The latest Chicago Bulls news for Feb. 28, featuring a new problem that's brewing for an already-inept front office, how the Zach LaVine trade pack is fitting in and a look at the updated NBA draft lottery odds.
Bulls have a big man problem but it's not on the floor
Despite offers reportedly being on the table, Chicago's decision-makers decided not to trade veteran center Nikola Vucevic at the trade deadline. He was then in the midst of a career year in terms of shooting efficiency, but Bulls VP of Basketball Operations Arturas Karnisovas said he valued experience and continuity on his roster for the stretch run of the 2024-25 campaign.
Vucevic has played in five of the team's seven games since the Feb. 6 deadline with averages of 15.2 points and 9.0 rebounds while shooting 40.0 percent from the field and 30.0 percent from three. If it wasn't already clear Chicago made the wrong decision in holding onto Vucevic, his drop in production and new injury woes should make it crystal.
The move Karnisovas did make near the deadline was trading Zach LaVine to the Sacramento Kings in a deal that brought back, in part, center Zach Collins from the San Antonio Spurs. The trio of Vucevic, Collins and incumbent reserve Jalen Smith made sense as a center rotation, but rookie Matas Buzelis was finally getting minutes at the power forward spot which complicated things.
Smith is only 24 years old, has been productive and healthy for most of this season and is on a team-friendly three-year, $27 million deal.
Collins is a career backup who's started in spurts and filled that role admirably; since joining the Bulls, he's averaged 11.0 points and 7.6 rebounds on 51.4 percent shooting in 22 minutes per night. He's coming off a 21-point, 17-rebound, seven-assist game against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Then there's Vucevic. Chicago should finally (right?) be ready to move on from the 35-year-old this summer. The Bulls have every reason to trade Collins. If Smith generates some interest, he shouldn't be completely off the table.
By keeping Vucevic, Chicago created a logjam at center and is now unable to fully showcase what it has at the position, by default diminishing the trade value of their available big men.
New guys fitting in already
Collins has had an impact in his five games since joining the Bulls, but so have Tre Jones and Kevin Huerter, the other two players involved in the LaVine deal.
Jones, a 25-year-old point guard and unrestricted free agent at season's end, is averaging 7.4 points on 51/43/100 shooting splits in Chicago. He scored 15 points in 19 minutes on 5-of-7 shooting in a loss to the Detroit Pistons on Feb. 12 and 16 points in 18 minutes on 7-of-9 shooting and 2-for-2 from three in the team's most recent game against the Clippers, the same night Collins went off.
Huerter is a seven-year veteran and proven high-level three-point shooter but is having the worst season of his career. He's playing 24.1 minutes a night since joining the Bulls, however, and scored 23 points on 7-of-11 shooting from deep four nights ago.
Jones in stuck in a crowded backcourt and it makes sense for him to leave at the end of the season. Collins and Huerter are both under contract for next season but at moveable numbers. All three were essentially salary filler in the LaVine trade, but they're proving useful right now and potentially even more so as trade chips this offseason.
Updated NBA Draft Lottery odds
The Bulls are 2-8 in their last 10 games. Unfortunately, one of those wins came against the Philadelphia 76ers, who seem to be jockeying for draft position rather than an Eastern Conference Play-In Tournament spot. The Sixers are now 2.5 games worse than the Bulls and two spots ahead of them in the draft lottery standings.
Chicago is also 1.5 games ahead of the Brooklyn Nets, who are openly tanking. With 23 games to go in the season, it looks like the Bulls are about to again sneak into the Play-In Tournament and hurt their draft positioning. As of Feb. 28, they have the eighth-best odds at landing the No. 1 pick.
It seems like a daunting task for Chicago to "catch" Philly and Brooklyn and climb any higher.