Since the height of this NBA offseason, the Chicago Bulls have been relatively quiet. Signing veterans Andre Drummond and Goran Dragic brought the Bulls two newcomers, but otherwise the front office has not made any earth-shattering moves.
For a little while, the Bulls were rumored to be interested in acquiring Rudy Gobert before he was ultimately traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
But, the key to this franchise right now is cohesiveness. Both general manager Marc Eversley and Vice President of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas have preached continuity in this roster’s second offseason together. That’s where this team can get better and more competitive — stay together and improve as a unit.
But, there’s always whispers and rumors until the offseason is completely over and done with. One of the latest rumors comes out of Utah once again, as the team is apparently open to trading their other star, guard Donovan Mitchell.
Per report, the Chicago Bulls may have already called the Utah Jazz about a Donovan Mitchell trade.
NBC Sports columnist Steve Coulter mentioned the Bulls as one of the teams that has “likely already picked up the phone to propose a deal to Utah.”
Coulter goes on to say that the Bulls could offer a package revolving around DeMar DeRozan and Patrick Williams in a 2-for-1 type trade. He notes that the Bulls may prefer to have the two extra years on Mitchell’s deal over DeRozan, in addition to the former being much younger.
The idea that the Bulls would trade for Mitchell might seem tantalizing to some, but the reality is, this front office is correct in preaching continuity. The only move that might have made sense was to swap Nikola Vucevic for Gobert. Otherwise, keeping DeRozan and Zach LaVine together is the smarter decision.
DeRozan and LaVine formed a special bond last season, with both of them being happy to give way to the other if one of them is feeling it from the field. A healthy LaVine paired with DeRozan — who is coming off one of the best years of his career — should lead the Bulls to another highly competitive year, assuming the health of other guys like Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso.
Mortgaging continuity and chemistry, and possibly even morale, would not be worth taking a chance on Mitchell. This is especially true because the Jazz would likely want picks involved in the deal, based on the “steep” asking price mentioned in the initial report out of ESPN.
At this stage, the Bulls are in a good spot and should focus more on getting everybody healthy rather than entertaining a blockbuster trade.
