Not even the biggest sunshine pumpers could gloss over the gloom and doom surrounding the Chicago Bulls on Saturday.
For the foreseeable future, the fate of the franchise could be bleak.
Zach LaVine is done for the season. The two-time All-Star guard will undergo surgery this week to alleviate lingering discomfort in his right foot. In the second year of a maximum-allowable, five-year, $215 million contract, LaVine will finish with only 25 games played this season.
It’s the latest decision by the Bulls, with the benefit of hindsight, that appears to be a colossal blunder.
LaVine’s loss ensures this will be a lost season. His upcoming surgery slams shut the possibility of trading him anytime soon, a split LaVine and the Bulls have been open to since the fall. Chicago has played well at times without LaVine and could remain competitive. But the Bulls no longer can convince themselves they’ll make a deep postseason run.
More importantly, subsequent decisions — and seasons — are likely to be significantly impacted by LaVine’s injury.
Start with DeMar DeRozan’s future. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent this summer. The Bulls have reached a critical juncture with him. If the plan before LaVine opted for surgery was to re-sign the 34-year-old forward, now more than ever the Bulls must ask themselves why?
Committing major money to DeRozan for multiple seasons doesn’t make sense for a franchise that remains a long way from championship contention. By retaining DeRozan, the Bulls would at best be chasing mediocrity.
If possible, trading him before Thursday’s trade deadline could be a solution. The Bulls could entice a contender to take on DeRozan’s expiring contract and perhaps acquire future draft capital or a promising prospect. However, during this Bulls management’s tenure, there hasn’t been an emphasis placed on acquiring future draft picks — only sending them out.
If the Bulls don’t trade DeRozan by Thursday, they could explore a sign-and-trade this offseason. Worst case scenario, they would let him walk for nothing this summer.
Of course, DeRozan has a say in the matter. Beyond signing with the Bulls for more money than he can receive from any other team, DeRozan seemingly has little incentive to remain in Chicago if his chief goal is winning. A breakup could be best for both sides.
“I’m a terrible planner,” DeRozan said Saturday. “That’s probably my big pet peeve in life. Some people like jotting down in their journal what they got to do for the week. That would drive me nuts. I really live my life day by day.
“If I get caught up in having future thoughts on things, I’m going to drive myself crazy. I’d rather not be that way. I really try to take it day by day and be prepared for whatever happens. That’s just life. That’s my approach for life.”
If this isn’t the end of this era of Bulls basketball, it would be a surprise. The franchise’s grand plans for climbing out of the Eastern Conference’s messy middle through continuity and greater camaraderie have failed. Saturday’s home loss to the Sacramento Kings dropped the Bulls to 23-27, the same record they owned through 50 games last season. They rank 23rd in offense and 14th defensively this season. They were 22nd offensively and 13th defensively at this stage last season.
We knew the Bulls were feeding their fans the same mediocre product at the start of the season. The 50-game mark has only confirmed management’s malpractice. The only question now is how much longer will the front office take before at least attempting to clean the mess they’ve made.
Excluding the sign-and-trade deal that brought DeRozan from San Antonio, the drafting of Ayo Dosunmu and contract extensions for Dosunmu and Coby White, virtually every significant personnel decision management has made since arriving in 2020 looks questionable. Collectively, they warrant more scrutiny given how they’ve handicapped the franchise.
Between LaVine and guard Lonzo Ball, who hasn’t played since Jan. 14, 2022, due to knee surgeries, the Bulls have more than $60 million in player salaries this season sidelined with injuries. Ball still faces a long road to recovery. LaVine’s max contract couples with his latest injury to torpedo his trade value, which was believed to be minimal before Saturday’s news.
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