Ahead of the 1997-98 NBA season, Bulls GM Jerry Kraus announced that no matter what happened, head coach Phil Jackson would not be coaching the Bulls the following year. This did not sit well with almost all of the players within the organization, especially “His Airness,” Michael Jordan. As many basketball fans know, this season was deemed ‘The Last Dance’ by Phil Jackson and even though the Bulls went on to win their sixth NBA Championship in the last eight years, the Bulls dynasty was over.
Head coach Phil Jackson was not brought back by the Chicago Bulls, Michael Jordan went into retirement again, Scottie Pippen and Steve Kerr were traded and Dennis Rodman was released. And as the end of ESPN’s documentary series, ‘The Last Dance’ stated: And then the rebuild began.
To this day, the Bulls are still trying to correct the wrongs they made over two decades ago and still in the midst of the 1998-99 rebuild. There have been glimmers of hope throughout the years for Bulls fans with Derrick Rose’s MVP season in 2010-11 and when Jimmy Butler led the team to 50 wins in the 2014-15 season, but Rose’s injuries kept him from being the player he could be and Jimmy Butler is now the face of the Miami Heat.
There has been no stability with coaches and front office executives with the Bulls and now Billy Donovan is the latest coach to be thrown into the mix. Donovan is one of the most successful coaches in college basketball, winning back-to-back NCAA titles with Florida in 2006 and 2007, and bringing the Gators to four Final-Fours during his tenure. With the Oklahoma City Thunder, Donovan made the playoffs all five years, including a run to the Western Conference Finals in 2016.
With a fantastic coach leading the Bulls’ young core, things may be on the rise in Chicago, but they are still a long way away from being a legit threat in the Eastern Conference. There are some great, young players on this Bulls roster who have a lot of potential to grow into really solid players, but it will take time.
This team needs some established veteran talent, especially in the backcourt, to lead this team moving forward and one name comes to mind. Derrick Rose is available on the trade market and bringing him back to Chicago would be a perfect trade for the Bulls for a few reasons. Let’s take a look at who the Detroit Pistons could potentially get out of trading Derrick Rose back to the Chicago Bulls.
