The Chicago Bulls find themselves in a tough spot after a 121-112 defeat to the Portland Trail Blazers, marking their 11th consecutive loss and a winless February. This month is now infamously the worst in the franchise's history.
The Bulls' struggles aren't just a coincidence. Early in this losing streak, they made a whirlwind of trade deadline moves, swapping out eight players for seven new ones.
It was a complete overhaul, and as expected, the adjustment period has been rocky. February saw the Bulls ranked near the bottom of the league in several key categories: points, rebounds, assists, field goal percentage, three-point percentage, turnovers, and plus/minus.
It’s been one of the toughest stretches the Bulls have faced.
Despite the losses piling up, Chicago's draft position hasn't improved significantly. They moved from 14th to ninth in the lottery standings, even as their winning percentage took a nosedive.
While they've distanced themselves from teams like the Atlanta Hawks and Portland Trail Blazers in the play-in race, they're still outside the bottom six. The trade shake-up didn’t quite achieve the intended effect.
Without some lottery luck, it may never be enough. The Bulls are 5.5 games behind the sixth-place Utah Jazz, a team fully embracing the tank. With only 22 games left, closing that gap seems unlikely, especially against teams intentionally positioning themselves for a better draft pick.
This situation reflects a recurring theme under Artūras Karnišovas, the Bulls' Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations. His tenure has been marked by a tendency to react rather than anticipate, missing out on key trade opportunities and waiting until the last minute to address a flawed roster.
Breaking up the Bulls' perennial play-in squad was a necessary move, but the resulting losing streak, the third-longest in franchise history, shows it hasn't been enough. While they’re poised to pick a promising prospect in the talent-rich 2026 NBA Draft, the top-tier prospects are so desirable that six teams have yet to hit 20 wins, leaving the Bulls with more work to do.