Rebuild? What Rebuild?

This is what happens to the best-laid plans of mice and NBA front offices.  The Bulls traded Jimmy Butler in the offseason for three young players to build around—guards Kris Dunn and Zach along with forward Lauri Markkanen.  But for the last week or so that trio has been absent from the court, Dunn with turf toe; LaVine with tendinitis in his surgically repaired left knee; and Markanen with back spasms.  The idea behind a rebuild is for the young players to gain experience, not flirt with the disabled list.

Of the three, LaVine may be the one who doesn’t come back this season; so much for the trio developing on-court chemistry.  So, stuff that should be happening now will have to wait for next year, when there’ll be another first-round pick to plug into the equation.  If you don’t know how Dunn, LaVine and Markkanen play together as it is, adding yet another new face just complicates things.  As it is, sitting your three young players to guard against further injury (while insuring a better draft position) can lead to a fiasco like Wednesday’s 135-102 loss to the Nuggets.

Rebuilds are tricky things.  What worked for the Cubs hasn’t for the Pirates, or the Browns, or the Kings.  If I were the Bulls’ front office, I’d be reaching for the Maalox right about now, that and looking for a lucky horseshoe or rabbit’s foot or….