Getty D'Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura and Austin Reaves of the Los Angeles Lakers celebrate after a play.
With the 2022-23 season officially in the books, it’s time for the Chicago Bulls to make a decision: will they break up the core of their team and start a rebuild, or will they do what executive vice president Arturas Karnisovas has said they’re going to do, which isn’t much.
“Blow up, rebuild — it’s not on our minds,” Karnisovas said after Chicago’s season ended in the play-in tournament in mid-April, via NBA.com. The Bulls ended a four-year playoff draught in 2022 after finishing with a 46-36 record that season, but they took a step backwards this year, finishing sub .500 with a 40-42 mark while failing to make the playoffs.
The Bulls executive VP did note that it would be a “priority for us to change our shooting profile” this offseason, and it’s likely the Bulls are going to scour the market for a point guard and perhaps a 3-point specialist. Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report thinks the Bulls could get both in one player in former Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angeles Lakers starter D’Angelo Russell.
Russell Could Be Available if Lakers Don’t Re-Sign Him
Russell, the second overall pick for L.A. in 2015, has bounced around a bit over his eight seasons in the NBA, also playing for the Brooklyn Nets and the Golden State Warriors. Playing for the Timberwolves since 2019, he landed back with the Lakers in a three-team trade this past season that also involved the Utah Jazz.
The 27-year-old guard is in his prime and is coming off a season in which he had career highs in both 2- and 3-point shooting, making 46.9% of his two-pointers while hitting 39.6% of his shots from beyond the arc (stats via Basketball Reference).
He had a poor showing in the postseason, however, and the Lakers may want to move on, as Russell is an unrestricted free agent.
“Russell isn’t a pure floor general, but he’s another talented ball-handler to mix in with DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine,” Swartz wrote. “The 27-year-old averaged 17.8 points and 6.2 assists and shot 39.6 percent from three between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angeles Lakers this year. If the Lakers choose to chase Kyrie Irving, Chris Paul or another point guard, Russell could be looking for a new home.”
While with the Lakers, Russell scored 17.7 points, handed out 5.7 assists and netted 3.5 rebounds a game, which is far better than anything the Bulls produced at the position last year.
Swartz also mentioned Miami Heat starter Gabe Vincent or re-signing veteran Patrick Beverley as options for Chicago in free agency, but it’ll likely all come down to money.
Russell Would Be Offensive Upgrade Over Pat Bev
In 22 games (and 22 starts) with the Bulls, Pat Bev put up 5.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 27.5 minutes a game. A Chicago native, Beverley, who was added via the buyout market, enjoyed playing for his hometown team, but his potential price tag may not be worth his services.
Beverley turns 35 in July, and he mentioned on his podcast in April of 2023 that he’d like to get paid around $13 million per year. If that’s what the market is, Chicago may want to take a look at Russell, although the team can’t afford to overpay him, either.
Russell just completed the final year of his four-year $117.3 million contract, and John Hollinger of The Athletic has him projected to make just under $27 million a year when he inks his next one. Well, he would be an office of upgrade over Beverley, his defense isn’t anywhere near as good as Pat Bev’s, so there’s that to consider. The Bulls also won’t want to overpay anyone.
Chicago can’t afford a $27 million a year player without letting some potential returning free agents walk and/or making a few changes. The team has the mid-level exception, which would allow it to add a free agent for around $12 million per year, but the Bulls won’t want to cross the luxury tax threshold, which is set at $162 million.
Per Spotrac, the most the Bulls will likely have to spend after all guaranteed salaries and dead cap from non-guaranteed salaries are deducted will be $15 million.
Thus, players like Russell may be out of reach unless Karnisovas decides to shake it up.
