The Chicago Bulls used the be “THE” team to beat in the NBA during the 1990s when Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Steve Kerr and others were winning championships for this organization, but since their final championship in 1998, everything has been downhill for the Bulls.
They did reach the Eastern Conference Finals in 2011 with Derrick Rose, but that is the only time the Bulls have reached the conference finals since they won their sixth championship in 1998.
Chicago has now missed the playoffs in four straight seasons, but they have looked great to begin the 2021-22 season. This team has looked so good that it is time to start calling them real championship contenders!
Zach LaVine has been the scoring leader of the Bulls for years now, but the team has never really surrounded him with other players that could help them win games. As a result, the Bulls went out and got All-Star center Nikola Vucevic at the trade deadline last season and then had a “shopping spree” in the offseason by landing DeMar DeRozan, Lonzo Ball, Alex Caruso, and Derrick Jones Jr.
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The Bulls have been hit hard by health and safety protocols this season, yet they are 19-10 and have the second-best record in the Eastern Conference. DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine are one of the best scoring duos in the league this year and ranking inside the Top-10 in both offensive and defensive rating as a team, Chicago is showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
However, they could still look to upgrade their talent at the trade deadline. Second-year forward Patrick Williams suffered a wrist injury just a couple of weeks into the season that required surgery and he may not return until closer to the playoffs.
The only weakness this team has right now is on the wing, which is why the Bulls could look to pursue some low-cost options for more two-way production on the wing. Kenrich Williams and Cam Reddish are both two affordable players this team could pursue, but so is veteran Justin Holiday.
Being in Indiana since the start of the 2019-20 season, Holiday has continued to exemplify what it means to be a “two-way” player on the perimeter and the 6’6” shooting guard/small forward has been having a really solid season.
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Averaging 9.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and shooting 34.3% from three-point range, Justin Holiday is one of the better catch-and-shoot wings that could be available at the trade deadline this season, which is why the Bulls should have interest in him.
So how can the Bulls pull this trade-off given that they have virtually no cap space? Let’s take a look at one way Chicago can make this trade with Indiana work.
