The Bulls get ridiculously less rewards by trading DeRozan, Raven, Caruso and Ball

According to US sports media F/W reporter Gautam Varyl, back in January 2022, you will see the Chicago Bulls top the Eastern Conference standings. Led by DeRozan, Raven, Caruso and Ball, the Bulls looked like a championship contender for the first time in years. Unfortunately, not only are the Bulls far from reaching the title battle, but DeRozan, Raven, Caruso and Ball were all sent out of town more than three years later. Worse, the team also gets very little reward from the deals between the four of them. Let's take a look at what's going on in the overall deal:

Bulls trade: DeRozan, Raven, Caruso, Ball

Bulls get: Gidey, Hult, Collins, Jones, Duarte, Ocorro, his own 2025 first-round pick, two second-round picks, cash

Bulls get only one first-round pick in four deals, and it's theirs. Let's take a look at each of these deals. The first of these four people to be traded was Caruso in June 2024. The Thunders obtained him by breaking up with Giddy, with draft picks not included in the exchange. While Gidey's 2024-25 performance with the Bulls is promising, his stats aren't too high when trading. The Australian has just sat on the bench in the playoffs and it’s clear he’s a weird pick for the Thunder. The fact that the Bulls can’t even get a draft pick in this deal is quite surprising. It’s no surprise that Caruso played a major role in the Thunder’s winning of the 2025 NBA championship. To be fair, the Thunder won the deal.

Just a few weeks after Caruso was transferred, DeRozan will join the Kings through a signing deal in July 2024. The Bulls only received Duarte, two second-round picks and cash in return. Even by signature and transaction standards, this is a bad harvest. The Bulls also reportedly tried to trade LaVine that offseason, but failed. They eventually succeeded in February 2025 as he was sent to the Kings as part of a three-team deal with the Spurs. As part of the deal, the Bulls got Collins, Jones, Duarte and their 2025 first-round pick. They have given the draft pick to the Spurs to acquire DeRozan in 2021.

At first, it seemed a little pointless to get this pick back because it was protected by the top 10. The Bulls seem likely to slip in the standings after trading LaVine, so that they will be one of the league’s worst 10 games. However, the Bulls will be ranked 10th in the Eastern Conference, and this draft pick ends up at No. 12 in the 2025 NBA Draft. They would choose Noah Essenger, but if it weren't for a deal, the Spurs would be the one who had the chance to do so. So, this is at least a positive aspect.

Finally, let's take a look at Ball, who was traded to the Cavaliers on Saturday for Ocorro. If the Bulls were to absorb their salary, they could have obtained a first-round pick for a defender at the trade deadline, but chose to object. They have only scored Okoro now, who averaged 6.1 points per game in the 2024-25 season, a career low.

In short, this is just a bad asset management for the Bulls. They will never get incredible gains for any of these four players, but you will expect better rewards than that. This also reflects the importance of a smart management team.