Taj Gibson (Photo : Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
The NBA trade deadline has passed and as always, there are some winners and losers.
Some teams are losers for failing to make a move, foremost of which is the Boston Celtics. Danny Ainge is left sitting on his treasure chest of trade assets again and will have to use them for the long haul-which is probably not what he had in mind when he collected them.
Other teams like the Chicago Bulls made "questionable" moves that hardly addressed the needs of their team. SB Nation heavily criticized trading away "fan favorite" Taj Gibson and Doug McDermott, the team's top shooter.
Shooting is the team's biggest weakness and while they did take Anthony Morrow, who has a reputation for being a shooter. But Michael Brice Saddler of SB Nation contended that "the 31-year-old Morrow, known throughout his career for his shooting ability, is shooting an abysmal 29 percent from three this season. Conversely, McDermott is a much younger (25) and more confident three-point shooter (37.6 percent), which made him one of the few competent floor spacers on the Bulls roster."
But Morrow was not the main target of the Bulls. They had their eyes on Cameron Payne, the back-up point guard of the Oklahoma City Thunder who has hardly impressed on the court. That is, when he actually makes it to the court as he has had injury history.
The Gar-Pax front office team is high on Payne, similar to how the Kings' owner was high on Buddy Hield. This was confirmed John Paxson when he talked to KC Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.
"When Cam came out in the draft, we were very, very high on him," John Paxson said. "We had some real good discussion about even trying to get him in that draft. We see him as a young guy who will develop and get better."
Payne is averaging a paltry five points and two assists on 33 percent shooting in the 20 games he's played. He fractured his right foot before training camp which was his second foot injury in two years.
The Bulls seem to be wandering aimlessly. If they aim to go young, then they should have traded Butler as it was rumored that the Celtics were already offering their Brooklyn pick. Perhaps those talks could resurface.
"There's still a chance the Bulls move him this offseason or later down the line. Or, maybe they'll keep trying to retool the roster around him and compete. Who knows. Like Forman said, their plan is fluid" moving forward," the SB Nation report suggested.
As of now, though, the direction of the Bulls remains unclear.
