Bulls are hoping to finally get out of their soft underbelly

« Staying in a soft belly is what we want to avoid. This is what we have seen for four years and we want to change that. » Arturas Karnisov is unequivocal in describing the Bulls’ philosophy for this “trade deadline.”

A year after the couple’s separation DeMar DeRozan – Zach LaVineChicago continued its dismantling with a carry Nikola Vucevic to the Celtics, as well as Coby White on hornets.

Two important players in the local rotation also left, Aio Dosunmu etc Kevin Huerterjust like the old Draft picks Dalen Terry etc Julian Phillips. In return, the Illinois-based team picked up a bunch of young guards, Poor Ivey, Rob Dillingham, Collin Sexton etc Anfernee Simmonsas well as Leonard Miller, Nick Richards etc Guerschon Yabusele.

not forgetting according to accounts compiled by ESPNno less than nine other rounds of the draft (not including the first round). After these movements, Arturas Karnisovas does not talk about ” reconstruction » strictly speaking, it rather speaks of “ stage » with the following priorities: youth, financial flexibility and capital selected from the Blueprint.

With the core players now in the Bulls project, Josh Giddei, Matas Buzelis and… Noah Essengue. A serious rejuvenation that should eventually see them reach the top of the league.

“Playing together is not our goal”

« Playing in is not our goal. That’s the title. We know where we are in the rankings and we are not happy that we are in the soft bottom, either because of the organization or because of our fans. At the same time, we are determined to build in the right way, without skipping steps. This process takes time, but we have already made a significant change in our approach to list formation and development », defends the manager.

They lost to the Raptors yesterdayhis team currently ranks 11th in the East with a record of 24 wins and 28 losses. Especially in the battle with the Hornets, Chicago again went to play the run to get into the game. Enough to play it for the fourth straight season, knowing that Miami has eliminated them the last three years?

Stagnation, after the promising first season of 2021/22 around the trio of DeMar DeRozan – Zach Lavin – Nikola Vucevic, which pushed the club’s vice president to action again.

« We started this last year. Going into this season, a lot of decisions had to be made with a lot of free agents. And it’s been a great opportunity for us, during the offseason, to act to get significant capital from draft picks, and we’re targeting very specific players to watch for the rest of the season. », led by Arturas Karnisova.

The latter is delighted to have preserved ” permanent flexibility » considering the offseason. “ Flexibility allows us to be patient, but also to be decisive when the right opportunity arises. I don’t think you can ever have too many draft picks when it comes to room to maneuver for the future. », term-t-il.