Chicago Bulls Banking On Getting Healthy After Quiet 2022 NBA Trade Deadline

All signs pointed toward the Chicago Bulls not being busy at the 2022 NBA trade deadline on Thursday. But based on what happened last year, there was still some hope for last-minute moves to help a depleted roster that has been staggering through the last month due to key injuries.

There were no surprise moves, though, as the Bulls stood pat as they patiently wait for their injured players to return. This came alongside a flurry of moves around them, including the James Harden-Ben Simmons blockbuster that strengthens the Philadelphia 76ers and gives the Brooklyn Nets another star who actually wants to be there. Other Eastern Conference rivals in the Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Toronto Raptors, Boston Celtics, Charlotte Hornets and Washington Wizards made notable trades ahead of the deadline.

NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson reports Chicago never really considered making an all-in trade with Patrick Williams, who’s expected to come back from wrist surgery in March. There seemingly weren’t any serious conversations involving Coby White either. The Bulls didn’t have a whole lot of other avenues to improve via trade, with Derrick Jones Jr., Troy Brown Jr. and the lottery-protected first-round pick from the Portland Trail Blazers the main pieces available. There’s also a $5 million trade exception in place that went unused for now. Johnson reports financial concerns regarding the luxury tax weren’t an obstacle to any deals, though Arturas Karnisovas was dodgy when asked about it.

Chicago can still make additions to the roster via the buyout market, which will be examined in the coming days. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski already named the Bulls as an interested suitor for Goran Dragic once he works out a buyout agreement with the San Antonio Spurs after his trade from the Raptors, though the Dallas Mavericks have long been viewed as the favorite for Dragic.

Dennis Schroder was a reported trade target ahead of the deadline, but he got sent to the Houston Rockets and could get a buyout. Paul Millsap and Tristan Thompson have been bandied about as possible frontcourt targets in recent days. A reunion with Robin Lopez, D.J. Augustin or even both could be explored. The Nets waived Deandre’ Bembry after acquiring Simmons and others, and he would make for an intriguing option. Moses Brown could be another possibility. Chicago has some dead weight on the end of the bench that could be cleared out for buyout players.

While the Bulls’ inaction at the trade deadline can’t be fully judged until the buyout market is cleared out, it’s still somewhat disappointing no moves were made to at least shake up the depth. Karnisovas cited a desire for continuity and a belief in a healthy roster as reasons for the lack of moves.

“I think it reflects that we like this group,” Karnišovas said when asked about standing pat, per Johnson. “(Head coach) Billy (Donovan) obviously said it all along. We’re just waiting for guys to come back from injuries to get this group together because we had a short sample of 16 games where most of our guys were healthy. That doesn’t include Patrick. In those 16 games, we were top five in offense and defense, so we liked what we looked like when everyone was healthy. Hopefully, we’ll get this group back and see what we can do.”

The Bulls are expecting Williams, Jones, Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso back before the end of the regular season, and this team has proven they can compete with anybody when healthy. As Karnisovas notes, this has been an elite two-way team with a full complement of players.

However, it’s a little dangerous to bank on all those players’ returns given the nature of their injuries, and in the case of Williams, the lack of experience. The way the roster is currently constructed, there could wind up being a ton of pressure on Williams to come back and make an impact.

There’s also the matter of Chicago staying afloat until those players return, which still won’t be for a while and could result in some taxing minutes for the top stars thanks to the poor bench. The 34-21 Bulls must bank wins against a light schedule heading into the All-Star break, because things get much more difficult again after it. With the East so bunched up at the top, there’s real danger of falling in the standings into the play-in range if things don’t go well. They’re currently 3.5 games ahead of the No. 7 Celtics.

So, the Bulls missed an opportunity (or passed on one) to improve on Thursday, but all is not lost for this team, which still has three high-level offensive stars in DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic leading the way. The defense has been a disaster of late thanks to the injuries, but they should still be competitive with those stars in place. Chicago must now add depth via the buyout market, pray there are no more injuries and do enough to stay afloat until the cavalry returns. Then, they’ll hopefully see what this team is really made of.