The Chicago Bulls need to rebuild their 39-win roster but have shown reluctance to do a full tear down.
And that makes sense when you look at teams like the Pistons, Wizards and Hornets, who have been “rebuilding” for years and have little to show for it.
There’s also the fact that the Bulls were competitive when fully healthy, a big caveat when you are talking about guys like Lonzo Ball and Zach LaVine, as “good when healthy” has been the story of their careers.
If the Bulls plan to bring back DeMar DeRozan, which it appears they do, then the tear down option isn’t happening, but that doesn’t mean the Bulls can’t start building for the future as well.
Chicago Bulls entering a crucial offseason
This will be a big offseason for Arturas Karnisovas, as the Bulls have to pull themselves out of this rut of mediocrity one way or another.
He has promised change is coming but has also balked at the idea of a rebuild, so we could see the Bulls make trades or moves that add younger talent without completely tearing down the roster.
If Chicago can leverage their 11th pick in the draft along with a couple of players, they may be able to orchestrate a soft rebuild that keeps them in the mix now but still builds for the future.
Here are two possible trades that could get them there.