Nikola Vucevic had some interesting things to say about the present and future of the Chicago Bulls in a recent interview.
He blamed injuries (particularly to Lonzo Ball) for Chicago’s failings, but also added that repeated trade rumors caused distractions in the locker-room.
My response to that was “get used to it.”
The Chicago Bulls are going to be in more trade rumors than any team in the NBA next season and there will be some new names added to the speculation.
Chicago Bulls rumors: Are they finally rebuilding?
We’ve talked about this ad nauseam, but the Bulls are stuck between a rebuild and being competitive in the Eastern Conference.
It appears they want to go young, so everyone in the league expects them to continue to shop Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic, two names that will be staples in the rumor mill next season.
As of right now, there is no market for either one of them, but that could change with injuries or slow starts from other teams, so the Bulls will have to be patient.
Until these two are gone, they are going to be in non-stop trade rumors, but they won’t be the only ones.
Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu will be in trade rumors next season
The Bulls have been lambasted for the way they handled DeMar DeRozan and Alex Caruso, waiting too long to trade the veterans and having to take peanuts on the dollar.
They did get Josh Giddey, so it wasn’t a complete waste, but you do have to wonder if those blunders will cause the Bulls to handle their next round of stars differently.
Realistically, the Bulls aren’t going to be good in two seasons when White and Dosunmu’s contracts are set to expire, and both guys have outperformed their current deals in ways that will make it almost impossible to extend them, meaning they both could become unrestricted free agents.
Knowing that, as well as the timeline of Giddey and Matas Buzelis, the Bulls may decide to cash in on White and Dosunmu when their trade value is at its peak. Even if they don’t, there will be ample speculation and rumors surrounding these two and they’ll be connected to every contender looking to add low-cost impact talent at the deadline.
This is going to be tough for a young team to deal with, as they’ll be seeing their names in trade rumors every day and wondering when and if it’s finally going to happen.
But there is no way around it: trade speculation is the engine of the NBA media machine and the Bulls are certain to be a big part of it next season whether they like it or not.