.4 steals, and 0.4 blocks. Kuzma shot 43.2 percent from the field, 29.7 percent from beyond the arc, and 73.8 percent from the free-throw line.
That amounted to a dismal -3.5 box plus/minus rating, -0.5 value over replacement player rating, .052 win shares per 48 minutes, 1.4 total win shares, and a 52.2 true shooting percentage.
Kuzma has yet to post a single box plus/minus rating in his career to date above zero. But he has showed promise in the past of being a potent two-way forward a decent volume scorer. He averaged around 19 points per game, three assists, and six rebounds, while shooting better than 45 percent from the field during the 2018-19 season.
That would be the version of Kuzma that the Bulls would try to capture if they wanted to add depth to the frontcourt rotation and give him a legitimate change of scenery this offseason.
1. Blake Griffin, Power Forward
Among all the names that could be sitting on the NBA trade block heading into the 2020 offseason, about the most risky could be the Detroit Pistons veteran big man and former Oklahoma Sooner Blake Griffin. The 6-foot-10 and 250 pound towering power forward is coming off a devastating injury that caused him to miss most of the 2019-20 season.
It seems like it would be a wise move for the Pistons front office, who is also sporting a largely new regime, to blow it all up and try to rebuild this offseason. That move would likely involve parting ways with the likes of Griffin and maybe even former Bulls superstar point guard Derrick Rose. But D-Rose does still offer a lot of value off the bench as a sixth man for the Pistons.
In the 18 games that Griffin played in prior to blowing out his left knee, he averaged 15.5 points per game, 4.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 0.4 steals, and 0.4 blocks. He registered his worst advanced metrics of his career to date (-4.2 box plus/minus rating and -0.1 total win shares) after getting an All-Star selection with the Pistons the previous season.
Griffin carries a rather large price tag north of $34 million. But if the team he lands with next could recapture that production he put forward prior to the latest season filled with injury issues, then it would be worth the risk. In this possible trade deal, the Bulls would be able to dump a large salary of their own weighing down their cap sheet.