Chicago Bulls get an F for their inactivity at the trade deadline

Chicago’s inactivity at the trade deadline raised a lot of eyebrows.

© Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

This season’s trade deadline provided the Chicago Bulls a precious opportunity to steer the franchise in another direction, one that may have given them a chance at making a deeper run in the playoffs—whether this season or the ones to come. However, with no moves made by the Bulls front office, fans and experts alike were disappointed and perplexed.

The Bulls are not where they want to be as a team. The NBA’s purgatory is a place no team wants to be in, but the once-proud franchise has made it their residence for three straight seasons. CBS Sports recently handed out grades for each team’s performance at the trade deadline, and it was no surprise that the Bulls received a failing grade of ‘F.’

Stuck in the middle

The Bulls are neither good enough to make noise in the Eastern Conference nor bad enough to snag a top draft pick. This position, also known as “the middle,” is one of the worst places a team can be in professional sports. 

While being mediocre may not seem like the worst thing, it means that the Bulls are not genuinely competing for a championship and are also not rebuilding for the future. By not making any moves at the trade deadline, the Bulls are essentially accepting their fate as a mediocre team.

“There's no worse place to be in the NBA than the middle. The Bulls aren't even stuck there. They're choosing not to leave. They haven't made a trade involving a player in two-and-a-half years, and yet, by all accounts, they want to remain competitive and try to climb the Eastern Conference standings,” Sam Quinn wrote.

Dalen putting in work!@NBCSChicago | @DalenTerry pic.twitter.com/R5aGlsQn17

— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) February 13, 2024

No plan or direction

The Bulls had options on their table. While Zach LaVine’s season-ending surgery rendered him untradeable at the deadline, Chicago could have dealt impending free agents DeMar DeRozan and Andre Drummond rather than risk losing them for nothing this summer. 

Additionally, defensive whiz Alex Caruso is one of the most coveted players in the league, yet the Bulls chose to hold onto him rather than deal him for a massive haul of draft picks.

Fans and experts alike were left scratching their heads at the lack of action from the Bulls front office. The lack of movement at the trade deadline was another example of the team's lack of direction and plan for success.

“Sometimes, teams with the noblest of intentions find themselves stuck in the middle due to circumstances outside of their control. That's not the Bulls. The Bulls are an organization with no plan or direction. There is no overarching strategy behind any of this. They play roughly .500 basketball. They sell a lot of tickets. They don't pay the luxury tax. Rinse and repeat,” Quinn added.

I am once again thinking about Arturas Karnisovas saying the Vuc trade was good, actually. No one has ever been so self-satisfied with abject failure.https://t.co/xHh1h9tzsH

— Ricky O'Donnell (@SBN_Ricky) February 8, 2024

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