The Chicago Bulls are off to a 9-12 start to the season as they sit as the No. 12 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Compared to the beginning of last season, the Bulls are off to a complete opposite start as they’ve struggled out the gate with the same core group from last season.
Looking up at the top of the East, the Bulls’ chances of making a run in the playoffs seems slim, let alone just making the postseason — which could call for a potential blow up of the current roster.
The Ringer’s Bill Simmons put together three proposed trades for the Bulls to rebuild their team and focus on the future, including one blockbuster that sends DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic to the Lakers.
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Bulls receive: Russell Westbrook, 2027 unprotected first-round pick, and 2029 first-round pick (top-5 protected)
Lakers receive: DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic
For the Bulls, they go all in on a tank and rebuild. Moving their core in DeRozan and Vucevic will surely see them plummet down the standings in the Eastern Conference as they prepare for the future.
The core that Chicago has doesn’t make for a bad team, it’s just flawed and doesn’t sniff the top of the Eastern Conference with elite teams like the Celtics and Bucks.
Receiving Westbrook back in the trade will still put fans in seats and allow the Bulls to open up even more significant cap space this coming offseason.
Chicago’s 2023 first-round pick is owned by Orlando from the Vucevic trade, but the pick is top-4 protected so if the Bulls an increased chance to keep their pick, a tank should be in full session.
As for the Lakers, they go all in on attempting to salvage this roster and the end of LeBron James’ career in hopes to make a run at the playoffs. Adding DeRozan and Vooch will certainly give the Lakers more offensive weapons but certainly doesn’t help on the defensive end.
The likelihood that Rob Pelinka and company give up both future first-rounders seems slim, but the power of LeBron shouldn’t be underestimated.
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Story originally appeared on Lonzo Wire