Plan. That's the cursed word in Chicago, where the Bulls rearranged their backcourt at the trade deadline. It didn't get any worse — Anfernee Simons, Jaden Ivey, and Collin Sexton are all fine players — but it didn't get any better either, as Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu were both traded to bring those guys in.
That's why it's hard to get excited about Simons' impressive start with the Bulls. Yes, he's been solid, scoring 20-plus in two of his three games with the team. But his contract is expiring, and the Bulls gave up an incredibly similar player in Coby White to get Simons.
What's the thought process? That White will be too expensive for the team to retain, but Simons will be affordable? If that's what the front office is thinking, then it sounds like a team admitting it would rather have a less productive, less expensive player. And those are the moves that keep a team in 10th place for 700 straight years.
Bulls swapped guards for more guards and now have too many guards
It's crazy how that works, huh? When these trades first went down, I pondered whether the Bulls would pursue Simons (an unrestricted free agent after the season) or Ivey (restricted free agent), and after a few games together, I can say with confidence that the Bulls have no idea what they're going to do with these guards in the offseason.
Hey, maybe Collin Sexton (who scored 21 points on Monday) will be back next year, too. Who knows? Not the Bulls!
The problem with this arrangement is that neither Simons, Ivey, nor Sexton is good enough to be "the guy" on their own. Together, they make a decent backcourt, as we saw on Monday — but they're all on expiring deals, so it's not like this is the backcourt of the future.
Plus, even with all of them playing well, the Bulls lost to the Nets on Monday, a team that doesn't have anyone who can dribble the ball. So three playable guards on a mostly very bad roster is not a recipe for success in the current day, either.
Obviously, Bulls fans shouldn't cheer against any of the players on the team. I know it sounds very cynical to say to not get excited about a trade addition playing well. But the Bulls didn't make any progress at the trade deadline, they just moved some pieces around and find themselves exactly where they were before — except now they have Coby White in a slightly different font.