The wheels may already be falling off on the season for the Chicago Bulls. It could prompt some big changes heading into the trade deadline.
Heading into the season, it was pretty clear that there was a very real possibility that this was going to be somewhat of a “last dance” for the Chicago Bulls‘ current core of DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine. And through the first three games of the season, it’s been a rocky start for the Bulls – without much hope of things turning around.
The Bulls are 1-2 after the first three games of the season but could easily be 0-3. If it wasn’t for a crazy fourth-quarter comeback against the Toronto Raptors which resulted in an unlikely overtime win, the Bulls would be winless heading into a road game against the Indiana Pacers.
Two bad losses against the Oklahoma City Thunder and Detroit Pistons, by 20 points and 16 points respectively, have sandwiched the Bulls’ only win of the season.
It’s clear that something needs to change quickly before they fall too far down the standings in the Eastern Conference. But it’s hard to envision any of that changing for the Bulls. Currently, Chicago is statistically a poor offensive and defensive team. They don’t do anything particularly well and even when one of their star players does go off (a 51-point performance by LaVine), it results in a double-digit loss.
The Chicago Bulls need to make a decision about their future before the NBA Trade Deadline
Heading into the NBA Trade Deadline, the Bulls have some big decisions to make. There have already been whispers surrounding the Bulls entertaining the idea of trading DeRozan, who is in the final year of his contract, and they’ll have to make a similar decision on LaVine.
If the Bulls are serious about winning, they must seriously entertain the idea of blowing up the roster and undergoing another retooling. For as good of talents as LaVine and DeRozan are individually, it’s clear that as a duo they don’t make much of an impact in the Eastern Conference.
That much has been clear over the past two-plus seasons. It’s pretty clear that the Bulls are closer to a rebuild than they are to being a championship contender.
If something doesn’t change quickly, the Bulls’ actions will soon mirror that. If the Bulls can’t right the ship before the trade deadline, it would be surprising if they didn’t make a future-altering move at some point this season.