Listen, frustrated Chicago Bulls fans: the team isn’t tanking or rebuilding. They’re, um, “retooling”. Yeah, that’s it! Folloing the difficult and unpopular Luol Deng trade, and whispers about Tom Thibodeau looking to bolt, the Bulls’ front-office wants to re-assure the fanbase that everything’s on the up-and-up. Per the Chicago Sun-Times:
“It’s always difficult,” Forman said of the decision to send Deng to the Cleveland Cavaliers. “There’s a human element to any transition you make.
“I’ve heard people say it’s a rebuild. It’s not a rebuild. I consider it more of a retooling.”
Forman also reiterated that while the move allowed the team to dip out of the luxury-tax threshold so it can avoid the repeater tax, the organization has plans to go back over that threshold once it believes the roster is championship-ready.
“By getting out of the tax this year, it will give us the ability to go back into the tax in future years when we feel we have a team that’s capable or continuing to build towards that championship,” Forman said.
