Bulls have little maneuverability at trade deadline

Through a combination of missed opportunities, a small-picture mindset and a lack of aggressiveness, the Bulls’ front office has nearly painted itself into a corner, with little room to get out of its roster mess as another NBA trade deadline bears down.

League sources continue to tell the Sun-Times that while the Bulls have been active in trying to move guard Zach LaVine’s maximum contract, most of their other players haven’t been discussed seriously as trade possibilities.

Could that change as Thursday’s deadline approaches? Absolutely. But the growing opinion is that if LaVine can’t be traded, the Bulls likely will make a smaller tweak to the existing lineup, possibly moving center Andre Drummond if the right deal presents itself.

The bar for the Bulls (23-26) seems to be a play-in game with the hope of reaching the playoffs — mediocrity at its finest.

Arturas Karnisovas, executive vice president of basketball operations, has made it clear both publicly and behind the scenes that blowing up the team and taking a chance on a loaded 2025 draft class isn’t on the table.

But what, exactly, is?

Even if the Bulls can find a buyer for LaVine, the likelihood of it being anything more than a salary dump is shrinking each day. Fans need to prepare themselves for a LaVine trade that brings back several bad contracts and not much draft capital — effectively an admission by Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley that giving LaVine a max contract was a major error.

With the deadline just days away, here are the best trade assets the Bulls have to work with:

1. Alex Caruso

The veteran guard is head and shoulders above the rest of the Bulls’ roster as the best trade chip, possibly worth a young player and a protected pick. But he’s also the best player for the Bulls to keep, with a contract that pays him $9.8 million next season.

Unless a team comes in with an offer the Bulls can’t refuse, Caruso isn’t going anywhere. He embodies the culture that coach Billy Donovan is trying to establish, and the hope is the two sides can try working on an extension this summer.

Trade likelihood: 10%

2. Coby White

Like Caruso, the young guard is as untouchable as a player can be on a sub-.500 team. He basically has saved the season for the Bulls amid LaVine’s injury issues, and he just signed a three-year, $36 million deal that he already has outplayed.

Trade likelihood: 0.5%

3. Andre Drummond

Contending teams would love the idea of adding Drummond as a backup big and another body to throw at the likes of the 76ers’ Joel Embiid or the Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic in a playoff series. The veteran center has been a stellar rebounder for the Bulls, and his contract is expiring. Don’t expect much back, however — maybe a young, struggling big and a second-round pick at best.

Trade likelihood: 60%

4. DeMar DeRozan

At 34, the veteran forward is still a mid-range bucket at any point in a game. Other teams might like that he has an expiring contract. But the Bulls love his leadership and are leaning toward an extension in the offseason. Something would have to blow them out of the water.

Trade likelihood: 25%

5. Zach LaVine

LaVine’s right foot needs at least another week before it can be reevaluated. He’s likely looking at pain tolerance being an issue the rest of the season. Then factor in his enormous contract. Moving him now, the Bulls would just be giving him away to get off the money.

Trade likelihood: 15%