The Bulls problem nobody is discussing (and why Chicago must learn from it ASAP)

It's no secret that the Chicago Bulls have taken a failed approach to roster building.

Making deals to add Nikola Vucevic, Lonzo Ball and DeMar DeRozan to a core that already featured Zach LaVine should have, at least on paper, made the Bulls competitive in the Eastern Conference.

Instead, it got them a fun few months during the regular season and one playoff series.

Now, the franchise is stuck exactly where no one wants to be in the NBA: total mediocrity. Not good enough to make a legitimate run but not bad enough to collect picks at the top of the draft.

In fairness to the Bulls, Ball's ill-timed injury that's now kept him off the court for two-and-a-half seasons wasn't their fault. But the other illogical, dumbfounding decisions the front office has made to double down and lock themselves into said mediocrity are 100 percent their fault.

And until Chicago stops making those types of moves - and finds a way to correct the mistakes - the franchise isn't going anywhere, whether that's up the standings or down.

Bulls continue to make astoundingly poor roster decisions

Artūras Karnišovas, Marc Eversley and the rest of the Bulls' brass made two moves this offseason to begin to correct a handful of mistakes, even if it was too late to get a fair return.

They sent a win-now player in Alex Caruso to the Oklahoma City Thunder for 21-year-old point guard Josh Giddey and helped facilitate a sign-and-trade to send DeRozan to the Kings.

In return for one of the franchise's best players of the past decade, Chicago received guard Chris Duarte and two second-round picks from Sacramento. Not exactly a net positive for the Bulls.

But the most confusing moves have been the franchise's decisions to hand out extensions that weren't warranted. Those deals have done nothing but dig Chicago deeper into insignificance.

Chicago is throwing away money with unnecessary contract extensions

In the summer of 2023, the Bulls decided it would be wise to hand Vucevic a three-year, $60 million extension.

The veteran center has been his healthy and productive self, but he can't stretch the floor or protect the rim, the two most valuable skills big men in today's NBA can possess.

Vucevic will turn 34 this season and will make more than $41 million this year and next year combined. But for what? Above average archaic center play?

To make matters worse, no other franchise is giving up anything of value to acquire him. There was no reason to extend Vucevic for three more seasons at this point in his career.

In a slightly less confusing move but confusing nonetheless, the Bulls gave LaVine a five-year, $215 million deal. That's a huge sum of money to dish out to a one-dimensional scoring guard with a history of injury problems.

Those problems reared their ugly head against last season, and LaVine is still owed more than $89 million combined this year and next with a player option tacked on for 2026-27. Chicago has been rumored to be willing to attach a first-round pick just to send the 29-year-old elsewhere.

A case could be made for giving LaVine that contract, considering his productivity with the Bulls when he's healthy. The Vucevic deal, however, made no sense then and looks even worse now.

It's moves like these that handcuff Chicago to mediocrity. Until they stop making illogical decisions that hold them back from either improving the roster or tanking it, the Bulls will continue to spin their wheels.