The first blockbuster trade new Bulls front office must make

The Chicago Bulls decided that they’ve had enough with the Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley regime, as the Jaden Ivey saga appears to have been the final straw that broke the camel’s back. This past Monday, they relieved the two of their duties as executive vice president of basketball operations and general manager, respectively, and the Bulls will now be conducting a search for the new brain trust that they believe can take them out of this basketball purgatory.

The Bulls have largely looked aimless under Karnisovas and Eversley’s leadership; they took shortcuts in their bid to make the team a contending one once more, but when the team stagnated after 2022 — being the poster boys for the NBA Play-In Tournament — the two seemed almost paralyzed on the trade market.

They held on to some prized assets for longer than others would have, and as a result, they could not get the best package out there on the trade market. Some fans still believe that the Bulls could have gotten more assets for Alex Caruso, and they certainly held on far too long to Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Nikola Vucevic.

But this upcoming regime change represents hope for a Bulls franchise that’s looking to return to former glory. Chicago hasn’t been a serious contender since 2015, and their laundry list of player/asset mismanagement is hilarious to look back on.

However, the Bulls should remain a premier destination in the league, if only for the prestige the franchise once carried thanks to their glory years back in the 1990s.

The roster needs a lot of work, however, and the front office will have their work cut out for them. A splash may be enticing to make on the trade market, but the last thing the Bulls need is to take shortcuts yet again.

Can Bulls buy low on a star?

The good news for whoever will be taking over as the lead roster decision-maker for the Bulls is that the team has all their future first-round picks. The problem, however, is making the most out of those picks.

From 2021 to 2025, the Bulls made four draft picks in the first round. Only one of them (Matas Buzelis) is looking good so far. There’s no need to dwell on how big of a bust Patrick Williams has been, and it’s too early to tell how the Noa Essengue pick would pan out. Dalen Terry is barely hanging onto the NBA as a two-way guy with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Considering the state of the Bulls’ roster, the last thing they need is to mortgage those future draft picks for a star that won’t be taking them from good to great. They need to build through the draft, and fans have to be very patient. One would think that fans would have plenty of said patience since rushing the rebuild has done nothing but put the team in a bad spot, future-wise.

The Bulls can free up a ton of cap space, but free agency is going to be dry; the best player guaranteed to hit free agency is LeBron James, and there’s no way he’s moving to the Windy City.

Whatever the case may be, the Bulls aren’t yet in a position to be making moves in free agency the way the 2023 Houston Rockets did. That team added Dillon Brooks and Fred VanVleet to a team with a core of Alperen Sengun, Amen Thompson, and Jabari Smith Jr. (not to mention Jalen Green), which instilled in Houston a winning culture.

However, the Bulls lack the core pieces the Rockets had; Josh Giddey is the team’s best player, and while he’s a brilliant stat-sheet stuffer, the jury is out on whether he can be a lead guy on a winning team. His shooting splits are suboptimal; shooting 42/26/71 is not what any team would want from their best player and lead offensive option in the year 2026.

Buzelis could very well make the leap from good to great in his third season, but all indicators point to him being a high-level co star instead of being a team’s Batman.

The Bulls need a foundational star; outside of Giddey and Buzelis, there aren’t too many foundational pieces on the roster. The question now is, can the Bulls acquire the star they can build around at a low price?

Zion Williamson has been floated around as an option for the Bulls, but he’s far too unreliable, health-wise, to be the first option on a winning team. But those same concerns could make him gettable on the trade market, especially with the Pelicans being in awkward position, roster building-wise.

Other than Williamson, there aren’t too many stars that fit alongside Giddey and Buzelis whom one would think would be available on the trade market. So attempting to trade for the Pelicans star might be their best bet.

Chicago buys low on Zion Williamson

Bulls trade: Patrick Williams, Jalen Smith, Tre Jones, 2026 POR first-round pick (protected 1-14), 2027 DEN second-round pick, 2028 CHI second-round pick, 2029 DET/NYK/MIL second-round pick

Pelicans trade: Zion Williamson

Talent has never been the issue for Williamson. He’s a wrecking ball going to the basket, and he is still one of the best paint scorers in the game. He has expanded his game to the point of being a capable playmaker, even in a halfcourt setting.

But the Pelicans’ roster construction might be signaling as if they’re ready to move on from Williamson. Derik Queen and Jeremiah Fears need to step into more significant roles if only to attempt to bring out the best in their 2025 first-round picks. New Orleans has rebuffed trade overtures for Trey Murphy III and Herb Jones. Dejounte Murray is looking good in his return from a torn Achilles. Yves Missi needs to play as well.

Williamson, when healthy, is still the Pelicans’ best player. But his role on the team is lesser than ever; he is taking the fewest shots per game of his career, which raises a few questions.

The value of players with outsized salaries is lower than ever as well. Anthony Davis, the 10-time All-Star and former NBA champion, got traded for scraps, two bad first-round picks (OKC’s and a pick that would likely convey to two seconds), and three second-round picks. Trae Young got traded for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert.

Williamson seems to be in a similar limbo as those two. And the Bulls could very well pounce if the price makes sense for them on the trade market.

There is no way the Bulls should trade their own first-round pick for Williamson. The Washington Wizards did not make that mistake when they dealt for both Davis and Young. But they have a spare first-round pick courtesy of the Portland Trail Blazers which could convey as early as this year (if Portland makes it to the playoffs).

Giving up that first-rounder as well as three second-round picks to take on a player of Williamson’s caliber should be worth the risk. Williamson is only 25 years of age (turning 26 before the start of next season), and he’s been mostly healthy this season.

In this scenario, the Bulls are even getting out of their contractual obligation to Patrick Williams in this deal. It will hurt to lose two key role players in Smith and Jones, but there is always going to be a price to pay in these sorts of trades. This is worth it anyway, since this would allow them to keep Essengue and see if he could be a contributor after losing nearly his entire rookie year to injury.

Williamson could combine with Giddey to form a formidable two-man game, and he has the upside to return to All-Star form if he stays healthy. That is a major if.

This doesn’t mean that the Bulls have to go for this trade. Nonetheless, this should be on the table if the price is this low.

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