Here’s a paraphrased version of the original passage with the key ideas and tone preserved:
The Chicago Bulls’ trade history doesn’t deserve much praise, but it’s also not the disaster some might expect. Over recent years, they’ve landed All-Stars Zach LaVine and Lauri Markkanen in return for a discontented Jimmy Butler and the underwhelming Justin Patton. In another move, they sent Nikola Mirotic to the Pelicans for a 2018 first-rounder. Mirotic only played 76 more NBA games after the trade.
One misstep came in 2019, when the Bulls traded Bobby Portis, Jabari Parker, and a 2023 second-round pick to the Wizards for Otto Porter Jr. Porter only managed 54 appearances in Chicago, while Portis went on to become a perennial Sixth Man of the Year contender.
Some trades have left fans uncertain. The 2021 deadline deal with Orlando brought in Nikola Vucevic—who’s averaged a solid 18.2 points and 10.7 rebounds per game—but at the cost of Wendell Carter Jr. and two first-round picks. Chicago has only one playoff win since the trade. That same deadline, they moved Daniel Gafford and received Daniel Theis and Troy Brown Jr., both of whom are now out of the league.
There have been bright spots, though. The Bulls secured DeMar DeRozan and Lonzo Ball in sign-and-trades in 2021 at little cost. Despite limited postseason success and the team’s quick decline, those deals were still worthwhile.
After an eventful 2021, the Bulls remained relatively quiet until 2024, when DeRozan was moved to Sacramento and Alex Caruso was traded to Oklahoma City. The DeRozan trade was largely procedural, while the initially scrutinized Giddey-for-Caruso swap has turned out to benefit both teams.
By the 2025 trade deadline, the Bulls made another major shift, sending LaVine to join DeRozan in Sacramento. In return, they received their own unprotected 2025 first-rounder, plus Zach Collins, Tre Jones, and Kevin Huerter. While not a blockbuster return, the deal was made to offload LaVine’s hefty $143 million contract.
In hindsight, the Bulls may have come out ahead—especially given Sacramento’s quick exit from the play-in tournament. But the LaVine trade isn’t the Kings’ only questionable move. Back in 2022, they traded Justin Holiday, Mo Harkless, and a future first-round pick to Atlanta for Kevin Huerter.
The logic was that Huerter’s shooting would space the floor for Fox and Sabonis. Though he started well, his shooting eventually declined sharply, and Sacramento prioritized defense instead. Huerter shot just 30.2% from deep in his third season before being shipped to Chicago, where he revived his game—boosting his average from 7.9 to 13.2 points and hitting 37.6% from three.
The Kings paid a steep price for Huerter—now no longer on their roster. Worse yet, they owe Atlanta a 2025 first-rounder from that trade. While it’s top-12 protected, Sacramento has just a 3.8% chance of keeping it, meaning it’s almost certainly headed to the Hawks—who had traded away their own 2025 first-rounder in the Dejounte Murray deal.
While Sacramento is left with an aging roster and no first-round pick following De’Aaron Fox’s trade request, the Bulls appear to be embracing a rebuild. Their new direction is centered around promising young talent aged 20, 22, and 25, plus an incoming lottery pick.
In contrast, the Kings now mirror the stagnant 2021–24 Bulls teams that topped out at 46 wins, leaving their future clouded by questionable trades and a win-now strategy that failed to pay off.
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