Presented by Nationwide Insurance Agent Jeff Vukovich
Even though training camp is less than two weeks away, the Zach LaVine rumors won’t go away. Continue to your questions.
Are the Bulls in the Damian Lillard sweepstakes? —Brian H.
In July, the teams held at least preliminary discussions, which will be discussed in more detail in this article. And the sentiment in this article regarding Zach LaVine still applies. Basically, there always seem to be internal hurdles for LaVine to overcome in order to be widely accepted as a leading option on a championship-contending team. And so he keeps getting caught up in trade rumors.
Or as LaVine himself put it in a July interview with NBC Sports Bay Area’s Monte Poole before playing in the American Century Championship golf tournament: “When there’s smoke, there’s fire.” Every now and then you see a little too much smoke. I’ve been with the Bulls for seven years. I had my name in trade talks. You don’t love it, but you understand the business. I’ve been trafficked before.”
PHLY_Sports’ Kyle Neubeck upped the ante late Wednesday by saying on his outlet’s podcast that the Bulls “may try to move LaVine in a multi-team deal just to see if they can get in on the Lillard sweepstakes.” Multiple league sources stated throughout the offseason that the Trail Blazers showed little interest in acquiring LaVine outright, largely because he did not fit into their rebuilding trajectory and commitment to a young backcourt of Scoot Henderson and Anfernee Simons passed.
With the quiet weeks of August and early September in the rearview mirror and training camp getting closer and closer, the situation in Lillard is getting worse. And the Trial Blazers are under no obligation to trade Lillard to his preferred destination, Miami. If the Bulls were to trade for Lillard, a contract extension for DeMar DeRozan, who shares Lillard’s agent status, would certainly follow. (Of course it can still happen.)
That would mean the Bulls would be on the hook for around $115 million for three players in Lillard, DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic once Lillard’s two-year, $121.8 million extension kicks in for the 2025-26 season. Trading LaVine to clear the deck for Lillard could also cost at least one more asset in the form of a young player like Patrick Williams or Coby White or first-round picks. So you have to be sold on the idea of this Big Three, especially since the Bulls still owe the Spurs a first-round pick from the DeRozan acquisition.
The next two weeks will show how much the Bulls value LaVine.
Given the overall depressing sports landscape in Chicago and on a dreary, rainy day, I figured why not buy shares of Team #Continuity and try to cheer up Bulls nation. There are many reasons for optimism about this team. They have addressed their biggest weaknesses this summer with cheap signings on free transfers and continued to work on snapping up potential diamonds in the rough at the start of the second round. For the first time since Ball’s demise, the Bulls have depth at baseline (if not an elite option), wing and center. Maybe this is the season where Donovan and Co. finally put together an above-average offense and defense alongside the Big 3, and maybe the team can maintain its stellar form from last year. Maybe Pat, Coby or Ayo will make the jump this season; Hell, maybe everyone does! If all the stars are completely aligned, is it completely impossible for them to improve by 10 games? 50-32 seems like a lofty goal and certainly a more modest improvement (if any) is much more likely. But as we enter our tenth season since we last won a second-round playoff game, why not raise our collective hopes to insanely high levels? — Nick P.
I highlighted this point on our Bulls Talk podcast. I feel like the 2021-22 Bulls won some wild “clutch” games – defined as being within five points or less with five minutes to play – and the 2022-23 Bulls lost some wild clutch games. So I’m firmly in the camp of this team being somewhere between 46 and 40 wins. Since I’m generally an optimist, I’ll go from 44-38. This requires good health.
The Eastern Conference is full of parity. The division also became stricter. (I love what Indiana is building, and in my opinion they have one of the most overlooked elite coaches in the game.) I agree with you that the Bulls have a lot of depth on paper. Donovan and his staff have countless placement options and combinations.
Which player intrigues you the most at the start of the season and why? — Matt A.
Coby White. I think he’s in for an extremely solid season and I’m excited to see how he continues to develop as a two-way player. By most accounts, he had his best season last season despite having the lowest scoring average. He’s done his offseason work. And considering the organization prioritized his re-signing and his off-field personality blossomed last season, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him make another leap.
What are the chances that Billy Donovan will add more movement to his offensive plans? —Jason
High. How many times did you hear Donovan talk about less isolation in training camp last season? The word he settled on then, and later refined, was “randomness.”
All coaches strive for ball and player movement. And Donovan also loves to play fast, which is why he sometimes opts for small balls. You’ll hear a lot about the up-tempo game during training camp this season. But also: the players rely on their strengths. And when the Bulls really need a basket, DeRozan prefers to play slower, get to his spots and score in the midfield. So there has to be a balance.
Why not trade DeMar DeRozan and see what Patrick Williams can do with a bigger role? He will never develop as a fourth option on a team. I know DeMar provides value in many ways, but his game is dated. He is a mid-range shooter in a 3-point shooting league and doesn’t play defense. We need to see what Patrick can do before giving up on him too soon and watching him blossom like Lauri Markkanen is doing now in Utah. Her thoughts? — Emir M.
I don’t think these scenarios fall into the either/or department. Some do. I don’t.
I think Williams developed quite a bit last season, which was essentially his second season given the serious injury that marred his second season. He can develop further with DeRozan on the roster. And in fact, DeRozan helps with his development by taking him under his wing for offseason workouts and the like.
Whether or not I should trade DeRozan is a separate discussion for me. And if the Bulls fail at the February 2024 deadline, I have to assume this iteration of the roster will finally be optimized.
Do you think it’s better for Patrick Williams’ development if he plays primarily in the second unit, where he has more freedom to attack? I think Torrey Craig is a perfect fit for the first unit and knows how to handle not being the main option and playing his role. I think Patrick’s preferred style of play is being on the ball more. —Victor D.
For me, this is one of the biggest storylines of training camp. I thought Billy Donovan and his staff expertly managed Williams’ move to the second unit last season, and I think Williams and the team benefited from it.
I agree with you that Craig is one of those “seamlessly fitting” players that would serve as a wonderful addition to the first unit. But he will also be solid no matter what role he fills.
Is having the prestige of a start important to Williams’ confidence and growth? I’m sure the coaching staff asked and answered this question in advance of camp. One possible scenario would be to start Williams but stagger his minutes so that he also plays a majority of his minutes with the second unit and against opposing second units. Stay tuned.
Can the Bulls trade Lonzo Ball this season? Will they even consider it? —Dan G.
Before we answer this interesting question, it is important to understand that everyone is hoping for Ball’s comeback. Injuries are the worst.
With that out of the way, from a business perspective we can assume that unfortunately Ball will not be able to return. He has a $21.4 million player option for 2024-25 that he will certainly exercise. But if his injury is declared career-ending, the Bulls can request that salary be removed from their salary cap and luxury tax returns. Do they use this to their advantage or try to use his soon-to-expire contract as an advantage in a deal, almost like salary cap relief? In my opinion, nothing will happen this season because Ball is working hard to return.
The Bulls still don’t have a true point guard and we know how important Lonzo Ball was to this team when he was healthy. They were one of the top teams in the league. I love Coby White and think he’s going to have a breakout year. I also like the signing of Jevon Carter. But they are not true point guards. Do you think the Bulls would consider using the $10 million exception available to them from Lonzo’s injury to Kyle Lowly should he become available once Miami trades for Damian Lillard? Does that $10 million count against the cap? I think Lowry would be a great fit playing 25 minutes per game on this team that is high on guards but low on point guards. — Muly S.
Lowry will be paid $29.7 million this season. For this scenario to even be considered, several steps would have to take place, including an acquisition.
Regardless, the $10 million actually counts against the salary cap isn’t the issue, as it’s a disabled player exemption for a reason. They can use exceptions to go over the cap that the Bulls have. But the salary of the player who might come in counts for luxury tax purposes, and therein lies the problem. With the Bulls using part of their mid-level exception to sign Carter, the cap is set at $172.3 million. They currently have a committed salary of around $165.5 million. As currently constructed, they can only use a portion of the disabled player exemption of less than $7 million, which is just above the remaining portion of the mid-level player exemption they own.
What is the biggest challenge for Billy Donovan: maintaining good defensive performance or improving offensive production? — Bulls Nation Brazil
I think it’s the latter. The Bulls finished fifth in defensive rating last season and added hard-nosed defenders Jevon Carter and Torrey Craig. They finished 24th in offensive rating, which shouldn’t happen for a team with such talented offensive players. On paper, Carter and Craig still have shots on goal and smart, quick decisions on offense. But it obviously doesn’t just affect her. The offense must score from defense and not become so predictable in the half court.
What is at stake this season? What results would be considered a success and what would be considered a failure – both in your eyes and in those of the organization? —Steve P.
I don’t like to disappoint you, but my efforts are focused on mundane things like on-time flights and the like. But of course you mean from the team performance point of view, so let’s move on.
In my mind, a successful season would be a place in the top six playoffs and winning a playoff series. This is not a championship team. While these may seem like modest expectations, to me they represent this team reaching its full potential. Failure would mean another non-playoff season.
I look forward to hearing what the organization’s goals are on media day. Last season, management said it expected an improvement over the previous season. That didn’t happen. How does management view this season? We’ll find out soon enough.
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