Entering this offseason, it was clear that the Chicago Bulls had a sizable need at the point guard position. And executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley were able to snag restricted free agent and former New Orleans Pelicans point guard Lonzo Ball.
An option that looked to be on the table, though, for Karnisovas and the Bulls this summer was a trade for the San Antonio Spurs two-way point guard Dejounte Murray. According to a report from Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report on Aug. 17, the Spurs were interested in forming a trade to give up either Murray or guard Lonnie Walker IV this offseason.
Yet, the Spurs will still have Murray on the roster heading into next season. The Spurs also weren’t able to find a trade for Walker.
The one trade that the Spurs did find that was big this offseason was the sign-and-trade with the Bulls that landed star shooting guard/forward DeMar DeRozan in Chicago. The Bulls gave up veteran forward Thaddeus Young, forward Al-Farouq Aminu, a first-round draft pick, and two second-round draft picks, to land DeRozan.
Chicago Bulls had the option to get in trade talks for Dejounte Murray
Moreover, Murray was definitely an option worth considering at the outset of the offseason for the Bulls at the one. But it’s hard to argue with the move to land Lonzo from the Pelicans.
It’s hard to find a significant reason why the Bulls were wrong to sign Lonzo instead of trading for Murray. About the two best arguments were the cheaper asking price and cheaper contract. Lonzo was signed to a four-year contract that will pay him an average annual value north of $20 million.
Meanwhile, Murray’s current contract carries him through the 2023-24 season, with an average annual value around $15.5 million.
Still, that’s not enough to warrant the idea that the Bulls made a mistake forming this sign-and-trade deal with the Pelicans to nab Lonzo instead of Murray from the Spurs. If the Bulls weren’t able to sign Lonzo, then Murray was definitely another option worth considering.
Lonzo is a better facilitator in transition, lengthier and more potent one-on-one perimeter defender, and a more consistent shooter now from deep. Murray is a good defender and a well-rounded guard, but he just won’t be as clean of a fit for the Bulls as Ball.
The Bulls are going to have a really good fit with Lonzo in a starting unit that also likely includes star shooting guard Zach LaVine, DeRozan, second-year forward Patrick Williams, and star center Nikola Vucevic. Lonzo is a nice piece that will help to dramatically upgrade this starting unit compared to what the Bulls had with Coby White or Tomas Satoransky.
If there was any point in time where Karnisovas and the Bulls had in trading for Murray, it was immediately canceled out at the outset of the free agency negotiation window roughly two weeks ago. The Lonzo sign-and-trade was the initial move that was announced by Shams Charania at the opening of the negotiation window.