NBA trades have started and that's significant news for the Bulls
It wasn’t just a blip on the trade radar screen.
The fact that Golden State reportedly acquired Brooklyn guard Dennis Schroder and a second-round pick on Saturday, sending back De’Anthony Melton and three second-round picks is something.
Especially for the Bulls.
It’s only mid-December and there’s movement between the haves and the have nots.
The well-traveled Schroder was putting together one of his better seasons in the last five years, but more importantly was an expiring contract at just over $13 million. Sound familiar? Somewhat.
Bulls guard Lonzo Ball is not having a career year by any means. Heck, the fact that he still has a career is the headline for him. But what he continues showing is that he can be a force off the bench for a championship-caliber team, and yes, with an expiring contract.
Ball is making $21.3 million this season, and while he’s not scoring like Schroder has this season, comparing the two per 36 minutes isn’t far off. Schroder plays out to be 19.8 points, 7.1 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game, while shooting just under 39% from three-point range. Ball is 13.5 points, 5.3 assists, 5.6 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game, shooting 42% from three-point range.
If teams dig a little deeper, however, yes, Ball will be acquired with major health concerns and minutes restrictions, but his impact on the court in all the little things that don’t necessarily pop up in the basic box score have been undeniable, especially when compared to Schroder.
The Bulls and Nets each entered Sunday with 15 losses (the Bulls have one more win), yet Ball is a team-leading plus-39 in plus/minus this season, with only one minus game (minus-16 against Boston) on the resume.
Schroder leaves Brooklyn minus-2 for the season.
Should the Bulls somehow feel left out in the cold right now? Far from it. Executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas should be excited that the Feb. 6 trade deadline is still a long way off and the trade asset line has already started moving.
A source indicated that the goal for the team is still to continue aggressively shopping Ball, Nikola Vucevic and Zach LaVine, as well as any other name that makes sense. That was the focus going into the 2024-25 campaign and it remains the focus even with some solid moments of basketball being played.
The method behind the madness for the Bulls is they will keep their first-round pick of the loaded 2025 draft class if they can land in the bottom 10 of the lottery, otherwise it goes to the Spurs. Karnisovas’ crew entered Sunday sitting right at the 10th spot in the bottom of the league standings.
The danger is that the nine teams below them seem more willing and able to unload cargo and make sure that they can claim permanent residency in the basement. After all, prospects like Duke’s Cooper Flagg don’t come around often.
The Bulls can forget trying to out-tank the likes of Washington, New Orleans, Utah, Toronto, a Charlotte team the Bulls just beat on Friday, Portland, and now the Nets. Philadelphia has spent the first 20-plus games ravished with injuries but should get better, and Detroit is actually trying to get its young roster to start playing winning basketball, believe it or not.
If the Bulls can unload Ball and Vucevic there’s no reason why they couldn’t stay in that bottom No. 7 or 8 spots. Moving LaVine this season remains more pipedream than reality, according to a source, unless there’s a major injury or seismic shift in the current market.
For most, Schroder to the Warriors was nothing more than a report scrolling across the bottom of the TV on ESPN. For the Bulls, however, it was hope.