Bulls trade deadline recap: flailing and lying
at least there was activity? but it truly is 'least'
Important to lead with this: Fire Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley. They keep screwing up every transaction period, their actions do not imply and kind of cohesive vision or plan, and even if they did possess that they literally are in capable of articulating it. As much as ‘better late than never’ applies to the trading away of everyone from the last great Bulls team1, it also applies to this front office. AKME has screwed up all facets of this roster: from drafting and development, to competitiveness in the short-term, to the teardown when looking long-term. Their current situation is a combination of bad and hopeless that may be worst in the league2. They do not deserve a chance to ‘see what happens going forward’, the fanbase has zero confidence in them after not only seeing these results but being insulted every time AK talks to us like we’re stupid3 . If these two bozos are axed now, this summer a new executive would have a very clean slate to work with.
I will admit that the Bulls were unexpectedly active this deadline, and credit to the Chicago media for their 4 years of predicting such a thing becoming eventually correct. This demolition was so thorough that it brought to mind some new regime clearing out past mistakes. But since it was haphazard and incongruous at points one could quickly recognize it as the AKME method.
Out are Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu, VUC, Kevin Huerter, Dalen Terry, Julian Phillips, Jevon Carter, and 2-Way contract player Emmanuel Miller4.
In are a whole lot - nine - 2nd round picks, most notably this year’s Pelicans early-30s-overall-ish selection. And as for players, here’s what you’ve all been waiting for: my updated roster snapshot
It’s an unassailable opinion that AKME exhibited poor asset management in trading away all these guys as they were about to hit free agency.
But did they do OK given they don’t have a time machine? Again, no. No they did not. I say this often: you do not, under any circumstances, have to give these guys the benefit of the doubt by thinking “they took the best deal they could, and the market’s the market”
They are bad at evaluating talent
They covet experience over upside, the known versus the unknown (because of #1 reason above)
What I can give them credit for during this transaction period is that they didn’t do nothing. And they didn’t eschew ‘sell’ trades, even if they just got 2nd round picks, in a pursuit of the playoffs via losers bracket and luck, and as a result have more assets for this summer than they would have with expiring veteran contracts.
But they didn’t do as well as they could, not even close:
No premium assets were acquired, because they refused taking on longer-term money that would dip into 2026 cap space5
They acquired playable veterans for the frontcourt in Richards and Yabusele, instead of younger players or truly dead salary with more attached picks
They acquired (and in a surprise to me, kept) rotation-level guards in Simons and Sexton, both of whom Billy Donovan is absolutely going to play over the younger auditioning players. This doesn’t matter too much because I don’t think any ‘young player with experience’ they received is going to be an unearthed diamond, but they should be giving themselves the best chance at it
They’re not tanking the rest of this season to better their lottery odds. This isn’t that significant to me as - due to their own actions - they are locked in to somewhere between 9th and 12th best odds
I could get into what I think is their plan heading into the offseason, but in truth there really isn’t one. Their plans, in so much they ever even have one, is entirely reactive6. They have mostly failed at player acquisition and development: how can we trust they’ll hit on these second-draft guys when they missed on so many first-draft ones? And when this next round of team building fails, they will say that wasn’t actually the plan, and this new plan has been the plan all along and they’re executing it. Just think of who has been designated 'our young core’ year over year.
Fewer and fewer people are buying it anymore, and this latest trade deadline is just another demerit. It just takes one special business boy to realize it and convince his dad. I don’t think that time is coming soon enough, but these last couple of days has picked up the momentum in my fantasy? opinion. That is the only positive momentum I can feel surrounding this team.
that one January was in first place, and had a single playoff victory
maybe the Pelicans due to being in the West and in a poor market. The Kings at least have a good chance of winning the draft lottery.
that was the worst press conference yet, because it wasn’t even infuriating anymore to hear him not understand basic questions and/or lie. Media tried to get him to admit mistakes (mostly around the timing of these moves), but AK is impervious because he rejects simple obvious premises.
Bulls can save on jersey stitching as they acquired Miller’s younger brother from the TWolves.
outside of $7M owed to Dillingham
there was a report a couple days ago that the Bulls were trying to buy, using a first rounder to get Jarrett Allen