At this time last year, the Chicago Bulls were sitting pretty at the top of the East standings with a 17-10 record through the first 28 games. Despite some doubt among the fans about whether a trio of DeRozan, LaVine, and Ball would work, the players meshed well together early on, and even big man Nikola Vucevic found his stride with the team.
But after Lonzo Ball went down in February with a small meniscus tear, the Bulls haven’t been able to keep things together, and it’s apparently got the front office contemplating a complete rebuild.
According to Brett Siegel of Fastbreak, traction is building in Chicago on a potential plan to blow it up…
Many around the league have their eyes on the Chicago Bulls right now as a team that could potentially look to “sell” ahead of the trade deadline and league sources told Fastbreak on FanNation that the Bulls are currently “evaluating all of their options.”
“This is the most competitive we have seen in the East in a long time and Chicago just doesn’t have enough to compete with some of these new teams rising up in the conference, not to mention those at the top right now,” one source told Fastbreak. “I’ll say this, those so called ‘rumors’ out there talking about the Bulls potentially tearing everything apart. There is movement to these talks and the Bulls are actively evaluating themselves and all of their options both to add and move talent ahead of the deadline.”
Report: There’s ‘movement’ on the Chicago Bulls potentially blowing up their roster https://t.co/KVZxC9Z912
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) December 18, 2022
This situation for the Bulls especially sucks, considering this core has only been together for a few years. Had their guys stayed healthy (especially Lonzo), we might be talking about this Bulls team in a very different light.
Ultimately, though, it seems their final decision will come with the next update on their starting point guard.
Lonzo Ball’s Return Still In Question Amid Major Team Struggles
Lonzo Ball’s status is probably one of the biggest mysteries in the league right now. After experiencing some setbacks, Ball isn’t anywhere close to returning, and the latest report revealed he might not return at all this season.
“Lonzo Ball hasn’t played point guard for the Bulls since January of last season. It’s been almost 11 months and there are no guarantees that he plays at all this season. He’s rehabbing that knee now, he’s still feeling some pain it. The hope is that, perhaps by the All-Star break in mid-February, they have a sense of whether Lonzo Ball is ready to come back and play for Chicago. A lot of that may depend on where are the Bulls in the standings. Right now, they’re 11th, they’re out of the playoff picture, and if they’re lingering around that area, a lot of decisions will be made about whether he plays at all. But really, you can mark the downward spiral of this team at the beginning of that injury last January.”
Lonzo will not return until the pain in his knee subsides completely, but the Bulls will have to keep grinding in the meantime, and it will not be easy to keep their season alive.
The East is as stacked as ever, and the Bull just don’t have enough to get them over the edge. At this point, starting over and tanking for Victor Wembanyama may be the best course of action.
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