The Chicago Bulls are currently in a tough situation. While they had high expectations coming into this season, especially after the acquisition of future Hall of Famer and Chicago’s own Dwyane Wade, the team has significantly underperformed with a .500 record of 29-29. Their play hasn’t been pretty all year, but a part of their struggles could be attributed to off the court drama involving guard Rajon Rondo having an issue with Dwyane Wade and Jimmy Butler.
While there seems to have been discord between the front office and players all season, the Bulls have to move forward. After this year’s trade deadline has come and gone and we saw front office executives Gar Forman and John Paxson cough up contributors Taj Gibson and Doug McDermott to the Oklahoma City Thunder, there are questions regarding which direction the organization plans on going.
Even though they roster one of the elite two-way wings in the game in Jimmy Butler, there were rumors about him being dealt yet again ahead of this year’s deadline. With the Bulls seemingly unable to commit to having Butler be the focal point long term, The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor reports that the front office disagrees about the future of the franchise:
Take Chicago, for example. Last summer, there were reported draft night trade talks with both the Celtics and Timberwolves involving Bulls star Jimmy Butler. The Bulls have once again “engaged” with the Celtics on the potential of a Jimmy Butler trade, The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Saturday. It’s easy to armchair general manage a deal between the two teams if we assume the Bulls are rebuilding?—?Boston and Chicago each have what the other wants (a star player and assets, respectively). But it’s not that simple. When the Bulls and Celtics talked Butler last summer, there was organizational disharmony between Chicago’s four primary decision-makers (owner Jerry Reinsdorf, president Michael Reinsdorf, general manager Gar Forman, and vice president of basketball operations John Paxson). Not all of them were committed to rebuilding; according to a league front-office executive, Paxson “sees the writing on the wall,” whereas Forman is comfortable with the status quo, while ownership is not amenable to any potential trades. A league source with knowledge of the Bulls situation indicated to me last summer that the Bulls demanded Jae Crowder and the no. 3 pick, as well as an additional starter-level player and another pick (likely one of the Nets picks). With the third pick, the Bulls had their eyes on point guard Kris Dunn.
It doesn’t come as that big of a surprise to learn the Chicago front office is dissonant. While Jimmy Butler is an elite player, it may be time to go ahead and rebuild completely around younger talent. They do have some decent young pieces such as Denzel Valentine and Bobby Portis, but that won’t be nearly enough moving forward.
If they do decide to stick out their future and go as far as Butler takes them, they need to get the young wing some help soon. Remember, the Bulls also need to factor in the fact that Dwyane Wade is set to hit free agency this coming summer and his re-signing with Chicago is not a guarantee by any stretch of the imagination.
The Bulls have an identity crisis and if they don’t figure out their blueprint heading forward, the franchise will continue to be in a state of disarray.
