Bulls' Front Office Likes Roster, Stands Firm At Trade Deadline

CHICAGO — If the Chicago Bulls are going to make a run at an Eastern Conference this season, they appear ready to do it with the roster they have had in place all season.

The NBA’s trade deadline came and went without the Bulls making any deals on Thursday. While two of the conference’s biggest contenders made the biggest splash with a deal that involves the Brooklyn Nets’ James Harden, Paul Millsap and the Philadelphia 76ers, Ben Simmons, Seth Curry and Andre’ Drummond, the Bulls stood firm.

The Bulls are currently in third place in the Eastern Conference standings, one game behind the Miami Heat and one-half game behind the defending NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks. So, while others around them were moving players, Bulls’ executive vice president Arturas Karnisovas said the biggest item on his wish list was a healthy roster.

The Bulls, whose record sits at 34-21 as of Thursday, have dealt with an array of injuries and a wealth of players who have tested positive for COVID-19. At one point this season, the Bulls had 12 players in the league’s health and safety protocols, while being hard hit by injuries.

Chicago is currently without guards Lonzo Ball (knee) and Alex Caruso (wrist), both of whom are dealing with injuries that have kept them out of the lineup for an extended period. Meanwhile, rookie guard and former Illinois star Ayo Dosunmu was placed in concussion protocol on Tuesday night, adding to the list of obstacles the Bulls have to deal with. Reserve forward Patrick Williams (wrist) has also been sidelined for much of the season but is expected back at some point this season.

Having gotten small glimpses of how good the Bulls can be when at full strength, Karnisovas told reporters on Thursday that he believes the Bulls have enough pieces in place to make a deep run in the NBA playoffs later this year.

While the Bulls weren’t active ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline, Karnisovas said that moves could be made “when the dust settles”, meanings the Bulls could add more pieces through the buyout market.

Karnisovas repeated what Bulls coach Billy Donovan said on Wednesday when he said that the front office “likes this group” — injuries and all.

“The hard part is you get through COVID and the perception is, ‘Oh once we get through this thing, we got hit early, we’re going to be fine,” Donovan told reporters on Wednesday. “We’ll be whole.’ We haven’t been whole the entire year.”

Yet, the confidence that Bulls executives seem to have in the group the front office assembled in the offseason when Ball and Demar DeRozan were obtained has Karnisovas looking forward. Building around All-Star guard Zach LaVine, DeRozan has proven to be a key addition for the Bulls, who have managed to stay within reach of the top spot in the Eastern Conference despite "playing short-handed" and providing its front office a small sample size of just 16 games of what can be achieved when the team is healthy.

And for now, Karnisovas told reporters on Thursday, that’s enough.

“We liked what we looked like when everyone was healthy,” he said Thursday, adding that the Bulls fielded calls on Thursday, but stood pat. “So hopefully, we can get this group back and see what we can do.”

He added: “We’re pretty much looking for continuity. This group has shown that we can compete in the Eastern Conference and our record reflects that.”