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Chicago Bulls stand pat at the NBA trade deadline — ‘My wish list was to get healthy,’ Artūras Karnišovas says — but could add depth on the buyout market

Chicago Bulls stand pat at the NBA trade deadline — ‘My wish list was to get healthy,’ Artūras Karnišovas says — but could add depth on the buyout market

The Chicago Bulls didn’t make a move before the NBA trade deadline Thursday — executive vice president Artūras Karnišovas says the team has everything it needs.

The Bulls sat out on a hectic day of transactions, including a move that sent James Harden from the Brooklyn Nets to the Philadelphia Sixers in exchange for Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and two first-round draft picks.

Instead of looking for outside acquisitions, Karnišovas is cornering the second half of the season on the recoveries of three key players — Lonzo Ball (knee), Patrick Williams (wrist) and Alex Caruso (wrist). All three are expected to return before the end of the regular season, with Ball and Caruso scheduled for completed recovery by the end of March.

If the Bulls can return the trio to their lineup, Karnišovas believes they don’t need to change their roster.

“My wish list was to get healthy — that’s the primary reason for us not doing anything,” Karnišovas said. “There’s some time. We’ve got a little bit to wait. But hopefully when we get all healthy we’re going to have a whole group there and see what we got.”

The Bulls have played only 16 games this season with their core — Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, Nikola Vučević and Lonzo Ball — available before COVID-19 and injuries decimated the group. During those games, the Bulls were ranked in the top five in the league in offense and defense.

After the Bulls fell out of first in the Eastern Conference and down to 21st in defense in the last two months, Karnišovas said the Bulls don’t need to add players to regain their standing.

“This group has mutual feelings about where we’re at, (coach) Billy (Donovan) included and our players,” Karnišovas said. “Our record (at) 34-21 is pretty good in the East, and we’ve done it short-handed. So in order to add players, I think we’re just going to use our injured reserves, the ones that are going to come back. We’re going to be a good group getting Zo and getting Alex and getting Patrick and getting Derrick (Jones Jr.) back. That’s what we’re looking forward to.”

Standing pat became a clear possibility for the Bulls in January, when Karnišovas emphasized the importance of protecting the team’s established chemistry during an interview with WSCR-AM 670.

Donovan and All-Star DeMar DeRozan echoed confidence in the current roster, which has lifted the Bulls to a tie for third place in the East. But that doesn’t leave out the possibility for a move on the buyout market, likely to shore up short-term concerns about guard depth and a lack of size across the roster.

“There’s a lot of things that go into decision-making,” Karnišovas said. “But we were happy with the group — even our two-ways that come into games, and our roster guys, our off-the-bench guys, they’ve done a tremendous job. ... Once we can get Lonzo, Alex, Patrick and Derrick back, I think we’re very competitive in the East.”

The Bulls have been far from conservative since Karnišovas took over as executive vice president in April. In the last nine months, the Bulls acquired Vučević and DeRozan in major deals and added key role players like Caruso.

The front office is somewhat limited, however, in the type of acquisitions it could make. The Bulls would need to waive a player to pick up a player in the buyout market. They also sit about $3 million below the threshold for the luxury tax, which requires a team to send a percentage of revenue to the league if it spends more than $132.6 million on player salaries.

While he hinted the Bulls might weigh several options once “the dust settles” from the trade deadline, Karnišovas couldn’t guarantee ownership would approve a move that would send the team into luxury-tax territory.

“We were pretty busy last trade deadline, we were pretty busy this summer, so we made a lot of changes,” Karnišovas said. “We’re looking for continuity. This group has shown we compete in the Eastern Conference, and our record reflects it. We were taking calls but basically the mutual feeling with all of our group was that let’s get our guys back, we’re going to have enough time in the regular season to see what this group can do when they’re all healthy. ... I think when the opportunity presents itself, we’re going to evaluate that and that’s it.”