Bulls summer improvement plans may meet harsh reality
There are two potential paths for the Bulls this summer.
One is to forget last season ever happened. There was no Zach LaVine trade demand, no disinterested start to the season, no disconnect with coach Billy Donovan. LaVine can heal up, start fresh in the fall and make the most of a lineup featuring four 20-point scorers.
Then there's the more likely path: Trade LaVine by any means possible, which won't be easy.
Basketball operations boss Arturas Karnisovas vowed to make changes, but he already made the glaring mistake that will haunt the franchise for a few more years. Again, this blunder is all on the Bulls. There was no evidence to suggest giving LaVine a full max contract was a smart idea, but they did it anyway.
Of all the terrible decisions made by the Bulls since 1998, this one isn't as bad as trading Jimmy Butler — the move that brought LaVine to town in the first place — but it may make the top five.
So when you talk about possible changes to the Bulls roster, it starts there. It might end there too.
Seriously, what is Karnisovas going to do? He has two vastly improved guards on bargain contracts in Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu. Hard to improve on that situation.
DeMar DeRozan is a free agent and can do what he wants. Patrick Williams is a restricted free agent and can't be traded without his permission. What's the trade market for center Nikola Vucevic? Slim or none, probably.
Alex Caruso obviously has some trade value, but nothing's changed since the trade deadline. A top-15 protected first-rounder won't do much to improve the roster.
There is a path for Bulls improvement. The biggest key is whether White can keep moving up the ladder and grow into an all-star or franchise-type player. It's conceivable he could land somewhere between Jalen Brunson and De'Aaron Fox on the guard scale.
They need Williams, Dalen Terry or Julian Phillips — ideally all three — to take a nice jump and maybe follow Dosunmu's example for becoming a valuable rotation player.
Then Karnisovas needs to be at least bull’s-eye-adjacent with the No. 11 draft pick. Again here's a partial list of players chosen between Nos. 11-14 since 2015: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Tyrese Haliburton, Donovan Mitchell, Devin Booker, Domantas Sabonis, Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo. There will be a very good player available when the Bulls pick.
If all that happens, the Bulls would have a nice, young nucleus. Adding to it will be a challenge, though, because of LaVine's contract, which has the Bulls perched close to luxury-tax level. There were other blunders, like signing seldom-used Jevon Carter to a three-year deal.
The general rule of thumb in the NBA is, “Any player can be traded.” The problem here is frequently traded guys like James Harden and Kyrie Irving have led teams to the conference finals or beyond. LaVine has been to the playoffs just once and was limping behind DeRozan when it happened.
Some desperate team might be ready to believe LaVine can build on his two all-star appearances. The Lakers weren't interested a few months ago, but maybe that changes with another first-round loss to Denver.
Brooklyn has a tradable contract with Ben Simmons heading into his final year. Philadelphia needs to re-sign Tyrese Maxey, but otherwise its payroll is wide open beyond Joel Embiid. The Pistons might be interested if the Bulls take back some unwanted salaries. Golden State could be looking to move Andrew Wiggins but already has a high payroll.
Atlanta's Trae Young has essentially the same contract as LaVine, three years and $138 million left. I doubt if either side sees Young for LaVine as a winning move, but if there are no other options, a change of scenery can help sometimes.
So to summarize, Karnisovas can talk about the record being unacceptable, vow to make changes and set the goal of being fiscally smart. But mistakes from the past will be staring at him from the balance sheet.
Smart fans should know, solving the Bulls' problems with one busy summer is likely impossible. Patience may produce better results.
Twitter: @McGrawDHSports