Saying this season has been an utter failure for the Chicago Bulls is an understatement. Even with Lonzo Ball missing the entire season, the Bulls would never imagine being outside of the play-in picture heading into the All-Star break when precisely a year ago today, they were sitting in the top seed in the east. After failing to make a trade at the deadline, Arturas Karnisovas is poised to trade his stars this summer, per KC Johnson.

What Went Wrong?

Arturas Karnisovas took the roster handed to him by John Paxson and gutted it, leaving just Zach LaVine and Coby White from the original team under Paxson. Arturas Karnisovas made some bold moves bringing in big-name players like Nikola Vucevic, Lonzo Ball, DeMar DeRozan, and Alex Caruso. Unfortunately for the Bulls, health has significantly affected their terrible season. The issue isn’t the roster the new Bulls management put together. The problem is how they did it. The Bulls gutted their future giving up several first-round picks in trades to acquire DeRozan and Vucevic. They also lost a pick due to tampering when they brought Lonzo Ball.

This puts the Bulls in a difficult position, especially since the picks they did retain haven’t turned into top contributors. Now they’re stuck in a tough situation which will likely result in significant extensions for DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic as they sit on the wrong side of 30. The Bulls also have a $216 million player on their roster who failed to make the All-Star team, which isn’t a good sign. LaVine, 27, has suffered his share of lingering injuries which you typically see on older players. This isn’t too promising that LaVine’s body can hold up nicely toward the end of his contract.

Should the Bulls Rebuild?

As of right now, it’s a better time than any as LaVine and DeRozan can net significant return in a possible trade. If the Bulls wait too long, they can risk another terrible season and a worse trade return for their players. They may not need to rebuild fully. Chicago fans can’t take another failed rebuild, which could take an additional five years. Arturas Karnisovas hasn’t proved he’s good at evaluating young talent, with Patrick Williams being picked in the top 4 of the 2020 draft with Tyrese Haliburton available.

The Bulls could retool around DeRozan. It’s not the brightest idea to build around a player in his mid-30s, but their second-best option is to build around a far lesser player in LaVine. LaVine never made the playoffs as the top option until DeRozan joined the Bulls. LaVine can sometimes be flashy, but flash doesn’t always lead to wins. In LaVine’s case, it rarely does.