2017 NBA Trade Deadline highlights Chicago Bulls’ inability to evaluate talent
The Chicago Bulls trade of Doug McDermott and Taj Gibson to the Oklahoma City Thunder and overall activity at the trade deadline is another indicator that the front office does not know how to evaluate talent.
The Chicago Bulls were not silent on NBA Trade Deadline day as they sent forwards Taj Gibson and Doug McDermot, and a second round draft pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder for point guard Cameron Payne, shooting guard Anthony Morrow, and center Joffrey Lauvergne.
The trade, in itself, was not all that terrible for the Bulls. Gibson was not going to be re-signed by the the Bulls this summer and McDermott fell out of favor with head coach Fred Hoiberg and the team’s front office.
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The issue with the trade is that it highlights an overwhelming concern with the Bulls’ front office–they lack the ability to evaluate talent. In the 2014 NBA Draft, the Bulls essentially sacrificed four draft picks for the ability to select McDermott. The Bulls traded two first round picks and second round pick for the Nuggets first round pick that summer. With the Nuggets first round pick, the Bulls selected McDermott. Nothing McDermott did in college with Creighton and nothing he has done with the Bulls in the two and half years since the trade has indicated that he was worth what the Bulls sacrificed for him.
The Bulls didn’t just swing and miss with McDermott, they swung and fell on their knees while the bat flailed into the stands. If the Bulls are ever going to improve, the front office needs to prove that they have the ability to evaluate talent.
The issue is that the front office knows that they can not evaluate talent and that would be the reason why Jimmy Butler is still with the team and not with the Boston Celtics.
The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski said the Bulls wanted core players from the Celtics, not young players and future assets.
— Daniel Greenberg (@ChiSportUpdates) February 23, 2017
Wojnarowski said the Celtics put both of the Nets’ first round picks — this year’s and 2018’s — on the table. #Bulls
— Daniel Greenberg (@ChiSportUpdates) February 23, 2017
Short of the Sacramento Kings’ 2017 first round draft pick, the Brooklyn Nets 2017 first round draft picks is the best asset to acquire in a trade. The Bulls could have landed that pick and the Nets’ 2018 first round pick for Butler and yet the front office said no. The 2017 NBA Draft is filled with a plethora of college basketball players that will be superstars. In fact, the 2017 NBA Draft class is the best draft class that the NBA has seen in the past 10 years. But because of their recent misses in the NBA Draft like McDermott, the front office is afraid of the draft because they can’t evaluate talent properly.
Related Story: Chicago Bulls acquire Cameron Payne from Oklahoma City Thunder
Nothing is going to change with the Chicago Bulls’ organization until they significantly revamp their front office. The Bulls’ current front office and their lack of ability to evaluate talent is what is holding the organization back.