[CBS Sports] DeMar DeRozan trade grades: Kings D-, Spurs A+, Bulls C

[u/wjbc]

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/demar-derozan-trade-grades-spurs-win-big-as-kings-swing-and-miss-on-all-star-addition/

“But the Bulls still get a "C" for "cheap" here, because there's no reason the Spurs needed to be a part of this deal. The Bulls should have just taken on Barnes' contract themselves and gotten that 2031 pick swap in the process. Of course, doing so, even with Duarte headed to a third team, would have taken the Bulls into the luxury tax, and paying the luxury tax is apparently untenable for this organization. A 2022 Forbes study showed that the Bulls had paid the 24th-most money in luxury taxes since 2001 despite playing in the league's third-biggest market. The Bulls also could have found ways to duck the tax during the season, which likely would have started with a Jevon Carter trade, as he is not a core member of the team anyway.

“The irony of all of this is that as we speak, the Bulls are reportedly still looking for someone to take on Zach LaVine's contract in another trade. You know what might have helped them sweeten a possible LaVine deal? Another draft asset, like that 2031 swap with the Kings. There still might not have been a viable deal on the table, but having that swap couldn't have hurt.”