The Bulls season got off to a promising start as the team busted out of the gate with three-straight wins. Since then, Chicago has been trending downward and currently sit at 22-23, good enough for the eighth seed in the East.
There has been plenty of drama within the locker room as well. Free agent acquisition Rajon Rondo was benched on December 31 and has played sparingly since, causing a rift between him, the coaching staff and the front office. The result could be a shake up and a report from the Chicago Sun-Times states that Gar Forman and Co. have put both Rondo and Nikola Mirotic on the trade block. Mirotic is averaging a career low 9.3 points per game and is shooting career lows in field goal, 3-point and free throw percentage.
More from the Sun-Times:
According to multiple sources, the Bulls have been shopping guard Rajon Rondo and forward Nikola Mirotic in hopes of bolstering the roster and making a second-half run in the wide-open Eastern Conference.
But one of the sources said neither player is generating the kind of return general manager Gar Forman wants.
‘‘Obviously, you knew that would be the case with Rondo,’’ the source said. ‘‘But [the Bulls] don’t like what they’re hearing back on [Mirotic], either. Then again, that’s a [front office] that tends to overvalue its assets.’
All-Star Jimmy Butler is reportedly frustrated with the way the season has gone, but “uncomfortable about getting involved in front-office issues, especially because of his loyalty to his teammates:”
Butler never has been shy about recruiting other players to the Bulls if it means building a better roster around him, but he’s uncomfortable getting involved in front-office issues, especially because of his loyalty to his teammates. Butler will help bring in new players during an offseason, but he doesn’t want to be the reason they’re packing to go by the trade deadline.
So although sources said Butler has expressed his displeasure with the roster to anyone in the front office who has asked in recent weeks, he’s not the type of guy to name names.
‘‘Jimmy’s attitude is [the front office is] paid to fix it, so fix it,’’ the source said.
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