Chicago Bulls: 3 biggest looming trade deadline needs

2) Looming Chicago Bulls trade deadline needs

Getting the most value you can out of the veterans

Some of the most efficient players for the Bulls this season are their veterans that Donovan relies upon off his bench. The quad of Bulls veterans that includes shooting guard/wing Garrett Temple, forward Thaddeus Young, combo guard/wing Tomas Satoransky, and small forward Otto Porter Jr. played a large role in elevating this team’s success in the win column altogether this season.

Through the first three dozen games, three of the Bulls seven rotational players that have at least .100 win shares per 48 minutes this season sit among that group of veterans.

But if Karnisovas and the Bulls do hit the trade block at the deadline on or before March 25, then it’s likely that one of at least Sato or OPJ will be on the move. Sato has a team friendly contract that is only partially guaranteed next season, and OPJ is the highest paid player on the current cap sheet that is also in the final year of his current contract.

Sato and OPJ have both played well for the Bulls, mostly coming off the bench so far this season, but the long-term success of the rebuild might be more important to Karnisovas than a short-term playoff push.

No matter how you look at it, what the Bulls new front office must do at the trade deadline is figure out how they will get the most value out of this group of veterans. If that means keeping them around to make a playoff push and help the development and experience of the young core, then that should work in the end.

But if that means trading one of Sato, OPJ, Young, etc., then that’s what must be done to help the Bulls become a contender at least within the next two or three years.