Chicago Bulls officially eliminated from in-season tournament

The Chicago Bulls lost 121-108 to the Toronto Raptors on Friday night and it was another game where the game was over before halftime.

What made Friday’s loss to the Raptors carry a little more weight than the Bulls’ other 11 losses on the season is that the team was officially eliminated from the NBA’s in-season tournament play.

The Bulls have lost all three of their in-season tournament games and it should be another reminder that this team can not win anything of consequence.

The Bulls are now 5-12 on the season with the focus no longer being on whether or not this team will be able to make the playoffs next Spring. Instead, the focus will be on who will be left after the NBA Trade Deadline in February.

There seems to be a certainty that the first player moved off the roster will be Zach LaVine. It’s become increasingly clear that LaVine has checked out on the Bulls’ organization as a whole and once teams such as the Los Angeles Lakers can trade players on December 15 that signed new contracts this past summer, it would seem that a LaVine trade will be closer to being finalized.

DeMar DeRozan likely will be next on the list. The Bulls and DeRozan were unable to reach terms on a contract extension this past summer and given the disastrous start to this season, the veteran likely will be targeted by teams looking for score help this season.

Alex Caruso likely will be the player that is most coveted at the NBA Trade Deadline but the Bulls have previously considered Caruso to be untouchable.

Then, there is head coach Billy Donovan. With another season that has gone off the rails with Donovan at the helm, there would seem to be reason for the organization to want to make a change at a head coach.