With three weeks until deadline, no trade in sight for Bulls
The Bulls and Toronto put a new twist on the familiar “teams headed in different directions” angle.
The Raptors have been wheeling and dealing, making two major trades in the past few weeks. Pascal Siakam was sent to Indiana this week, while OG Anunoby has been toiling in New York.
Meanwhile, the Bulls are still wondering if trades make sense or if they're even possible. The NBA trade deadline arrive in three weeks on Feb. 8.
The Bulls were a little shaky after building an early 14-point lead but finished the game on a 13-3 run and held off Toronto 116-110. DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic scored 24 points each, while Coby White added 23.
Zach LaVine turned his right ankle when he stepped on an opponent's foot on a drive to the hoop in the third quarter and immediately hobbled to the locker room. He returned to the game and played six minutes the rest of the way but was not on the floor down the stretch.
The Bulls (20-23) have gone 15-9 since Nov. 30, when LaVine was sidelined by a foot injury, and they are 5-2 since he returned.
The Bulls' trade watch has been focused on LaVine since mid-November, when a report surfaced suggesting his camp would favor a new home. The problem, obviously, is LaVine wasn't playing well, then was sidelined for more than a month, and is owed $138 million over the next three years.
There's a belief around the league the market for LaVine is still practically non-existent. Two different ESPN analysts, Brian Windhorst and Dave McMenamin, said recently there's no chance of LaVine landing with the Lakers, believed to be his preferred destination.
At this point, it's possible the Bulls would be willing to unload LaVine for an expiring contract, without any first-round picks attached. Golden State's Klay Thompson and Philadelphia's Tobias Harris would work salary-wise, but the question is whether any team would take on that contract.
Or the Bulls could just sit tight and do nothing at the trade deadline. They'd hope LaVine can start thriving with the Bulls or maybe some other team's desire to make a trade grows during the summer.
Thursday's game was on TNT, which gave the studio crew a chance to chime in on the Bulls' future. Charles Barkley stuck with his stance the Bulls need to blow up the roster and launch a second rebuild in a seven-year span.
“If I'm the Bulls, I'm like, 'Hey, we're open for business, let's start the rebuild,'” Barkley said. “Burn down the house and start over. They're not relevant. I don't like paying guys 30, 40, 50 million for us to be mediocre.”
Kenny Smith pointed out how Toronto plans to build around forward Scottie Barnes but said the Bulls have no one to build around.
True, DeRozan and Vucevic are both into their 30s, but White's drastic improvement has given the Bulls some hope for the future.
Shaquille O'Neal expressed a belief LaVine can return to the level that made him a two-time all-star, then added some advice.
“I just hope they trade Zach LaVine to a contender,” O'Neal said. “He had a stretch there where he looked good. If you trade him to a contender, he can definitely help. Because when he was on his game, we talked about him a lot.
“He should probably go in there and say, 'I'm not going to play until you trade me, since you want to trade me.'”
Actually, it seemed to be LaVine's camp initiating the trade request, but that hardly matters now. The Bulls are where they are, stuck in a tough spot with three weeks left to maneuver.
Twitter: @McGrawDHSports