According to a story from Joe Cowley in the Chicago Sun Times Sunday morning, the Chicago Bulls front office is not satisfied with their 22-23 record to start the season.
The article states that multiple sources have reported that the team has been actively shopping Rajon Rondo and Nikola Mirotic in order to shake up the roster and spark a second half run for the team into the postseason.
Report: Bulls shopping Rajon Rondo, Nikola Mirotic as trade deadline apporaches https://t.co/t8UWCJquTI
— Kurt Helin (@basketballtalk) January 22, 2017
The Bulls have had little success garnering any value in return thus far, here is an excerpt from the story:
However, according to one of the sources, neither player is moving the needle as far as what general manager Gar Forman deems a worthy return.
“Obviously, you knew that would be the case with Rondo,’’ the source said. “But they don’t like what they’re hearing back on [Mirotic] either. Then again, that’s a [front office] that tends to overvalue its assets.’’
The Bulls are frustrated with the defensive deficiencies and general inconsistent play of Mirotic. They have seemed to fair better with him not on the floor, even with their need for his shooting ability to stretch the floor.
Mirotic is ranked 30th in the NBA among power forwards in real plus/minus.
Many knew from the beginning that playing Rondo, Wade and Butler together wouldn’t work with their playing styles and limited long-range shooting abilities. With Rondo’s perception around the league and his rapidly declining defensive abilities to pair with his shooting struggles, Rondo’s value on the market is almost non-existent.
The Bulls need a roster shake-up and would seemingly have to take on a bad contract or a 2nd round pick to be able to move Mirotic or Rondo before the deadline.
