NEWSLETTER
Around the 2022-23 NBA trade deadline, I wrote about how the Chicago Bulls must keep an eye on the Toronto Raptors. Perhaps I should just copy and paste those words.
With both the 2023 NBA Draft and free agency just a few weeks away, Chicago and Toronto are going to be faced with a similar decision. Both opted to basically stay the course at this past season’s deadline. Opposing franchises were surely disappointed, as each underachieving team had multiple All-Stars and intriguing veteran assets on their roster. The decision ultimately led both squads to meet in the Play-In Tournament. While Chicago got the best of Toronto in the 9v10 matchup, the Bulls would go on to fall to the Miami Heat in the next game.
The next transactional period is now quickly approaching and little has changed for the two teams. If anything, both are even more incentivized to make some sort of drastic change. Not only do the Bulls have a decision to make in Nikola Vucevic’s unrestricted free agency, but DeMar DeRozan is up for a pricey contract extension he deserves. As for Toronto, they have key backcourt pieces Fred VanVleet and Gary Trent Jr. headed toward free agency, while players like OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam are only under contract for one more year.
For the time being, all signs have pointed toward the Bulls attempting to run things back with only moves around the margins. Negotiations with Vucevic on a new deal are reportedly ongoing, while few trade rumors have come out since the team failed to keep their pick on lottery night. Toronto, on the other hand, sounds like it might be ready to do something drastic.
According to Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus, many around the league believe the Raptors are prepared to build a new core:
The franchise is deciding its direction, and many around the league believe Fred VanVleet and Gary Trent Jr. won’t return (both have player options). Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby are heading into the final years of their contracts (Anunoby has a player option for 2024-25).
Either the Raptors recommit fully to that group (the team doesn’t have a head coach yet) or go in a different direction entirely. Several competing executives anticipate Toronto will build around Scottie Barnes and young talent with deals leading into the NBA draft.
Add these words to those that front office leader Masai Ujiri spoke, and it’s not hard to see change on the horizon.
The Raptors’ front office leader fired championship-winning head coach Nick Nurse after the season. In his press conference afterward, he stated that he “didn’t enjoy” watching the team play and that the organization “lacked” the culture he expects to see behind closed doors. All things considered, it’s hard to imagine he’ll view a head coach hire as the one and only solution.
Indeed, at least some sort of significant roster move appears to be in the cards. Will that mean the complete sell-off that some rival execs reportedly expect (hope for)? It’s hard to say, particularly after they traded for a solid big man in Jakob Poeltl at the deadline. But the Raptors likely don’t need to press detonate to at least start heading in the right direction. And we can say the same thing about the Bulls!
While I think there is a greater reason for Chicago to blow it up entirely (largely due to their lack of young talent/draft picks), even taking one step back could help set the team up for better long-term success. Finding a sign-and-trade for Vucevic could help the front office find a center that lends itself to a more uptempo style of play. Trading DeRozan can help restock assets and balance out the roster.
No matter what the exact move is, there needs to be a mere acceptance that this current iteration of the Bulls isn’t built for sustained winning. Toronto has already done more than Chicago to suggest they recognize, and they could be on the verge of really making them look silly.
Showing a willingness to shake things up sooner than later is also going to be in the Bulls’ best interest. They have an opportunity to control a lot of the market if they put some of their top players up for grabs first. However, any of that leverage will take a hit if Toronto enters the fold with names like Anunoby and/or Siakam.
Not to mention, I trust Ujiri to take advantage of a competitive market far more than I trust Karniosvas. The fewer suitors there are to trade veteran talent, the easier it should be for the Bulls’ front office to find a worthwhile return.
