Bulls mailbag: Trade deadline plans? What's Porter's future?

The Bulls are intriguing again. And yet, you still have questions. And that’s a good thing.

Lauri Markkanen was possibly the best Bull in the first three games. How do you think the dynamic with the team will be when he returns? --- @EnBulls, via Twitter

Bench him! Why screw up a good thing?

Sorry. A tad sleep-deprived and overcaffeinated today.

A couple things have stood out in the early stages of this season. It’s a very unselfish team with strong role acceptance. And players are focused on winning, not statistics.

Markkanen is one of the more important young players on the roster and, as you said, got off to a strong start before entering the league’s health and safety protocol. Whenever he returns, of course you start him and keep featuring him as you did before. The only question will be if Billy Donovan utilizes him at center with the second unit in a small-ball lineup or continues to use Daniel Gafford in the rotation.

Any thought by Billy Donovan to start Daniel Gafford over Wendell Carter Jr.? --- @gradybridges, via Twitter

Not one of the multiple writers who cover the team on a regular basis has asked Donovan this question for a reason. It’s too far-fetched. Gafford has played well and deserves credit for staying ready after falling out of the rotation. But after a slow start, Carter has played well and is so important defensively for the Bulls. He’s also a smart and willing passer and strong screen setter. Their roles are fine from where I sit.

Do you think this “strong” start makes it less likely that AKME pulls the trigger on a trade for future assets? For instance, Otto Porter Jr. is finally healthy and playing well, the Celtics desperately need wing depth and have a huge trade exception, draft capital, and younger players who make it worth taking a flier. A trade match seems very possible. Would AKME take a step back at the deadline if this team is relatively close to that last play-in spot? --- Nick P.

It’s a good question. And, this being the new regime’s first season and first trade deadline, I don’t have the institutional knowledge of how they’ll approach it. I’m just as curious as you.

Here’s what I’d say: I think not exploring that option would be a mistake. You absolutely need to upgrade this roster still, regardless of whether you sneak into the playoffs or not. And so turning down a deal that you think makes sense just to augment your chances to get the seventh or eighth seed or a chance for the play-in games is a shortsighted approach.

I will say what little interaction I’ve had with the new regime leads me to believe they would agree. They know this roster needs upgrades.

Now, that’s not to say just start dealing everybody. It’s more to say if the right deal is there, you make it, regardless of the impact on this season.

Why do you guys keep flirting with the idea of eventually trading Zach LaVine on every episode? He may not be the main guy on a championship team, but he would be an attraction to get that guy in free agency. He’s only 25 and still developing. We don’t want another Jimmy scenario.  --- @JiggaJenu, via Twitter

Wouldn’t that be something? Trade the guy you traded Jimmy Butler for and watch him lead a different team to the NBA Finals.

Here’s the reason: When Artūras Karnišovas first arrived and described how he wanted to play, it didn’t sound like LaVine fit that philosophy. Then, widespread talk throughout the league had the Bulls focused on addressing the point guard situation during the offseason, which sounded like Coby White would play more shooting guard. Finally, LaVine’s window to extend his deal, which, it should be noted, has two years left on it, passed with little signs of talks.

Now, to this point, LaVine not only has played well in the new system but drawn repeated and consistent praise from Donovan on trying to make winning basketball plays. He and White have played well together, albeit defensively challenged at times. And as previously noted, the fact no substantive extension talks occurred to my knowledge is less alarming given he has two years left and not just one.

So stay tuned. This is a season of evaluation for the new regime. Where LaVine fits moving forward is just one storyline, albeit a major one. I’ve defended LaVine multiple times. Players with his scoring ability and talent are rare. Upgrade the roster and he could be a significant contributor to future success.

Off the bench or in the starting lineup, Otto Porter Jr. is executing at his highest level yet in Chicago. If continued, does that make a push to keep and re-sign him any more likely or will sights be set on exploiting his (assumed) growing value in the trade market? --- @BN_Bulls, via Twitter 

I basically answered the trade part in an earlier question, but I wanted to include this just to acknowledge how strongly Porter has played. While you could argue his initial flurry of games when he first arrived from the Washington Wizards in the Jabari Parker-Bobby Portis deal were more impactful, he’s not only healthy and playing well but exhibiting strong role acceptance. That’s a huge win for the Bulls.

Former coach Jim Boylen occasionally would remind people how much the loss of Porter hurt the team last season, the one in which the veteran wing played just 14 games. He’s got positional size, a high basketball IQ, defenses have to respect his shooting range whether he’s making shots or not, and he’s been rebounding at a high clip. What’s not to like?

As for re-signing, it’s not like the Bulls’ need for a two-way wing with defensive versatility is going away. His health issues would be a concern, and it’s unclear what annual salary he’ll be seeking after striking it rich with that Brooklyn Nets offer sheet that the Wizards matched. He’s not seeing that annual salary again. But a lot of teams are flush with cap space next summer.

I do know this from my limited dealings with Karnišovas to this point: He’s very detailed and seems to be a pragmatic decision-maker. It’s a safe guess that he knows in his mind what he wants to do with Porter moving forward and, if he’s not traded, what number he’d be willing to re-sign him at if he’s even entertaining that idea.

Clearly this Donovan-led team is playing with an identity and purpose not seen in the previous two to three seasons. Since these are pretty much the same players as last year, would you attribute the noticeable change to the coaching style, front office philosophy, players buy-in or a combination of all of the above? And is it possible this Bulls team can eclipse 40 wins this season? Also, during November when discussing draft and team future make up, you had mentioned that this current roster will look very different in the coming 2021-22 season. Based on what we are seeing now, what changes could be expected in the near future talent wise? (Hoping they do not trade Zach LaVine nor Patrick Williams...EVER!) --- Kenneth H.

Think we need to slow the roll on 40-32. As for the identity, Porter being healthy is a huge factor in all of this. But, yes, Donovan is known as a players coach who seeks input and incorporates it into his own philosophies. He’s less rigid than Boylen, whose style fit with what both management and ownership sought in terms of holding players accountable and pushing them. Donovan holds players accountable in a manner that players respect. And that style also meshes with the players-first approach that Karnišovas and Marc Eversley have espoused consistently since their hire. But more adversity will happen. It always does. Let’s see how it plays out.

As for changes, Williams can probably buy. He’s the lone player tied to this regime. If I were anyone else, I’d be renting. That’s not to suggest wholesale changes are coming. It’s more to say this regime has no ties to anybody else. I’d keep LaVine too.

Before the season started you predicted that the Bulls will finish at 27-45. I know that it is still early on and that many things could change. But are you still standing by that prediction or do you see something in this team that would make you want to modify it? --- Apurv P.

Here’s a little secret about sportswriters’ predictions: We don’t know either. We’re just guessing too.

So, yeah, I’ll die on that hill. I’ve been wrong with predictions many times before and will be wrong many times moving forward. It’s part of the fun of it all.

I will say that the blend of veterans and youth and the unselfishness and role acceptance I alluded to earlier are encouraging signs. Whether or not that translates to more wins and a better record, well, that’s why they play the games. But you asked if I see anything in this team. The progress in responding to adversity and strong play from the veterans off the bench stand out early as reasons my prediction could be wrong.

Will fans be allowed in the United Center for the championship ceremony? ---@EcoGal1, via Twitter

Always try to end on a laugh.