Bulls don’t seem interested in getting better

The Chicago Bulls are content staying where they are, which isn't a good thing. 

For the third consecutive season, the Bulls didn't make a move in the week leading up to the NBA's trade deadline. That makes the Bulls the only team in the NBA to not make a move during the week of the trade deadline for the past three seasons. 

Chicago hasn't made the playoffs since 2022 and hasn't advanced past the first round since 2015. The Bulls are 25-27 and ninth in the Eastern Conference heading into Saturday's game at the Orlando Magic. 

The Bulls had arguably their prime trading piece taken off the board when guard Zach LaVine opted to have season-ending foot surgery Thursday after playing in just 25 games. 

LaVine signed a five-year, $251.1 million max contract with the Bulls in 2022 and will make $40 million this season. He is owed $43 million in 2024-25, $45.9 million in 2025-26 and $48.9 million in 2026-27. 

Chicago Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas is the "mastermind" behind the "do nothing" strategy.  

"We came up with a formula in 2021 ... and we had somewhat of a success," Karnisovas told NBC Sports Chicago recently. "We obviously took a step back with some injuries. But my objective doesn't change. I would like to compete with the best teams." 

Karnisovas has also flopped in acquiring talent through the draft. In 2020, he passed on Tyrese Haliburton, who went on to become a two-time NBA All-Star, and selected Patrick Williams at No. 4 overall. 

Williams has averaged 9.7 points through his first three seasons and missed 76 games due to injuries, including all but 17 games in 2021-22. 

In 2021, Karnisovas traded Chicago's first-round picks in 2021 and 2023, along with Wendell Carter Jr. and Otto Porter Jr., to the Orlando Magic for Nikola Vucevic and Al-Farouq Aminu. 

Vucevic is a solid player for the Bulls, but Aminu is no longer in the NBA.