The rumors are churning.
And in what might be one of the craziest offseasons the NBA has seen in years, the Bulls are right there in the middle of it.
Lonzo Ball, Nikola Vucevic and Coby White, all possible trade candidates. Heralded prospect Ace Bailey trying to sabotage his draft stock to fall to a major market, such as Chicago. Executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas suddenly easier to work with in the eyes of other league executives. And, of course, the ongoing pursuit of Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga that the Bulls have been lying in the weeds on for months.
There’s some truth in all of it, but there’s also the basic disinformation that Karnisovas likes to leak out there.
According to a source, the Bulls and Karnisovas have been more responsive to trade talks than they have been in the past. And while Ball, Vucevic and White are all possibilities to be moved, the name atop Karnisovas’ list to deal entering the first round of the NBA Draft on Wednesday is Patrick Williams.
The Bulls have reached the point where they’ve run through most of their developmental staff in an effort to pair Williams with the right personal coach, only to see no upward movement.
Considering Karnisovas made a desperate attempt to motivate Williams with the security of a five-year, $90 million contract extension last summer, the only way he knows he can trade him is in a package or part of a multiteam deal.
He has invested a lot of work and phone time to try to make that happen.
If Karnisovas can pull off the trade and add a favorable prospect in the draft, he can kick up his feet and deem it a great offseason, given what has happened across the Eastern Conference since the regular season ended.
Not only did Karnisovas get a contract extension months ago — something the Sun-Times reported last week — but he also has seen powerhouse teams in the East be ravaged by health issues and front-office buffoonery.
The Bucks’ Damian Lillard, the Celtics’ Jayson Tatum and the Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton will miss next season with torn Achilles tendons, and the Knicks went back to being not serious about basketball by firing coach Tom Thibodeau after he delivered them to the conference finals for the first time in 25 seasons.
Then the Celtics took another step back Monday by trading Bulls killer Jrue Holiday to the Trail Blazers in a salary dump.
Add in future Hall of Famer Kevin Durant being traded to the Rockets instead of the Heat and generational prospect Cooper Flagg landing in the Western Conference when the Mavericks select him with the No. 1 overall pick, and the Bulls likely have climbed up the standings without playing a game.
The draft could help to assure that.
All signs point to the Bulls selecting a frontcourt player with the No. 12 pick — with defensive specialist Collin Murray-Boyles in the lead out of the gate — especially if they feel good about a Williams deal happening. Noa Essengue and Asa Newell are also possibilities.
If Karnisovas opts to go with a guard, such as Illinois’ Kasparas Jakucionis or Egor Demin, it’s safe to say Ball or White will be on the move.
Then there’s Bailey, the wild card in all of this. He reportedly has ‘‘shrunk’’ from his winter listing of 6-10 to being just taller than 6-7, has canceled interviews with every team and has refused to work out for anyone.
One rumor is that he wants to play in a major market, where he thinks he can be the main attraction, so there’s some self-sabotage going on. Might that market be Chicago? Considering Karnisovas has given no indication he’s looking to move up from No. 12, it’s very unlikely — even if Bailey slides to No. 6 or No. 7.
But it’s out there. Just like all the other floating debris.
