Okay so just yesterday morning I was sipping my coffee, scrolling through NBA news, and boom – another article about the Chicago Bulls being kinda stuck money-wise. Got me thinking: how bad is it really? And what on earth can they actually do about it? Decided to dive in headfirst and figure it out myself. Here’s how my deep dive went down.
The First Step: Seeing What We’re Dealing With
First things first, I needed the real numbers. Not just vague “they’re over the cap” stuff. So I headed straight to one of those NBA salary cap tracking sites everyone uses. Just punched in “Chicago Bulls salary cap” and got a massive list of players and dollars.
My eyes almost popped out. Whoa! Those big contracts… DeMar DeRozan is getting a lot, good player but wow. Zach LaVine? Man, that’s huge money. Vooch? Not cheap either. Lonzo Ball… yeah, still counting against them hard, poor guy. Even the role players like Caruso and Williams, they’re solid, but it adds up FAST.
I grabbed my laptop, fired up a blank spreadsheet, and just started copying names and salaries over. Seeing them all listed together? Yeah, instant clarity. They are WAYYYYY over the cap. Like, sneaking under the luxury tax ain’t gonna happen without major moves. Forget signing big free agents. Zero room.
Where the Real Pain Hits: Lonzo Ball’s Deal
Once I had the list, Lonzo Ball’s contract just screamed at me. It’s the giant red flag on the spreadsheet. $20 million just sitting there this year, and another $20 million next year, while he sadly might not play again. That’s like paying for a superstar who isn’t playing at all. Huge chunk of cash completely unusable for getting better on the court.
I started thinking, “How can this possibly help the team?” Answer: It can’t. It’s pure, dead weight. Eating up salary cap space like a hungry monster. This has got to be priority number one if they want any flexibility, ever.
Looking for Escape Hatches
Okay, reality check. They can’t just wish the big contracts away. Demar, Zach, Vooch – they’re paid big bucks. Trading them? Super hard unless they play out of their minds or you take back terrible stuff. Not likely. So I started hunting for smaller ways to save pennies, nickels, and dimes.
- Smaller Contracts: Looked at guys like Torrey Craig, Andre Drummond. Solid players for what they do, but they cost a few million each. If things got desperate, maybe moving one of these could save a couple million to duck under the luxury tax next season? Every dollar counts when you’re squeezed this tight.
- Dalen Terry / Draft Picks: Checked out the young guys and future picks. They don’t cost much now, but maybe they’re chips for later? Not immediate savings, but perhaps building blocks for future cheap talent.
The Hard Truth & The Lonzo Problem
After looking at the “small” saves, it hit me: Tinkering around the edges might save a little, but it’s like trying to stop a flood with a paper towel. The REAL game-changer? Getting out from under Lonzo’s contract. Even saving $5-7 million by trading a Craig or Drummond barely scratches the surface of the $40 million problem Lonzo represents.
I started poking around online trade machines (you know the ones!). What would it take to move him? Attaching a pick? Taking back another long contract, but maybe shorter or smaller? Or just hoping some desperate team with cap space takes him to help the Bulls financially? Man, that contract feels like it’s glued on super tight. Moving it would hurt – probably cost the Bulls more assets (like a draft pick) just to get rid of it – but it feels like the ONLY way to potentially save serious money or open up options later.
Maybe splitting it into a trade exception? The rules are complex, but it seems incredibly difficult. His salary might just be a brick they have to carry until it expires.
What’s the Smart Play?
So after typing and thinking and staring at numbers for hours, here’s my blunt take:
The Bulls are stuck. Flat out. Big time contracts eating up nearly all the money, and the Lonzo deal is pure poison.
“Saving wisely” for them really means:
- Pray for a Lonzo Miracle: Either health (unlikely) or finding any trade, even if it costs them a pick to unload the $20 million weight.
- Duck the Tax: As soon as possible, by trimming those smaller salaries when it looks close.
- Hold Steady & Get Expensive: If Lonzo stays on the books? They gotta just accept they’ll be way over the cap and over the tax line for the next few years. Rebuild isn’t happening with those contracts. They’re kinda locked into this expensive, mid-tier team they’ve built.
In the end, “saving wisely” for the Bulls right now feels more like desperately avoiding getting more screwed than actually finding clever ways to improve the team cheaply. That Lonzo contract is the anchor dragging them down hard.
Honestly? This whole exercise felt like looking at someone trying to budget while stuck with a massive, unavoidable debt payment every month. Options are super limited. The only real “save” might be finding a way to ditch that anchor, even if you have to sacrifice something valuable to cut it loose. Feels tough being a Bulls fan trying to see a money-smart path forward.
