The (massively disappointing) NBA trade deadline has come and gone, and it's time for the Chicago Bulls to take a good, long, hard look in the mirror.
One domino, perhaps the biggest one, has fallen now that the franchise has traded Zach LaVine. But there's still a lot of work to be done and moves to be made (just don't tell VP of Basketball Operations Arturas Karnisovas that).
To make the right moves, though, the Bulls have to address a slew of issues concerning the state of their roster, draft strategy and more.
4 most pressing questions Bulls have left to answer this season
4. How will Chicago keep its veterans healthy and valuable?
Inexplicably, Nikola Vucevic is still the Bulls' starting center. Karnisovas received offers for him at the deadline but decided to hold onto his 34-year-old center, who's having a career year—when his value may never be higher.
Karnisovas said it was important to keep Vucevic around for roster continuity purposes; how that makes sense as an important thing to have on a team that should be rebuilding remains a mystery to everyone except the Bulls' VP of Basketball Ops himself.
Chicago also re-signed Lonzo Ball to a team-friendly and tradeable two-year, $20 million contract rather than moving him at the deadline.
Both players will still have value as trade assets this summer, barring any significant injury or drop in play. Those are substantial risks, however. That value disappears if Vucevic's shooting tails off and/or Ball reinjures his knee.
Keeping the pair healthy and playing consistently over the final 29 games is crucial to having a productive offseason.
3. Is the roster closer to being a playoff contender or in need of a complete teardown?
Karnisovas said he feels good about the Bulls' current roster and wants to see Chicago's young players make a run at the play-in tournament. Tanking and earning the chance at a top draft pick is the smarter move, but putting the team's young core at the center of a postseason race does have at least some value.
If players like Matas Buzelis, Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu and Josh Giddey lead the Bulls into the playoffs, then maybe the offseason conversations will change a bit. But if they don't, it's time for a total organizational rebuild; that means Karnisovas, General Manager Marc Eversley, Donovan, Vucevic, Ball, White, Dosunmu and any other member of the roster who could bring back draft capital should be out the door.
There can't be anymore in between.
2. What's the long-term plan for the backcourt?
Even after trading LaVine, the Bulls are loaded with guards. Giddey, White and Ball have become regular starters, and Dosunmu has kept his place as one of Donovan's most irreplaceable reserves.
But Chicago also acquired Tre Jones and Kevin Huerter in the LaVine move. Can they play their way into being part of the Bulls' future? Jones is on an expiring deal, but Hurter is under contract for next season. White and Dosunmu will be up for new deals after 2025-26 as well.
Giddey is free to leave after this year unless Chicago re-signs him to what will likely be a long-term, expensive extension.
The Bulls can't keep everybody. Whether it's through trades or free agency, the guard rotation needs to be thinned out before next year.
1. Can Matas Buzelis be a franchise player?
This is the most vital question that needs to be answered, or at least partially answered. Can Buzelis be the future in Chicago?
Is he good enough to be the player the Bulls build their next contender around? That's a near-impossible ask for a 20-year-old rookie to prove, but the Illinois native has shown flashes that he's capable.
Since Karnisovas and Donovan have both said they want to see what the Bulls' young core can do the remainder of the season, Buzelis should get his chance to be featured heavily.
If he continues to improve the way he has over the last few weeks, the Bulls could get their answer and begin to build their roster around a versatile, two-way, explosive 6-foot-10 combo forward. That's not a bad place to start retooling your organization if you can pull it off.