Why mess with the chemistry? A bold trade at the deadline may not be in Bulls' future
Now that the Bulls are surprisingly good, the next step would be to find their Rasheed Wallace.
That's a reference to the 2004 Detroit Pistons, a team that found the final piece to an unexpected championship at the trade deadline.
It's OK to dream, but keep in mind that Pistons squad went to the conference finals the previous year. They weren't coming from 10 games below .500 like the Bulls. A better comparison for the Bulls is last year's Phoenix Suns, which had a losing history, added a key veteran and held a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals.
Granted, Chris Paul is not DeMar DeRozan, DeAndre Ayton is very different from Nikola Vucevic. But like the current Bulls, the Suns played relatively small and perfected their style. With some good health, maybe the Bulls could do the same.
But a big splash trade before the deadline is unlikely, for multiple reasons. Let's run it down:
• For starters, why would you want to mess with the Bulls' chemistry? Who would come off the court to make room for a new guy?
The full-strength Bulls are both unconventional and unique. The dual scoring threat of DeRozan and Zach LaVine has been special. Playing small hurts at times, but a big part of their success is being able to play fast and create havoc.
While Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso are solid individual defenders, they are most dangerous when they're freelancing and scrambling. The 6-7 Ball can double-team and recover as well as anyone in the league. Those two start deflecting passes and the Bulls can get out and run.
Why mess with that formula? The Bulls don't want to take Caruso off the floor for a taller power forward. Javonte Green does a lot of the same things and is pretty good at pestering taller opponents. The impending matchups with the Bucks and Giannis Antetokounmpo will be interesting.
So maybe the Bulls could use more of a role-playing, taller power forward. That could be true and the Bulls will likely be on the lookout for one. At the same time, former slam dunk champ Derrick Jones Jr. is a nice fit with the Bulls' fast, athletic style.
Any newcomer runs the risk of not fitting in. The Bulls planned on giving veteran Ersan Ilyasova a try, but he went into protocols before playing in a game. The Bulls also seemed to anticipate making no move in February when they decided to keep 6-7 forward Alfonzo McKinnie.
• There are economic reasons why the Bulls won't make a bold move this season. Once LaVine gets his new contract this summer, the Bulls will have four players making at least $19.5 million next year.
A fifth player with a $20 million-plus contract isn't likely, so dreams of landing Jerami Grant or Myles Turner seem far-fetched.
And it's not fair to say the Bulls would skip on such a trade just to save money. There's no better way to gum up a team's future than with too many big contracts. The NBA also penalizes teams for paying the luxury tax multiple years in a row, so skipping the tax this season is a smart decision.
Any potential bold move should be for later when the Bulls ponder the future of Vucevic. It makes sense to let this season play out and then figure out how to take the next step.
• Could the Bulls use another veteran on the roster? That's something to consider. Besides Paul, the Suns added all-purpose vet Jae Crowder last year.
At the same time, the Bulls are also starting to glimpse the potential of Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu as the second-team backcourt duo. No one should judge the Hawks when they had three of their usual players, but Dosunmu showed some potential Wednesday for making things more difficult for Trae Young, who led Atlanta to the conference finals last year.
As White gets more comfortable after his shoulder surgery, this could turn into a great match. And since they're both on rookie contracts, the Bulls can project that combo into next season.
It's hard to see Patrick Williams bringing much return in a trade. For starters, he's recovering from wrist surgery. And anyone who has scouted the Bulls would see Williams as a young players trying to figure out what role he fits in the NBA, not some sort of budding superstar.
Twitter: @McGrawDHSports