Assessing the Bulls inactivity at the trade deadline

The Chicago Bulls‘ inactivity at the deadline was to be expected. This team has arrived at the top of the east ahead of schedule, boasting top-five offensive and defensive ratings when the core pieces have been available (even without Patrick Williams) and the front office wisely didn’t want to shake up the present or future construction of this squad without seeing it’s full potential.

Did the Chicago Bulls miss on anyone during the trade deadline?

With that said, the team is still seriously lacking front-court depth and a number of players who could have filled this void were moved before the 3 p.m. deadline on Thursday for very modest returns in value. Let’s take a look at some of the trades the Bulls may have missed out on.

Daniel Theis

The Rockets sent the former Bull to the Boston Celtics for Dennis Schroeder, Enes Freedom (who was waived by Houston) and Bruno Fernando. Theis’ contract has an $8.2 Million cap hit this season and could easily have been swapped for the expiring contract of Derrick Jones Jr. and perhaps a second-round pick sweetener to add a stable backup Center to the Bulls rotation.

Montrezl Harrell

Harrell doesn’t necessarily solve the size disparity for any team and certainly, the Hornets, who sent Vernon Carey and Ish Smith to the Wizards in return for the big man, could have used a true and proper big but he does provide solid interior defense and rebounding which the Bulls could also have used. Harrell is in the perfect NBA contract range at $9.7 Million and could simply have been swapped for Derrick Jones Jr. (I swear I’m not picking on the guy, his contract is just so perfect to put in a trade). Both DJJ and Montrezl are on expiring deals and the Bulls could have sent the rights to Marko Simonovic if the Wiz were set on getting a prospect in return rather than draft capital.

Jalen Smith

This one in particular hurts my Bulls-fan-soul. The Phoenix Suns selected Smith 10th overall in 2020 and gave him little-to-no playing time his rookie season. They declined his rookie option (which nearly never happens with lottery picks) and then found that Smith could actually play when Deandre Ayton went out with an injury earlier this season.

The Suns traded Smith for Torrey Craig who is actually making slightly more money than Smith (albeit with one less year on his deal than if they had picked up Smith’s option). For the Bulls, Troy Brown Jr’s contract matches almost exactly and if the cost of Smith was as low as Torrey Craig you would have to imagine there was a way for Chicago to get this done. Adding a young, talented big to this rotation could have been a huge boon for the Bulls.

Marvin Bagley III

Part of a 4 team trade involving the Pistons, Kings, Clippers and Bucks, Bagley was finally freed from Sacramento and sent to the Pistons. Detroit gave up $7.5 Million in contracts in Josh Jackson and Trey Lyles (sent to Sacramento) as well as two future second-round picks (sent to Milwaukee) in order to get the deal done.

It would seem to me that Derrick Jones Jr’s contract once again could have been flipped in a deal to bring a young and talented big to the Windy City.

Overall, the lack of activity is a positive for Chicago on deadline day but there were some moves around the edges that could have improved both the immediate and long-term outlook for the Bulls that just didn’t get done. Perhaps there are some buy-out candidates on the horizon who could bolster this roster for a deep playoff run.