Chicago Bulls: Revisiting D-Rose Knicks trade four years later

What the Bulls got

It seems like the best part of this trade deal by far for the Bulls side wound up being Lopez. This veteran seven-footer and 275 pound big man was a solid contributor for the Bulls both in the starting five and off the bench (depending on the season) for a few years. He played for the Bulls for three seasons. The only team he’s played in more regular season games with in his career to date was the Portland Trail Blazers.

In the nearly 220 regular season games RoLo played in a Bulls uniform over the course of three seasons, he got 181 starts. RoLo averaged 10.5 points per game, 5.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.2 steals, and 1.1 blocks. He shot 52.6 percent from the field and 73.2 percent from the free-throw line. That amounted to registering a -2.1 box plus/minus rating, .077 win shares per 48 minutes, 8.9 total win shares, a 54.9 true shooting percentage, and a 15.0 player efficiency rating.

But the advanced metrics don’t really do RoLo’s case for the level of value he contributed in his Bulls tenure justice. He helped mentor both center Wendell Carter Jr. and Markkanen in his time in the Windy City. And most Bulls fans know that fact.

However, the Bulls did get a much smaller amount of contribution from the likes of Grant and Calderon. In fact, Calderon was shipped off to the Los Angeles Lakers less than three full weeks after originally getting sent to the Windy City by the Knicks. He played in 24 games for the Lakers during the 2016-17 season before getting sent off again, this time to the Atlanta Hawks.

Grant did get to play in 137 games over the course of two different regular seasons with the Bulls. He started in 54 of those games. He averaged 7.2 points per game, 2.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.1 blocks. Grant shot 41.9 percent from the field, 34.3 percent from beyond the arc, and 78.5 percent from the free-throw line. That amounted to him registering a -0.8 box plus/minus rating, 0.8 value over replacement player rating, .103 win shares per 48 minutes, and a 53.8 true shooting percentage. But there were way too many starts that Grant got with the Bulls at the one.