Trite but True

During his introductory press conference the other week, new Bears’ GM Ryan Poles announced his plans to build his team through the draft. If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard that chestnut uttered, my grandson would have a number of classic Buddy L toys waiting for him to play with. Not that Poles is wrong; far from it. Teams that live by the big trade and free-agent signing, die by them, too. I’m thinking of the Bulls here, not for failing to make a big trade at the deadline yesterday but the two trades they made last year. Wendell Carter Jr. and Daniel Gafford would be a whole lot better than Nikola Vucevic. Start with the 22-year old Carter, who’s averaging 13.7 points and 10.2 total rebounds a game for the Magic. Compare those stats to what the 31-year old Vucevic has put up, 17.5 points and 11.7 rebounds. And how much of that comes against good teams? If the Bulls had hung onto Carter and the 23-year old Gafford, they’d have a nice frontcourt combination, Carter at center and Gafford at forward or Gafford spelling Carter in the middle. Gafford is averaging 8.9 points and six rebounds a game. With all the injuries the Bulls have had, it’s hard to say who’s taken his place. If the answer includes Davonte Green, who was included in the deal for Gafford, then you have a nice player at small forward, with the emphasis on small. And, wait, it gets worse. The new front office of Arturas Karnisovas and company was so intent on getting Vucevic they threw in a first-round draft pick. Guess who that turned into? Small forward Franz Wagner, averaging 15.6 points and 4.6 rebounds for Orlando. Imagine Wagner coming off the bench for coach Billy Donovan. Karnisovas better be careful unless he wants to turn into the second coming of Bill Veeck, trading away promising young players for long-in-the-tooth veterans. At least he held onto rookie guard Ayo Dosunmu. Trade him, and Veeck has entered the building.