Category: Bulls News

Proposed trade lands Jarred Vanderbilt with the Bulls

The proposed trade would see the Chicago Bulls swap Alex Caruso for Jarred Vanderbilt and a future first-round draft pick.

The Chicago Bulls are expected to be active in the trade market this summer. After missing out on the playoffs, it’s clear that some changes must be made to the current playing staff. Unfortunately for the Bulls, that could mean saying goodbye to some fan favorites and high-level contributors.

According to Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley, moving on from Alex Caruso could help shore up Chicago’s frontcourt while allowing the team to get younger and more diverse on the defensive end. Buckley’s trade proposal would see Caruso head back to the Los Angeles Lakers, with Jarred Vanderbilt and a 2029 first-round draft pick heading in the opposite direction.

“The Bulls previously put a high trade price on Caruso, but they might think this suffices if they’re fans of Vanderbilt, who is an impactful and versatile defensive stopper in his own right. A lightly protected future first from a team built around a 39-year-old James and a 31-year-old, oft-injured Anthony Davis is about as valuable as a draft asset can be.”

Chicago has very few tradeable assets. As such, bringing back a future draft pick would give the front office some flexibility as they look to restructure the team. Vanderbilt would provide high-level wing defense while also adding size to the rotation.

Nevertheless, the Bulls have been reluctant to part with Caruso in the past. He’s seen as a winning player and the type of talent that helps set a culture within the locker room. Still, if the Bulls are going to re-tool or rebuild their roster, Caruso may be the first domino that has to fall.

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Bulls could lose Andre Drummond in the offseason

The Chicago Bulls are expected to lose Andre Drummond once the free agency period begins in the summer.

Andre Drummond could leave the Chicago Bulls during the offseason. The veteran big man is heading into unrestricted free agency and could garner interest from multiple teams around the NBA. Drummond was almost traded to the Philadelphia 76ers at the Feb. 8 trade deadline before the Bulls pulled out of the deal.

Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times has reported that Drummond is expected to move on from Chicago this summer despite his legitimate impact when checking into games off the bench. Drummond averaged 8.4 points and 9 rebounds per game while shooting 55.6% from the field.

“What remains to be seen, however, is what direction do the Bulls go? Do they prepare for DeMar DeRozan possibly leaving in free agency or if he does return — the more likely scenario — draft his heir apparent at the small forward position?” Cowley wrote. “Do they grab a big to replace the expected vacancy with Andre Drummond looking for a new team, as well as some youth to push starter Nikola Vucevic?”

Drummond will likely field offers from multiple contending teams throughout the summer. His size and rebounding ability will be a major draw for teams that are looking to shore up their defense and like to control the tempo of games.

Nevertheless, the Bulls may need to start shopping around for a new backup center, as Adama Sanogo is also set to hit the (restricted) free-agent market. The upcoming free agent period projects will be interesting for the Bulls.

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Check out Nikola Vucevic’s best highlights of the 2023-24 Bulls season

Here are some of Nikola Vucevic’s best highlights from the 2023-24 Chicago Bulls season.

The Chicago Bulls had a very mediocre 2023-24 season. After missing the playoffs the season prior, they wanted to continue to push forward. And while they began the year on a rough note, they turned things around a bit, finishing the regular season in the Play-In Tournament, where they eventually lost to the Miami Heat (for the second year in a row).

One guy who had a fairly subpar season based on his standards was big man Nikola Vucevic. The Chicago center averaged a double-double again, and he had some bright spots, but compared to his past seasons, he just wasn’t the same player.

That said, he still had his fair share of highlights. The Bulls’ official YouTube channel recently posted a video of Vucevic’s best highlights from the 2023-24 season.

This year, Vucevic averaged 18.0 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 3.3 assists while shooting 48.4% from the floor and a disappointing 29.4% from behind the three-point line.

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Offseason moves the Chicago Bulls should make but won’t make

What moves should the Chicago Bulls make this offseason?

The past few seasons have been rough for the Chicago Bulls. The team has consistently hung around the middle of the pack in the Eastern Conference, failing to make the playoffs in each of the past two years. And the year prior, they made the postseason but lost in five games against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Heading into this summer, they have some big-time decisions to make. From DeMar DeRozan’s free agency to a potential Zach LaVine trade, the Bulls have a ton of room to reshape the course of the organization. The question is, will they make the moves the fanbase wants them to make?

The Locked On Bulls podcast recently took a look at some moves the Bulls probably should make this summer but definitely won’t.

Based on everything the Bulls have done over the past few seasons, Chicagoans should expect to get more of the same this summer.

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Lonzo Ball has strong message for Hawks: ‘I hope they get worse’

Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball is apparently not a huge fan of the Atlanta Hawks.

It’s been over two years since Lonzo Ball has stepped on a basketball court for the Chicago Bulls. When he was playing, the Bulls were one of the better teams in the league, but since he’s been out, they have been a middle-of-the-pack team. That said, there has been some recent noise surrounding his potential return for the 2024-25 season.

Ball recently started his own podcast, “What an Experience,” that also stars his brother LiAngelo Ball, as well as their two friends, Dmo and Ant. A recent episode revealed his potential plans for a return, but he’s also spoken about the Atlanta Hawks, weirdly enough.

When asked about Atlanta winning the first overall pick, Ball talked some smack. (H/t Farbod Esnaashari of Bulls News)

“I don’t give a f**k, Ball said. “I hope they get worse to be honest. Restart.”

The Bulls eliminated the Hawks from the Play-In Tournament this year, but other than that, the connection between the two teams isn’t that vast.

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DeMar DeRozan opens up about Spurs-Raptors trade: ‘It f****d me up’

Chicago Bulls star DeMar DeRozan spoke about his emotions at the time of getting traded from the Toronto Raptors to the San Antonio Spurs.

When the Chicago Bulls made a sign-and-trade in the 2021 offseason, they were overwhelmingly bashed for the move. DeRozan was fresh off of a few middling seasons with the San Antonio Spurs, and his value wasn’t what it used to be. Since then, however, he has reemerged as an All-Star-caliber player in Chicago.

Prior to his stint in San Antonio, DeRozan was the face of the franchise for the Toronto Raptors. They traded him for what ended up being one year of Kawhi Leonard, but that one year finished with a championship banner hanging in Toronto. Regardless, DeRozan was hurt by the deal, and it’s not hard to understand why.

During a recent appearance on “The Pivot Podcast,” DeRozan opened up about his emotions at the time of the deal. (H/t Timothy Rapp of Bleacher Report)

“It f****d me up, I’m being honest. It’s crazy,” DeRozan said. “I’m more than comfortable talking about it now but for the longest time it f****d me up because, one, that was the place I wanted to be, thought I was going to be, gave everything to. Like my whole motivation and drive was to simply put Toronto on the map. I wanted to follow the whole motto of, you know, Kobe [Bryant], my favorite player, I wanted to play on one team. I had it all mapped out. So when I got traded it was such a blow because at the time I was dealing with my family stuff, like you said, that was when my dad first started getting sick. That was the first time in my professional career where I just felt like out of it, I felt lost. I started to question every single thing.”

DeRozan spent nine years in Toronto, so to be traded out of the blue in the way that he was was certainly a shocker.

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Bulls guard Alex Caruso makes All-Defensive Second Team

Chicago Bulls guard Alex Caruso was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team.

For the second year in a row, the Chicago Bulls have a player on an All-Defensive Team, and for the second year in a row, that player is Alex Caruso. The All-Defensive teams were announced on Tuesday, and Caruso was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team.

Alongside Caruso on the Second Team are Boston Celtics guards Jrue Holiday and Derrick White, Orlando Magic guard Jalen Suggs, and Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels. Meanwhile, the First Team is comprised of Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert, San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama, Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo, Los Angeles Lakers center Anthony Davis, and New Orleans Pelicans forward Herb Jones.

Caruso has one year left on his current contract, meaning the Bulls will have to work with him on a new deal or risk losing him in the 2025 offseason.

He has been a crucial part of the Bulls’ success but also a common name thrown around in trade rumors over the past two seasons.

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Why are the Chicago Bulls acting like a small-market team?

Why have the Chicago Bulls acted like a small-market team in recent years?

The Chicago Bulls went all-in three years ago. Well, they went all-in relative to how they were operating prior to their big-swing moves. They decided to stop rebuilding, bringing in Nikola Vucevic via trade at the 2021 deadline and DeMar DeRozan, Lonzo Ball, and Alex Caruso in free agency the following summer.

However, they haven’t done anything since then. The Bulls have brought back the same core over and over again in hopes of finding better results. They have not. They have suffered through two straight losing seasons, yet they continue to resist change. No matter how badly the fanbase yearns for it.

The Chicago Bulls Central YouTube channel recently discussed why the Bulls continue to act like a small-market team when they are in one of the biggest markets in sports.

Chicago is a huge city. And players could want to play there. But not with the way the organization has run things recently.

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Chicago Bulls shouldn’t deal with a ton of drama this offseason

Will the Chicago Bulls have to deal with drama this summer?

The Chicago Bulls have some big-time decisions to make about their future, but none are particularly dramatic. The Bleacher Report staff recently ranked all 30 teams by how drama-filled their offseason is shaping up to be, and they placed the Bulls in 20th place (the fourth tier among all squads).

“Normal teams in the Chicago Bulls’ situation would be a notch or 12 higher up these chaos rankings,” wrote Dan Favale. “These Bulls, as we know, are not a normal team. DeMar DeRozan, their best player, turns 35 in August and is scheduled to hit free agency. Patrick Williams is headed for restricted free agency on the heels of left foot surgery. Andre Drummond, an Early Bird free agent, is due for a raise. While possible, re-signing everyone would probably vault Chicago into the luxury tax. That’s not an acceptable outcome for a 39-win core. And that should drum up the pandemonium potential one way or another.

“Do the Bulls burn it down? Let DeRozan walk or move him in a sign-and-trade? Deal Zach LaVine, even though he’s at the nadir of his market value coming off right foot surgery that ended his season? Will they look to capitalize on Alex Caruso’s remaining trade mystique as he heads into the final year of his contract? Or could the Bulls go the other way completely and attempt to quadruple down on what’s already in place with a blockbuster swing? They owe a top-10-protected pick to San Antonio in 2025, but they have the contracts, future firsts and unimpressive vibes that inflate the value of those firsts to do something substantial (reckless?). Once more, though, these are the Bulls. So we already know how this ends: with their embracing action somewhere between nuclear and nothing, preserving their place inside the Eastern Conference pecking order above the Charlottes and the Washingtons but below the line of mediocrity.

“Am I taking such a hardline stance in hopes it acts as a reverse jinx and Chicago, at long last, injects a little lot of much-needed chaos into its banal existence? Who’s to say, really?

The Bulls should get busy, but will they?

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Bulls need to re-sign of replace Andre Drummond this offseason

The Chicago Bulls need to re-sign or replace Andre Drummond this offseason.

Andre Drummond just enjoyed a solid season for the Chicago Bulls, but now, he will be an unrestricted free agent. When ranking the Bulls’ priorities this summer, Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report said that re-signing or replacing Drummond should be one of their top three items to take care of.

“Two summers back, the Bulls brought Andre Drummond to the Windy City on a two-year, $6.6 million deal. The return on that investment has been significant,” Buckley wrote. “The veteran has been one of the league’s most productive backup bigs over this stretch. He doesn’t seen a ton of floor time due to rather severe offensive limitations—he adds next to nothing away from the basket—but he absolutely makes the most of his minutes. His per-36-minutes averages speak to that interior activity: 18.9 rebounds, 17.4 points and 3.1 combined blocks and steals, per Basketball-Reference.

“Those numbers will get him noticed as an unrestricted free agent. The question is whether they’ll also get him a richer deal than Chicago wants to pay. If he bolts out of town for more money, minutes or both, the Bulls will feel his absence and have to respond to it with a signing of their own.”

The Bulls don’t have much center depth, and Drummond has been solid for them. They can’t let him walk without having a good replacement option in mind.

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