The news of Derrick Rose’s injury leaves a lot of questions for not only Rose but the Chicago Bulls as well. As Rose decides on the best course of action for himself, the Bulls have to decide what’s the best thing to do for the team in his absence.
via K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune:
Knowing Rose would return, management kept the 2013-14 Bulls intact for one, final championship run. Whether the reshaping of the roster, widely assumed to transpire next summer, will be accelerated could depend on for how long Rose is sidelined.
If Rose misses the remainder of the season, attempts to trade Luol Deng, who can walk as an unrestricted free agent next summer, could be accelerated.
If Rose is expected to stay out for a lengthy period of time then it’s assumed the Bulls will ditch championship hopes and try to recoup something. With Deng’s contract set to expire it would make sense for the Bulls to get something for the two-time All-Star rather than letting him walk away for nothing in free agency. Teams may try to lowball the Bulls and they’ll also need assurances that Deng will re-sign with them once the trade is complete. Odd now that I’m hearing Bulls fans saying they wish they’d kept Nate Robinson. Not something you hear too often…
