Grade the trade: Bucks rob the Bulls in lopsided mock proposal

The Chicago Bulls' POV

Grading this trade from a Bulls' perspective is much harder. We know what the Milwaukee Bucks want this season, which is anything that will help them win a championship. What is Chicago looking for? There's no clear answer for that at this point.

If this trade is happening, we may be able to assume a few things, the main one being the Bulls are tanking big time. Not only because they would be getting worse but because they would be implying that a player who's currently 24 years old doesn't fit their timeline. And if that's the case, it's because they aren't trying to grow yet.

Chicago has just drafted Matas Buzelis, a promising yet uncertain young prospect whose stock has lost some value over the last year. He looked like a potential first pick a year ago but ended up falling to pick 11 because teams were skeptical about his development. So, even if the Chicago Bulls have bet on him, they probably don't think this is a sure bet.

The 2025 Draft does look like a sure bet, though. While scouting reports talked about the 2024 Draft as one of the worst in recent history, next year's seems to be stacked, and Chicago will only keep its first-round pick if it's 10 or lower. They might have no other choice than to throw the season away, become one of the worst teams in the league and be in a good spot to pick a great talent who can grow next to Buzelis. This trade would move them in that direction.

Chicago has, in fact, already leaned towards that position with the DeMar DeRozan and Alex Caruso trades, so it would make sense for them to go all-in with it. They are already exploring Zach LaVine's market. Could they do the same with Dosunmu?

Even if they do, we need to address the Bucks' offer, which might not be a needle-moving one. With Connaughton mainly as a salary filler, Chicago would trade Dosunmu basically for the 2031 pick-swap. Is that the best they can get?

It depends, again, on what they're looking for. If they want to get more 2025 picks because this is a promising draft, this offer gives them nothing. And they could want that. They can already have the Blazers' first-round pick, but that's only the case if it's 15th or further, so they won't likely be using it next year, meaning if they want more tickets for the lottery, they still need to get them.

The Milwaukee Bucks' pick-swap would go a completely different way, betting on the Bucks to not be very good by 2031, which could actually happen. Damian Lillard and Khris Middleton will be 41 and 40 years old by then, so they could not be in the league. Giannis will be 37, meaning we could expect him not to be the best player in the world tier anymore.

We have seen some teams manage to renew their projects and extend their window when their superstars age, but that's no simple task, so the Bucks might find themselves as one of the worst teams in the league by that point. And in that case, the swap suddenly becomes way more valuable.

Some could argue this is too late for the Bulls to get a pick like that, because, since they're trying to rebuild now, they're likely to be in a strong position by 2031, where they'll want immediate impact players rather than young draft prospects. And that's probably true, but let's not underestimate the value of a good draft pick. It could serve as a trade asset that can get them a valuable player, or, if the rebuild doesn't go as well as they'd like, it could help add more young stars.

That said, it's probably still a weird move right now. Dosunmu is as old as Coby White, so there's no reason to not consider him part of the young core, and it just seems that LaVine is the player to trade if they just want to get bad. The pick-swap is a tempting one, though, so there is something to this trade. But it might not be the kind of draft capital Chicago wants right now.

Grade for Bulls: C+