Why Bulls-Warriors trade for Alex Caruso fell apart
Why Bulls-Warriors trade for Alex Caruso fell apart originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Before standing pat at the trade deadline for the third consecutive year, the Bulls were in exploratory trade talks centered on Alex Caruso with the Golden State Warriors, Bulls insider K.C. Johnson reported Thursday.
According to league sources, the Bulls inquired about Warriors starting forward Jonathan Kuminga's availability. That was rebuffed, and the Bulls made clear in talks with all teams that they didn't want to trade Caruso, especially for a package on perhaps other young pieces like Moses Moody, so they'd need to be floored by an offer to do so.
In addition to Caruso, the Bulls also had conversations with teams about Andre Drummond and DeMar DeRozan.
Drummond, who has played well all season, drew interest. But the Philadelphia 76ers spent second-round draft capital in their acquisition of Buddy Hield. And the Dallas Mavericks acquired former Bulls big man Daniel Gafford from Washington.
In talks with their teams, the Bulls emphasized the desire to remain competitive, two rival executives told NBC Sports Chicago. Ownership gave the green light to executive vice president Artūras Karnišovas to address the roster as he saw fit, a source said.
There was internal discussion about selling off pieces and beginning to reshape the next roster iteration now, a source said. Instead, management pushed those decisions to the offseason, when Zach LaVine will be shopped again and the Bulls face contract decisions on DeRozan and Patrick Williams.
"We didn’t see anything that was going to make us better," Karnišovas said Thursday after the deadline. "We would take a step back, which we don’t want. We want to stay competitive. We have an obligation to this organization and this fan base and this city to stay competitive and compete for the playoffs. That’s what we’re doing."
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