(670 The Score) Before the NBA Draft on Thursday, 670 The Score host Dan Bernstein shared his wish for the Bulls.
"Get out of DeMar jail," Bernstein said, a reference to his belief that the Bulls need to trade veteran star forward DeMar DeRozan.
The Bulls didn't do that Thursday, instead staying relatively quiet by just trading into the second round to select Tennessee forward Julian Phillips at No. 35 overall. While there had been a fair deal of external speculation about the Bulls shopping star guard Zach LaVine on the trade market in recent weeks, there wasn't much buzz about LaVine or DeRozan on Thursday as the draft played out. The Bulls had informal conversations with teams about them, but no talks got serious, the Sun-Times reported.
Why is that? In the mind of Bernstein, it's because the Bulls overvalue their own players.
"The market decides," Bernstein said. "When something gets done, that is your data point for valuation, when a trade is consummated. And what's obvious is the Bulls think their players are better than the market thinks they are. That's what's obvious – is if you weren't able to find a deal for DeMar DeRozan, if you weren't getting enough, that means he's not worth what you think he's worth. If you're not getting proper value in return in your mind for Zach LaVine after multiple conversations, that's the market telling he's not worth what you think he's worth. So then you go back and you lick your wounds and you say, 'Well, I guess this is what we've got.' You know, I know it, we've been watching this team. We've known what they've needed and haven't had."
Bernstein added he still has "no idea" how the Bulls might improve or what their path is to improve after a disappointing 40-42.
"What are you selling us that's different?" Bernstein said. "Why should we believe now when there still isn't enough 3-point shooting and still no rim protection? It's all the same.
"The market is sending you all of these signals to tell you that you're overvaluing them when you're not getting what you want in return when you make them available."
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