On the night of Feb. 15, first-year head coach Billy Donovan and the Chicago Bulls have a chance to get back on the right track on the road against the divisional foe Indiana Pacers. This will be the first divisional game in a good while for Donovan and the Bulls. Their last game resulted in a tough 125-106 home loss at the United Center at the hands of the Los Angeles Clippers on Feb. 12.
Following their loss to the Clippers, the Bulls now boast a record of 10-15. While they do still sit within striking distance of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference at this point in time, they need to keep finding success in the win column to keep from falling too far behind in the standings.
If the Bulls continue to improve at an inconsistent pace in the next month or so this season, then they could have an interesting approach once the trade deadline arrives on March 25. The delayed deadline date gives the Bulls new front office regime a little more than one month to piece together what they’re strategy will be for the next few weeks.
One way that first-year executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas could approach this year’s trade deadline is by taking on positional needs in the rotation. The Bulls rotation provided for mixed results so far this season, largely thanks to a plethora of injuries to key players of late.
With this in mind, here’s a look into three key positional/rotational needs for the Bulls to address at the trade deadline this year.
3) Chicago Bulls biggest positional deadline needs
More stability in the frontcourt rotation
Donovan and the Bulls got to witness first hand what it is like for this team to try and make it work with fourth-year power forward Lauri Markkanen and third-year center Wendell Carter Jr. out of the lineup due to injury issues. Even though the Bulls now look to be expecting WCJ back sooner than anticipated in the very near future, it might be longer until Markkanen returns.
With that in mind, the Bulls have ran with the likes of former New York Knicks center Luke Kornet, second-year center Daniel Gafford, veteran forward Thaddeus Young, and rookie forward Patrick Williams getting more minutes in the frontcourt rotation of late. Even big man Cristiano Felicio is getting some minutes off the bench in the last few games, which is by no means what the fan base wants to see.
If Karnisovas and the Bulls can get some added depth in the frontcourt rotation that brings a cleaner injury history to the table, and just more stability in general, it could do wonders for this team. There’s a plethora of potential trade targets out there for the Bulls if they’re willing to part ways with a piece of the young core like Markkanen or WCJ.
Markkanen might make for the most interesting case on the trade block since he’s in the final year of his rookie contract. Karnisovas and the Bulls didn’t make the move to hand him a contract extension last offseason, which could be an indication of how they plan to handle his restricted free agency come next offseason.
2) Chicago Bulls biggest positional deadline needs
A true floor general
It’s really a shame that Donovan and the Bulls coaching staff hasn’t really found a good rhythm for the second-year former North Carolina Tar Heels 6-foot-5 point guard Coby White this season so far in the backcourt rotation. The Bulls don’t have someone that they can rely on at the point guard position night in and night out.
And the Bulls still really haven’t found a firm solution for their point guard stability problem this season. Between the 20-year-old White and the veteran lengthy combo guard Tomas Satoransky, the Bulls should have something workable. But the Bulls have found anything but a consistent answer at the point guard position out of the gates.
White has been brilliant in bits and pieces this season, especially during his 30-point outburst in the Bulls big win over the New Orleans Pelicans earlier in the week. But overall, there’s a long way that White has to go to find his game and a role as the Bulls true starting point guard of the future. Maybe it’s time for the Bulls to hit the trade market to fill their point guard need.
If the Bulls do in fact get point guard help before the trade deadline, it doesn’t mean that White doesn’t have a role on this team for the future. Meanwhile, Sato could be valuable for the Bulls on the open market before the trade deadline arrives. He’s only got two years remaining on the life of his current contract. And he’s sitting on a pretty team friendly contract at this point.
1) Chicago Bulls biggest positional deadline needs
Wing and Zach LaVine help
Two key players to the Bulls usual rotation includes their star shooting guard Zach LaVine and veteran small forward Otto Porter Jr. As the two most experienced players that have often found themselves in the Bulls starting five when healthy over the course of the last two seasons, OPJ and LaVine are integral to the success of this team.
However, there’s a really good chance that the new front office regime could consider trading OPJ before the deadline arrives this year.
I’m by no means implying that Karnisovas and the Bulls should greatly consider trading LaVine before the deadline arrives next month. That is unless there is an absolutely unbeatable offer that comes the Bulls way in the near future.
LaVine has truly proved his value, and his worthiness to get his first career NBA All-Star selection this season. He’s started in all 25 games he’s played in for the Bulls so far this season, averaging around 36 minutes on the floor per game. And he’s averaged 28.1 points per game, 5.4 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.5 blocks. LaVine shot an ultra-efficient 51.9 percent from the field, 43.0 percent from beyond the arc, and 86.3 percent from the free-throw line.
If there’s a way that the Bulls can offload OPJ this season while adding other younger depth on the wing and getting LaVine more help, they should do so right away. That’s a common sense move for this team heading into the future.
With Williams floating between other positions in this rotation at this point of the season, and OPJ and small forward Chandler Hutchison both out at this moment, the Bulls definitely need to shore up depth on the wing soon. Hutch is out indefinitely due to personal reasons and OPJ could still be out for another couple of weeks at minimum.