With a strong case to be made for blowing up the roster and a good amount of financial flexibility, the Chicago Bulls should probably plan on having a busy NBA trade season. Then again, given their general resistance to wheeling and dealing, the miracle it would take to trade their away anywhere near contention, and their frustrating fixation on being kinda, sorta competitive, it'll almost certainly take more than a month to fix this roster.
By this summer, though, Chicago will hopefully have a better feel for both where it wants to go and how it plans on getting there. And if this stretch run is particularly rocky, maybe the Bulls will be in line for an about-face on current floor general Josh Giddey and a pivot toward a discounted deal on recently traded All-Star Trae Young.
A summer shake-up could see the Bulls and Wizards swapping point guards.
As bright as the future looks for Matas Buzelis—and, fingers crossed, for Noa Essengue, too—Chicago needs a focal point. Young has filled that role throughout his career, even once serving as the guiding force for an Eastern Conference finalist.
That's why Washington just took a deeply discounted dice roll on him. But the next few months might prove that the young Wizards aren't ready to follow his lead. Or perhaps his play style doesn't mesh with what they already have.
Either way, it's at the very least plausible that his stint in the District could be a short one. And if it is, offense-needy clubs could come calling this summer.
The Bulls clearly qualify as such. Only seven teams have been less efficient on the offensive end, per NBA.com, and most of that group is actively looking for losses ahead of a seemingly loaded draft. Young could course-correct this attack like few other players can, particularly those with realistic availability.
Even amid a choppy, injury-impacted campaign, he's putting up 19.3 points and 8.9 assists. During the previous six seasons, those numbers were 26.5 and 10.2, respectively. He almost single-handedly ensures his employer a top-10 attack. When he played this season—and, again, he wasn't up to his normal standards—he had the Hawks humming like a top-five offense (119.4 offensive rating, would rank fifth overall).
Granted, he has some big weaknesses, but those are clearly being factored into his trade cost. And they can be mitigated to a degree by a team willing to tailor its roster around them.
Why couldn't Chicago attempt to do just that? Buzelis can play with anyone, and hopefully the same holds true for Essengue. Do the Bulls even need to worry about Young's fit with anyone else? Ayo Dosunmu seems worth keeping, but he's another shapeshifter who can share the floor with all manners of playing styles.
Building around that core offers some really fun possibilities if the front office takes care of business. And since the Bulls really aren't giving up major assets here—Young would provide an offensive upgrade over Giddey, and that first-rounder has lottery protection through 2028—they'd have the tools needed to chase an impact big man and flesh out their depth.
Fans could at least start to see the vision of what this organization is hoping to accomplish. When is the last time that has been true for this team? Chicago could use an identity change, and Young just might be the perfect player to help make it happen.