Should Bulls look to trade for Brandon Ingram? |
It took long enough, but Chicago Bulls President of Operations Arturas Karnisovas finally admitted he has failed this team. Despite leaving his imprint on this organization three years ago when they traded for Nikola Vucevic and then signed both Demar DeRozan and Lonzo Ball, things have leveled out the past two seasons, which is why the Bulls continue to underachieve.
Not only has he put too much faith in this roster by continuously running it back, but he has also yet to make any significant trades in the past three seasons. That can't happen in today's day and age, especially when you want to compete as a team. Knowing that his team has had the talent to make deep playoff runs only to settle for play in berths, Karnisovas has come to terms with the fact that it is time for the Bulls to change things up. You already started to see some of those changes with Billy Donovan letting go of two assistant coaches while also seeing the long-time team trainer go, but that is only the start of it. The impending free agency of DeRozan and Patrick Williams will be considerable questions to adjust as will the Zach Lavine situation and whether or not the Bulls can find a trade partner. In other words, the Bulls' offseason is about to be a roller coaster and one that many fans will follow. Hearing Karnisovas admit that changes need to be made was refreshing, but hearing him say they will be star hunting was a bit puzzling. You get why he said it, but unless Lavine can be moved, does Chicago actually have the resources to go star hunting, especially if they retain DeRozan? That is the question that his team must answer, as this year's free agent class is going to be loaded with talent, talent the Bulls would love to have. However, star hunting can mean several things. The Bulls could also look to trade for more stars, and the name Brandon Ingram is starting to pop up. The former Top-3 pick from Duke University, Ingram has spent most of his career with the New Orleans Pelicans, where he has emerged as a good scorer and a very solid player. Talk about a potential roster shakeup should that happen and a way to get younger in the process. Ingram is a player who fits what the Bulls want to do and has helped the New Orleans Pelicans get back to a competitive level even though they were swept out of the playoffs. Looking at how the Pelicans roster is assembled, Ingram could be the odd man out. If that is the case, and should the Bulls want to continue going with a smaller lineup while getting younger, Ingram makes a ton of sense for them. At 26 years old, Ingram has been around for seven seasons, but is just now starting to enter his prime. He is very similar to DeRozan in that he is a mid-range heavy scorer, but has evolved his game into a bit more. At 6-8, Ingram would give them more size at the SF/SG position and a consistent scoring option that you can count on. For his career, he has averaged 19.4 PPG, including his 20.8 PPG this season. Ingram has now had five straight seasons of averaging more than 20 PPG, but his career high was 24.7 PPG in the 2022-23 season. Ingram is coming off a near 50% shooting performance from the field this season, which is way up from his career average of 46%. However, his three-point percentage was down to 35%, which is below his career average of 37%. Adding Ingram makes a lot of sense when you look at his contract and the Bulls timeline as he only has one year left on his deal. That means the Bulls would have to sign him beyond next season for a trade to make sense. Even at that, would Chicago be willing to give up a lot for him? You have to think Lavine will be part of that package, but what else must be included? Could you see Alex Caruso, Ayo Dosunmu or Coby White have their names mentioned? Unless you are guaranteed a massive player willing to stay long-term, you can't part ways with any of those guys, although Caruso seems logical at this point. Buckle up, Bulls fans, as the rumors will be flying around this offseason.
