Heading into 2025, the Chicago Bulls have played 33 games, posting a 15-18 record. Chicago currently sits as the ninth seed in the Eastern Conference, with the Detroit Pistons possessing a 14-18 record and the Philadelphia 76ers right behind them in 11th with at 12-17.
Prior to the beginning of the 2024-25 NBA season, the Chicago Bulls' two goals were to elevate the trade stock of veterans Zach Lavine and Nikola Vucevic and focus on the youth movement going forward. While Vucevic is having a career year and likely to be an All-Star, and Zach Lavine has made a strong case for his third All-Star nod, the Bulls have not emphasized a focus on their youth.
Rookie Matas Buzelis has struggled to get playing time despite dropping a career-high 20 points at the beginning of the month—getting just over 13 minutes of play per game and averaging right around five points per game, Buzelies has struggled to play consistently in his time on the court.
Patrick Williams has continued to perform at the same level he had the first four seasons of his career, something that has only frustrated Bulls fans. Another player who has fallen below expectations this season, Coby White, has taken a step back from his Most Improved Player runner-up season. Several of Coby's stats have taken small dips, with many attributing injuries and roster changes having an influence.
Chicago's direction is almost impossible to pinpoint
On the court, the Bulls have had a confusing run heading into 2025. The team has won several games they should have lost including two wins over the Milwaukee Bucks and a win over the Boston Celtics. At the same time, they've lost several games they should've won including losses against the Brooklyn Nets, Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards, and Toronto Raptors, and an 8-point loss against the Atlanta Hawks that saw the Hawks drop 50 points in the fourth quarter after being down 17 at the beginning of the fourth quarter.
According to Tankathon, draft odds for the 2025 NBA Draft, the Chicago Bulls are on pace to lose their top-10 protected draft pick owed to the San Antonio Spurs as a part of the 2021 DeMar DeRozan sign-and-trade. For Chicago, losing their draft pick in one of the most hyped drafts in recent years would only be yet another blow to the downtrodden Bulls.
There is no guarantee the Bulls will receive any promising players or draft picks in return if they are able to trade Lavine or Vucevic before the 2025 trade deadline. With teams like the Charlotte Hornets, Raptors, Wizards, Utah Jazz, and New Orleans Pelicans all having much worse seasons than the Bulls and the team having to finish with a bottom-six record in the league to keep their pick in the top 10, the odds of them retaining their selection is extremely low.