Chicago Bulls Have "Zero Interest" In Russell Westbrook

During a poor 11-14 start to the season and sorely underperforming in every facet, the Chicago Bulls have been the center of a lot of trade buzz. Most of the rumors have surrounded but not been limited to stars Nikola Vucevic, Zach Lavine, and DeMar DeRozan, requiring quite the haul in return by default. The most popular of the propositions linked the Bulls to the Los Angeles Lakers; given the aging roster and underwhelming start to their season, the assumption is that they'll look to shake things up to make any playoff run.

No Free Handouts Here

In the rumored trade talks between the Bulls and Lakers, DeRozan and Vucevic in exchange for Russell Westbrook and their 2027 and 2029 first-round selections was the most commonly cited swap and was shot down abruptly by Chicago, according to Joe Cowley of Chicago Sun-Times. Not much of a surprise that two former all-stars would demand a much higher price, given the recent deals this past offseason for similarly talented former Utah Jazz players Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell. Los Angeles is looking for a lifeline that won't come from the Windy City. The 47 million dollar former MVP guard Westbrook guard will be a difficult sell to any potential destination at 34 years old in the tail-end of the worst two-year stretch of his professional career.

Pivoting to plausible trade ideas, the package above may extract one of the two Bulls' stars or require a different bundle of players and picks altogether. With a roster full of talent well beyond their prime, unless the Lakers are willing to part ways with Lonnie Walker IV or the Bulls are willing to take flyers on sub-22-year-old G-league level players like Scottie Pippen Jr. or Max Christie, there's no realistic way to get a deal done. Anthony Davis would be a prime trade target, but considering his current historic MVP season, it's doubtful the Lakers would be willing to part ways with the ex-Kentucky big man.

Looking For Lonzo

Re-affirmed by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Bulls have clung to the idea that Lonzo Ball's return from injury will cure all evil. Boasting the number one seed in the Eastern Conference for the majority of last year's first half of the season during Ball's first campaign with the team, there are a lot of indications that the wins could start rolling when he comes back. Since his absence, Chicago has simply failed to fill the holes he left behind. Averaging a team-best 3.1 made threes per game, at a blistering 42% from deep, alongside a team-leading 5.1 assists per game, the absence has been brutally felt. Without a single player making three or more 3-point shots per game, nobody with five or more assists per contest, and only two guys shooting better than 40% from deep each of whom is only shooting one-third of the attempts compared to Ball, the "next man up" mentality has not come to fruition here.

The Bulls' leadership has a valid point when referencing Ball's return boding well for success, but they have provided no answer in the meantime. The best guess for what Billy Donovan and other front-office members are hanging their hats on is the recent improvements in Lavine, Vucevic, and Patrick Williams' play as of late correlating to two wins in a row. Shooting over 50% from downtown alongside 10 points per game, Williams has shown much improvement over his last ten games, during which he was benched by Donovan, with the message of needing more aggression and efficiency on the offensive side of the ball. Vucevic has shot 50% or better in his last three games from three-point territory, combined with over two assists in each; some sparks are flying for the 6'10" center. Lavine has averaged over 3.2 made threes during his last four games, including a 41-point masterpiece in a narrow loss to the Kings.

The Bulls' faithful can breathe a sigh of relief; trading two all-star caliber talents for an even more expensive and aging star with draft picks four or more years away was the worst-case scenario for the 2022-23' campaign. A "hang-on" mentality until Lonzo Ball returns could be enough to save the season for Chicago if the shooting can remain consistent and the star power can show up when needed.