The Chicago Bulls committed to a massive change in direction today. Zach LaVine, longest-tenured Bull, leading scorer over the past decade, and most recent All-Star with DeMar DeRozan departing over the summer, is now gone. The face of the organization is entirely up for grabs, and the only current players with a path to claim that title are Coby White or Josh Giddey, who would need to see a leap in production and consistency. The Sacramento Kings shipped away De'Aaron Fox, at his request, and saw six draft picks and an All-Star in return. The Bulls, who dealt away LaVine, saw three role players on expiring contracts over the next two years and their own 2025 draft selection back from the San Antonio Spurs. That pick was already top-ten protected in this summer's draft, which, according to 'Tankathon' metrics, they had a 96.9% chance of retaining.
Vucevic Trade And Patrick Williams
This decision from Karnisovas's group follows a growing list of highly questionable ones that should lead to his dismissal. It began a few months after his arrival in April of 2020 when his first significant task was using the Bulls' fourth overall selection in the upcoming draft. He selected Patrick Williams, who is unanimously the worst top-five selection from the franchise this century and displayed minimal development over his first four seasons. Drafting a bust isn't uncommon, but refusing to admit the fault and move on from that player is unforgivable. Karnisovas did just that by doubling down on Williams and inking him to a 5-year, $90 million contract in the summer of 2024 after he'd failed to increase his points per game by a single digit since his rookie campaign despite being a four-year starter.
Patrick Williams is officially a bust:
— Die-Hard Chicago Bulls Fans (@DieHardCBfans) January 9, 2025
Year 1: 9.2 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 48% FG
Year 2: 9.0 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 52% FG
Year 3: 10.2 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 46% FG
Year 4: 10.0 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 44% FG
YEAR 5: 9.7 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 39% FG
Yet the Bulls paid him $90M 💀 pic.twitter.com/YGvzy7wALc
Next on the list of regrettable actions was the swing-and-miss trade for Nikola Vucevic. At the time, Karnisovas acquired a 29-year-old Vucevic, the same age LaVine is now, for three first-round draft picks. Several of those assets remain starting caliber players around the Association. Remember that today's deal only saw Chicago earn one first-round draft pick, with an asterisk, because it was initially their own selection. Vucevic hasn't earned an All-Star nod in Chicago since, and he, too, inked a ridiculous $20 million annual average salary until he's 35 years old. Strike two for AK's leadership.
Zach LaVine Contract And Trade Disaster
Strikes three and four for Karnisovas have been the handling of Zach LaVine. After two All-Star selections, zero All-NBA nods, and one playoff game won in his only postseason appearance throughout his career, the front office decided to ink him to a massive 5-year, $215 million deal that was top-ten leaguewide at the time, and he remains top-20. LaVine has not made an All-Star or All-NBA team since and has had zero postseason wins since the deal was agreed upon. Even if the contract was a leap of faith in LaVine, it should cost AK and his group their jobs for putting the Bulls behind the eight ball for nearly a decade without cap space or draft capital to sustain a shift toward either a championship pursuit or a rebuild.
It's not the haul Bulls fans hoped for. But that clearly was never coming.
— Darnell Mayberry (@DarnellMayberry) February 3, 2025
The Bulls have turned down multiple offers for LaVine that required them to attach additional assets to make a deal.
Five months later, when viewed in that light, the Bulls salvaged value here. https://t.co/3itwsuiTPg
Most will blame the grossly oversized contract for today's trade's lack of return. They would be correct, but the blame needs to be turned onto the group that decided to pay him initially. Karnisovas put the franchise and his job in this position and has done an even uglier job of crawling out of the hole he's dug. Bulls fans and NBA fans alike can see that this front office cannot lead the charge of another attempt at building a winning franchise from mostly scratch.
The Bulls have traded DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, & Alex Caruso for ...
— Elias Schuster (@Schuster_Elias) February 3, 2025
- Josh Giddey
- Kevin Huerter
- Zach Collins
- Tre Jones
- Chris Duarte
- Two Second-Round Picks
- Rights to their OWN 2025 first-round pick
Not a single additional first-rounder was acquired. Unbelievable.
From Vucevic to Williams, and the final act of Zach LaVine. How soon will Arturas Karnisovas answer for his fourth losing season in his five years with Chicago, with a gloomy future to look forward to?
