Ahead of this year's trade deadline, I believe I can speak for most fans when I say we would have liked to see the Chicago Bulls make some moves and get involved in the action. Whether the front office decided to add more talent for a run or shifted gears toward a rebuild, anything would have been better than treading water as the East's 9th seed.
Instead, Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley seem to have accepted mediocrity, opting to stick to their guns and see how things play out. Down Zach LaVine and Lonzo Ball for the rest of the season, this is a risky gambit to say the very least.
Just because the Bulls didn't make a trade doesn't mean they're entirely limited in their options, however, as they still have an open roster space that could be used to bring in some assistance via free agency. This is a fact that Bulls star forward DeMar DeRozan appears to be keenly aware of, as he made his stance on Chicago's free agency situation very clear.
"Extra bodies always help," DeRozan told Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune, "Sometimes when we run out there in that layup line and we feel thin, it sucks. The more the merrier."
From practice earlier today, DeMar DeRozan spoke on whether he thinks the Bulls front office should get a player on the buyout market: "Yes. Extra bodies always help. Sometimes when we run out there in that layup line and we feel thin, it sucks. The more the merrier."
— Julia Poe (@byjuliapoe) February 21, 2024
The Bulls need to get DeMar DeRozan some help by signing a free agent.
Chicago won't be forced to make do without just LaVine and Lonzo, since Patrick Williams and Torrey Craig are both also expected to miss significant time. As the top two power forwards in the rotation, the Bulls have been forced to go small and have players out of position just to field a somewhat competent starting lineup.
Meanwhile, DeRozan and Coby White are doing everything they can to keep this ship afloat. Combining for over 4000 minutes played thus far, the duo leads the league in playtime, occupying both spots at the top of the minutes played leaderboard. To say this team is being stretched thin and is in need of additional depth would be an understatement.
Several quality free agents have already found new homes after being bought out by their former teams — including Kyle Lowry, Marcus Morris, Thaddeus Young, and Danilo Gallinari — but that doesn't mean all of the Bulls' options have been exhausted just yet. Joe Harris, Furkan Korkmaz, and Killian Hayes are just a few notable names still available to sign in free agency.
Not only do the Bulls have an open roster spot, but they can still sign a player to the veteran's minimum while remaining beneath the luxury tax threshold — a fact that will sound like music to penny-pincher Jerry Reinsdorf's ears. There's simply no excuse to sit back and let things play out any longer when this team's postseason aspirations are just a few losses away from going on life support.