Chicago Bulls Head Into 2022 NBA Trade Deadline With Little Buzz

The Chicago Bulls are heading into the 2022 NBA trade deadline on a high note after stinging the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday night, moving to 34-21 on the season with a 121-109 victory. However, while there have already been a flurry of moves around the NBA, there’s very little trade buzz surrounding the Bulls leading up to Thursday’s deadline.

There were some rumors about interest in Boston Celtics guard Dennis Schroder, but K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago reports there’s nothing much going on there. San Antonio Spurs center Jakob Poeltl popped up as a trade target, but it’s hard to see the Bulls giving up what it would take to get a good player like Poeltl who would simply be a backup for Nikola Vucevic. Marc Stein reported the Spurs shut down an offer that included a first-round pick.

There hasn’t been a whole lot else out there in terms of reported interest. The Jerami Grant possibility seems like a major long shot at this point, with all evidence pointing to Chicago not wanting to trade injured youngster Patrick Williams in order to reach the Detroit Pistons’ high asking price. The Sacramento Kings could be ripe for the picking after a blockbuster trade landed them Domantas Sabonis, but Stein reported Wednesday a desire to keep Harrison Barnes, who would make sense as a power forward target. Richaun Holmes is an intriguing option in the frontcourt, but it’s unclear if the Bulls are interested.

Just because there’s little trade buzz doesn’t mean there will be no fireworks. Arturas Karnisovas operated in secrecy ahead of last year’s trade deadline before striking with the Nikola Vucevic blockbuster and another deal. Perhaps that happens again, but there are no signs of anything big happening right now. In addition to Williams, there has been little noise around using Coby White to get an upgrade, with Johnson recently reporting an expectation he would stick around.

White’s situation is especially intriguing given he’s a third-year player who becomes extension eligible in the offseason. On a healthy Bulls team, White is the fourth guard at best, and arguably even the fifth thanks to the emergence of rookie Ayo Dosunmu. Chicago may have to wind up picking between White and Dosunmu.

Trading White for a frontcourt upgrade makes sense, but the Bulls are so thin at guard right now because of their injuries that it would be tough to trade him away. That frontcourt upgrade would have to be legit, and it would need to come with a corresponding move in the backcourt. That’s where somebody like Schroder could come into play, but, again, it looks like that won’t be a thing.

Besides Williams and White, Chicago doesn’t have many trade assets. The injured Derrick Jones Jr. and his $9.7 million expiring salary can be used as filler. Troy Brown Jr. makes over $5 million but isn’t worth that much on the trade market. The Bulls have a lottery-protected first-round pick from the Portland Trail Blazers but not much else in terms of draft capital. There’s also a $5 million trade exception in play, which players like Torrey Craig or Kenrich Williams would fit nicely in.

Instead of a major all-in move, it’s more reasonable to expect smaller deals to help improve the depth on this banged-up team. Chicago is trotting out some ugly bench units these days, so at least upgrading that weak depth would be helpful. The Bulls can also look to the buyout market for that, with Johnson bringing up Paul Millsap and Tristan Thompson as possible options to help out a frontcourt that could really use an upgrade thanks to injuries, Tony Bradley’s struggles and the apparent inability of rookie Marko Simonovic to play at all.

Ultimately, Chicago really likes the roster in place … when it’s healthy. The long-term absences of Williams, Jones, Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso have crushed the depth and defense, and the Bulls have proven they can play elite two-way basketball when healthy. All of these players should hopefully be back in March, giving them some time to ramp up for the postseason.

They can’t bank on perfect health, though, and the Bulls have had their share of struggles against the elite teams in the NBA. Even with Williams set to come back and Javonte Green filling in admirably in the starting lineup, an upgrade at power forward would be nice for when the games really matter. Expecting significant impact from Williams would be a mistake, while Green is a flawed player because of his offensive weaknesses.

The bottom line is the Bulls need to do something to help the roster right now, and then hope to get healthy for the stretch run and the playoffs as they try to win a wide-open Eastern Conference.