The Chicago Bulls were the hottest team of the 90s, thanks to the combined efforts of NBA legends Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. After leading the franchise to six NBA championships, the Bulls have continued their freefall down the standings and out of the upper echelon of pop culture relevance. Only maintaining small flashes of success here and there, many Bulls fans are upset with how this team has failed to produce a winner over the last 25 years.
That much was made abundantly clear last season, when Chicago finished with a 40-42 season where they made the Play-In Tournament, but lost in their second Play-In game up against the Miami Heat. This sent the Bulls home for good.
So, how does Chicago get back to the top? According to a Chicago Bulls fan page on the site formerly known as Twitter (now ‘X’), the Bulls should push all their chips in to trade a real superstar, like for Los Angeles Clippers Star Kawhi Leonard.
Should the Bulls attempt to trade for a superstar like Kawhi Leonard?
The Chicago Bulls fan page @DieHardCBfans has created a mock trade that sees Chicago bringing in the 2x Champion Kawhi Leonard. Considering this would be such a dramatic change of direction for both franchises, I’m not surprised to have seen a strong reaction to this proposal online.
The mock trade idea sees Chicago send star Zach LaVine, Patrick Williams, two first-round picks, and future pick swaps to the Clippers to acquire The Klaw. I expected this to be a divisive idea, but I was not prepared to see Bulls fans rally together to express that they would not be excited about this trade idea.
Here are a few of the fans’ reactions:
https://twitter.com/MonarchDafey/status/1692155751425314957?t=waD4EnayFEElkvYDpLjZBQ&s=19
This statement isn’t false. Leonard has only averaged 38.3 games played per season in the past six seasons. This includes missing the entire 2021-22 season with a partial tear of his ACL. He suffered the injury in the Western Conference Semifinals against the Utah Jazz.
https://twitter.com/BullsDeebo/status/1691909368906948708?t=jtRtZnpIGuBW-rYrLeP6vA&s=19
This fan wants the trade rumors to end. Should Chicago run it back with their current roster? If the Bulls don’t make a change, their outcome could likely be similar to last season.
Delete this profile please
— Joey Lawrence (@boog300) August 16, 2023
The proposed trade idea is so bad that this fan wants the X user to delete their account. Even if this trade doesn’t make sense, this might be a harsh request.
https://twitter.com/BullsWrld_/status/1691895402860098004
This fan sees a connection to the Toronto Raptors trading for Leonard back in 2018, in which Leonard led the Raptors to their first and only championship in the 2018-19 season. Of course, DeMar DeRozan was traded by the Raptors to land The Klaw.
Could trading DeRozan for Leonard once again result in a championship for Chicago? There are many factors that play into it. For one, Leonard is older than he was in 2019 with the Raptors. He’s clearly not the same player, as well.
Also, Toronto got lucky, as the mighty Golden State Warriors saw injuries to their stars, Kevin Durant, and Klay Thompson, in the 2019 NBA Finals. Would Leonard bring the same type of luck to Chicago, to deliver the Bulls their first title since 1998?
It’s possible. If Bulls fans have their way, though, it’ll never happen.