NEWSLETTER
The Bulls are in a position to be about as flexible this offseason as I am right now (which, let’s just say, touching my toes isn’t automatic).
Most of the team’s roster is locked up for at least a couple more years, and the only significant space that could free up would be Otto Porter deciding not to opt into his $28.5 million player option, which, uh, is very unlikely. Throw in the fact that league revenues continue to take a hit throughout this hiatus – rendering the salary cap unhelpful – and it feels like we’ll be seeing an almost identical Bulls team on the floor next season.
With that said, trades are always on the table. The organization is (supposedly) on the cusp of a front office overhaul, so nothing about the distant future should be considered guaranteed. New leadership usually means an entirely new direction, and this could very well mean some seat changes on the Titanic … I’m sorry, on the Bulls.
Now, I don’t necessarily think they’ll be trading away any members of the young core (I think a new front office face and coach would want to see if they could get more out of the obvious talent present), but I don’t see why the team wouldn’t consider moving recent signees like Luke Kornet, Tomas Satoransky, and Thaddeus Young if the timing and market was right. For today, then, let’s focus specifically on Young, since he (1) has been the player drawing the most interest on the trade market already this season and (2) has a clear problem fitting into this rotation.
In identifying Young’s mismatch with this Bulls vision right now, we’ll be brief: (1) Young has been a starter the past decade and needs starting-caliber minutes to be productive, but won’t find that in Chicago, in part because … (2) the Bulls are more invested in Lauri Markkanen for a number of reasons, including his age, ceiling, long-term viability and much more. And finally, (3) Young simply isn’t a 3-point shooter, on a team who’s offense clearly calls for him to take a ton. The fit just isn’t there.
Now, we can always hope that a new head coach might be able to find a better way to use Young within a different offensive scheme, but even that doesn’t take care of the Markkanen overlap, which probably isn’t going away. Either Young will have to adjust to a new bench role (and learn to be productive that way) or the Bulls will have to send him off to a contender looking for some help in the backcourt. We know the Clippers expressed interest throughout this season; perhaps they can reconnect during the offseason.
To be clear, I still don’t hate the signing – Young is a veteran leader with a proven, consistent track record – but he wasn’t ready for the Bulls and (most importantly) the Bulls weren’t ready for him. Young thought he was coming into a team that was on the cusp of a playoff spot. His veteran leadership and experience could help push them over the edge, something he was able to do extremely well with the Indiana Pacers.
Like Young, a lot of us (including dumb me, apparently) bought the hype, and it felt like this young core combined with a few veteran pieces could head in the right direction. As soon as the season began, we quickly learned that the Bulls weren’t ready to take that step, and thus Young’s presence felt unnecessary.
As much as he tried to turn the tide with locker room speeches and positive energy, he couldn’t overcome the organization’s overarching shortcomings. I sure wouldn’t mind seeing him help this team get back into the competitive mix, however, I also wouldn’t mind seeing the organization give him what a 13-year veteran deserves – a good team.
