No team-building strategy is foolproof, but the Bulls strategy (lately) of having their cake and eating it too hasn't worked out from a fan perspective.
The Chicago Bulls have historically been a team that is against tanking. They don't believe in complete roster teardowns, and rather make smaller moves to reposition the team to be competitive in the short term while also keeping a close eye on the future. No team-building strategy is foolproof, but the Bulls strategy (lately) of having their cake and eating it too hasn't worked out from a fan perspective, although perhaps things are going as the organization intends as far as their financial goals.
Chicago routinely doesn't finish with enough losses to get into the top half of the lottery, but they finish with enough wins to make the Play-In Tournament, giving a false sense of hope as the franchise continues to try to secure their first (actual) postseason appearance since 2022. Whatever reasons the Bulls have for not choosing tanking as one of their organizational goals--be it pride, lack of faith in being rewarded in the lottery, etc.--should be nullified after Wednesday's game against the Detroit Pistons, when the Bulls get a close look at what (seriously) rebuilding can get you.
The Detroit Pistons were the literal worst team in the league in the 2023-24 NBA season, finishing with a record of 14-68, also the worst record in Pistons history. Detroit had won 41 games in the 2019 season, and then they went on to win less than 25 games in five-straight seasons.
A roster that started with Blake Griffin and former Pistons draft pick and would-be-savior Andre Drummond won 20 games and eventually landed them No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham. But what is important is how they got there.
Detroit drafted point guard Killian Hayes seventh overall in the 2020 NBA Draft--in the same draft that the Bulls selected Patrick Williams fourth overall--and that same offseason traded Luke Kennard to the Clippers in multi-team deal that also landed them 19th overall pick Saddiq Bey. That same offseason, the Pistons traded Tony Snell in a package for center Dewayne Dedmon and then used the waive and stretch provision on Dedmon’s contract. The Pistons were extremely active that offseason, also acquiring Trevor Ariza and the rights to 16th overall pick Isaiah Stewart.
It can be debated whether or not Detroit was "tanking," as the Grant addition specifically showed the team adding a "win-now" player, but the more important thing is that Detroit identified that adding another draft pick (in Isaiah Stewart) was a healthy decision for their long-term outlook.
Chicago has done quite the opposite, fixating on specific players in trades. This would be a more palpable strategy if the Bulls front office was acquiring second-year players, or extremely young players who were already given up on. Josh Giddey fits this criteria, and was admittedly a solid decision from Arturas Karnisovas and Co. considering his impressive improvement and current contract.
But decisions like the initial Nikola Vucevic trade in which the Bulls gave up multiple picks--including one that would turn into Franz Wagner--and the DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, and Lonzo Ball trades all landed the Bulls a random collection of veteran players. They did receive their own pick back in the LaVine trade, but rather than searching for a draft pick-based package for Ball, they swapped him for solid defender Issac Okoro. At 24 years old, Okoro still has some growth left in his game, but on the surface not enough potential to feel that it is OK to turn down a draft picks-based package for a team that is struggling to define what their long-term outlook will be.
The Chicago Bulls have claimed to be rebuilding for a couple seasons now, but they haven't committed fully. Wednesday's matchup with the Detroit Pistons will showcase what fully committing to a rebuild can get you if you are willing to deal with the tough times.