To Win or to Tank: What Should the Bulls Do?

Winning and getting into the playoffs would show what the Bulls are built on, which is continuity. At the beginning of the season, Arturas Karnisovas said the Bulls would be successful since they entered the campaign with mostly the same roster, which had a year of experience together. He added that the team would go on a playoff run.

After the Bulls stood pat at the trade deadline, both Karnisovas and head coach Billy Donovan reiterated that the team will make the playoffs. Now with 17 games remaining, the only continuity the Bulls have shown is an inability to close games, rebound, and shoot threes. One could also include injuries in that category, as Lonzo Ball and Javonte Green, both of whom are key pieces to a playoff run, are sidelined with knee injuries.

Sunday's 125-122 loss to the Indiana Pacers put the aforementioned continuity issues on full display. The Bulls got out to a 10-point lead only to squander it before halftime. Then, a slow second half for Chicago allowed Tyrese Haliburton to take over the game and lead the Pacers to victory.

Indiana attempted 44 three-pointers while the Bulls only put up 22 shots from beyond the arc. Rebounds were nearly even as the Pacers pulled down 35 and the Bulls grabbed 33, but 13 of the Pacers' boards were on the offensive end. That type of game script is what Bulls fans would see in the playoffs.

Karnisovas wanted continuity, and he got it. The Bulls are what they are at this point, and that is a team unequipped for a playoff run.

Time to Fire Up the Tank?

After years of tanking in the GarPax era, this option doesn't sound appealing off the bat, especially since the Bulls don't have a first-round pick in 2023.

The Orlando Magic currently own the rights to Chicago's first-round selection this year as part of the Nikola Vucevic trade, but the Bulls would retain it if it were to be a top-four pick. Sliding into that range is within reach, and it would likely be the best option for the team's future outlook. Ironically, the Magic are the team the Bulls would be battling with for the 4-spot.

It's evident at this point that the 2022-23 Chicago Bulls are a rudderless ship. The locker room is not in a good place, as Vucevic recently got into a verbal altercation with Patrick Beverley and publicly stated that it's hard to see the Bulls turning it around.

With leaders like Vucevic and Zach LaVine focused on stuffing the stat sheet instead of helping the team come together as a unit, a new potential star with a hungry mentality is likely needed. A top-four pick would provide just that. Alternatively, the Bulls could trade their pick along with a few pieces for a new core player to retool around.

A change in direction was needed at the trade deadline, but that ship has sailed. Moving forward, a tank job to finish the season would set the Bulls on a course to help rectify their issues instead of pounding the square peg of "continuity" into a round hole.