Thursday marked the NBA Trade Deadline and the Chicago Bulls were among the most active teams in the league — and it’s not even over yet.
The biggest move of the day for the Bulls came on Thursday morning when they acquired all-star center Nikola Vucevic from the Orlando Magic for two first round draft picks, Wendell Carter, and Otto Porter. The Bulls also acquired Al Farouq Aminu from the Magic in this trade.
The Bulls were not done after that blockbuster trade either.
Shortly after the acquition of Vucevic was reported, the Bulls made another roster-altering move as they sent Daniel Gafford and Chandler Hutchinson to the Washington Wizards for Troy Brown and Mo Wagner.
Ladies and gentlemen, Bulls’ executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas has firmly established his vision for the future direction of the Bulls’ organization.
When Karnsiovas first took control of the Bulls’ basketball operations, the one thing he made clear is that he wanted to take time to observe the current structure of the Bulls’ roster. Karnisovas identified his head coach in Billy Donovan but he wanted to take the first half of the season to identify the players that he wanted to build around.
The season began with speculation surrounding the future of both Zach LaVine and Thaddeus Young with the Bulls. Both Lavine and Young were rumored to be potential trade candidates as the belief was that Karnisovas wanted to tear the structure down before rebuilding it.
However, with the moves that Karnsiovas’ made on Thursday, it is clear what his direction is for the team. The Bulls are back. The move for Vucevic gives the Bulls’ a legitimate superstar to pair with Lavine while also changing the reputation that the Bulls have across NBA circles.
It was only a year ago that the Bulls were the laughing stock of the NBA. The Bulls had an incompetent head coach in Jim Boylen. Boylen drew the ire of both Lavine and Young. And, given the popularity of Lavine and Young across the league, the Bulls were never considered to be a premier location for potential free agent super stars. That is why the work that Karnisovas has done over the course of the past six months is so important.
Karnisovas has shredded the scarring that was leftover from the previous. Karnisovas, and general manager Marc Eversly, have led to the Bulls into the modern times of the NBA. The Bulls are no longer a laughing stock. Instead, the Chicago Bulls are now the attractive destination that they should be given their history.
Thursday was an important day for the future of the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls already had a top tier head coach in Donovan and budding superstar in Lavine, and with one blockbuster move, they have now found a legitimate superstar center in Vucevic. The future is bright.
