Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show - Setting the table for the Bulls’ trade deadline decisions

Episode Date: January 28, 2026

Marshall Harris and Mark Grote set the table for the decisions the Bulls will need to make at the trade deadline.

Rahimi Harrison Grotie, midday's 10 a.m. to 2 on Chicago Sports Radio 670. We'll stay present in the moment and we're going to, you know, look at this year, at this team, how we're going to start, how we're going to go through the season. And, you know, again, you know, all those very specific goals and how we want to play and how the guys have to respond. We're probably going to have to play, you know, long rotation. because, you know, we wanted to play fast and high pace. So we'll see, you know, during the year. And that information collected is going to help us, you know, to make those decisions. That's the president of basketball operations for the Bulls, our tourists, Carnasovas, back in September,

as we welcome you back into Rahimi Harrison Grotie on the score. The Bulls have a game tonight. Bulls at the Pacers tonight. Early one, 545 pregame, 6 p.m. jumper in. Indy, the pretty bad Indiana Pacers, my goodness, they could have won a title last year, and Halliburton is not there. They are 11 and 36, and as a matter of fact, the Bulls are 0.2. So two of the 11 wins for the Pacers have come at the expense of the Chicago Bulls.

And Marshall, what is still continued to be really important, I mean, as we monitor and track the Bulls' progress on the court, they're doing, right? 23 and 23 had been on a little bit of a roll until the Lakers game where they lost 129 to 118, but with the trade deadline bearing down bears on February 5th and it just happens.

And the Bulls having seven potential free agents. They're in the news and there is a gentleman by the name of Janice Antecoompo who has continued to make waves in Milwaukee. So Shams Chirania with this

this happened just an hour ago or so. Two-time MVP, Janice, Antecumpo, ready for a new home ahead of the February 5th trade deadline. That's next week. As several teams have made aggressive offers to the Milwaukee Bucks who are starting to listen, league sources told ESPN on Wednesday. So what this signals is that the Bucks are listening and that Janus is okay with the idea of being traded. Now, something you've got to point out is, Janus is hurt right now.

and Janice is supposed to be out four to six weeks and he becomes eligible to sign a four-year $275 million super max on October 1st of this year if you're not doing the math at home it's about $70 million a year. Those and comes with a couple of aprons, right? Throwing a couple aprons? Probably depending on what your cap space situation looks like.

Yeah, it's a definite apron situation. You're going to be in trouble. but if he already have him, you know, that's different rules apply if you're signing somebody that's already within your organization as opposed to him becoming a free agent. So he's been there 12 years, and in an ideal world, the Bulls who fans will tell you are starving for a superstar of Janus's magnitude. That's all they need.

That's what they say. Would be in perfect position to make a trade to get Janus on their roster at this deadline if If it was. That hurt me. Oh, God. They had pulled off that deal to trade away the first round pick

to New Orleans Pelicans for this year's unprotected lottery pick. That should anger all Bulls fans. It really should. Because you talked about it at the time. I talked about it immediately. As soon as Joe Dumas,

the president of basketball operations for the Pelicans, said he offered it to everyone ahead of you know, the hawks who ended up taking the deal right behind the bulls. This has nothing to do with Noah Asengay, their first-round pick. This has everything to do with understanding that in this climate, you need to be nimble as an organization and be able to quickly make moves when players become available.

And now they are missing the window. They could make a trade for Janus. They could trade future first-round picks. But the problem is what they would have to trade away to match salaries and everything, else, those would be the players that Janice would need to play with to be good. It would be the equivalent of him coming to Chicago and being on a roster that looks like the roster he's playing on right now with the bucks. That's not the goal.

The goal is to have him play with other good players that can elevate him back. So the Bulls fall to the bottom of the heap, namely because they don't have the draft capital to make the trade, but also the players they would have to give up in that deal are the players he would need to play with to be good. He's past, what is he said, 12 years? 12 years That hit me a little bit Janice has been in the league

for 12 years Yeah 12 and a half That's crazy He seems like he's been Just the way he plays still Like his athleticism and all Like it feels like he's been in the league For five or six years

I mean Janus started young too Let's not throw that out of the window He what? He started young It wasn't like he came out of college Yeah he would No college Right

Yes so I think That's a good thing to add in though But the important thing here is if you're the Bulls and you have all these players, Nikola Vutrovich, Kobe White, Ayo Dosumu, the list goes on and on. No, Giddy's under Locking Key. Oh, right, right. You're seven.

You're going through the potential free agents. Got you. I'm talking about the guys that would be free agents. Got you. Then what are you going to do ahead of the deadline? Who should you move? And what should the return price be? They need first rounders.

Get first rounders. And if you can't get a first rounder, at least send Patrick Williams out with that deal. Like, you get this great value of Iota Sumu, who's $7.5 million in his final year of a contract. Attach Patrick Williams, so now you don't have that $18 million per season also on your roster. You either get draft picks or you get rid of Patrick Williams in one of these deals. The thing that I want people to understand before this trade deadline happens is no matter what they do, they will not be tanking. They're just not built to tank. They would get worse, though, obviously, if they were to make a move.

and it might be shrewd to do. I think it would be okay to take your foot off the gas. I'm not saying tank. I really, like, if you can get assets, as you said, you can maybe at the expense of the rest of this season, but build it right back up in the offseason with the assets that you would take. But that's my point.

There's no really rest of this season. Even if they get rid of some of these really good players, like their leading score on Kobe White, Billy Donovan is going to coach them to play hard and they're going to win more games than they should because the East is that bad. Of course, and I don't think that our tourists nor Mark Eversley getting to know them a little bit,

have it in them to be guys that are going to be like, yeah, let's say, hey Billy, wink, wink, you know, that does not seem like what this organization would do for better or for worse. They refuse to pull the plug. Right. That's the issue. They are going to try to put a product out there

like the one you saw. Yeah. the other night with the Lakers in town. It's not like the Bulls got blown out. The Bulls lost the game because they had a horrible second quarter and they turned it over 10 times. They lost the game because they let a bench player in Rui Hachemiro looked like a star hitting 9 of 11 shots. That's what I like about.

You go deep, man. You're not looking at the bright, shiny Luca Donchitz and his 46 points or LeBron did with his 23 points at his age. I know what those guys are capable of. We talked about it yesterday. Grotie, the Bulls played the Lakers twice last year. games to the Lakers win. And both Embed and Luca played in those games. Serro.

Exactly. Yeah, no, it's a great point. It was so, God, what, it was one of my favorite Bulls experiences in a while out at the United Center because it had been a long time. It's going to sound weird. It's been a long time since it was really hard to park out at the United Center. Like it was, there were lots closing out at the UC. I was meeting some friends that didn't get in until the middle of the first quarter

because they underestimated the traffic around the United Center. Oh, was that buzz? Because it was buzz, buzz, but for many reasons, because the lovers and the haters of LeBron James are going to show up because you never know when it's going to be the last time. It was the anniversary of Kobe Bryant's death. Luca, that brings in a whole lot of people from Chicago that love Luca. Love a little European basketball start. Absolutely, absolutely. And the beauty of our city, the diversity of our city brings in those fans that are just there to watch Luca.

And Luca put on a show. And he put on a show, and it was just, it was great. Like to look up and see where I used to stand in the standing room only portion of the United Center. But you're big time now. Right, right. I mean, I used to have to fight to get in during the Jordan years and stand wherever. I'd be looking through people. I didn't care.

Like the whole thing. But it had that feel to it. Like, it's not like that on given night. So it made me remember what it was like when, for instance, Derek Rose, was there or the Jordan years and what it can be if that is to arise again. But it was cool, man.

Deceit. And LeBron, like, breakaway dunk in the first quarter of that game brought the house down at the United Center. He had three dunks in the first half. He did. And I think he kind of like, like they're obviously the Lakers are pretty good.

But there was also, there's a showman factor when LeBron comes to Chicago too. Not only that, but I told Lila this. They definitely remember what happened last year. First of all, they got beat down. give up 145 or 146 points in LA in the first meeting. And then less than a week later, they come to Chicago and Josh Giddy says, watch this from half-course.

Yes, that's right. You think Luca and LeBron don't remember that? They came out with that type of avenging energy. It's a good point. Yeah, like that had to be on their mind, the entertainment factor a little bit. But yeah, you're right. Did it feel like LeBron's last game in Chicago? Not necessarily.

It just felt like another LeBron game to me, just watching him like I've watched him a hundred times at the United States. Center in multiple uniforms. It just looked like LeBron, man. It's not the same. I get it. I'm not going to go crazy. You say not the same, but that did not look any bit of 41. He doesn't.

He doesn't. And look, I am all day, every day, every second. MJ over LeBron in that debate, and I don't even want to do the debate. That's not what I'm trying to do right now. So just understand where I'm coming from. I am a complete Michael Jordan loyalist, but I can certainly appreciate a superstar like LeBron James who comes out there. And even the people who

hate LeBron or say they hate LeBron probably couldn't help but jumping out of their seats when he had his first breakaway jam. What's interesting is, as you know, it's the Pacers on the schedule tonight. They've already lost twice to a Pacer's team with 11 wins. I know. They've lost twice to a Pacer's team

with 11 wins. They've also lost to the Brooklyn Nets. They've also lost to the Utah Jazz. And in the same breath, I say, all of that because you look at some of the teams that they've been able to beat this season and it's like who are you guys? You know, they're perfectly 23 and 23.

They're 23 and 23. A lot of that has to do with the injuries. Like they won't have Trey Jones tonight. I expect them to win tonight and I think they're going to be the ones remembering what happened in those first two weeks. Now they have Josh Kitty. Still unclear. Y'all would have single digit wins if it wasn't for us.

They'd have nine wins that's a real statement. Yeah. That's a real statement. I speak in truth. And so what's interesting about this stretch of their season is they now play four games in the next five nights. And the first game is the one straight ahead of us. But how can you not, after witnessing what we witnessed last year? Last year, Grotie, how can you not think back to the play in and feel like this three games coming up?

Home against Miami, day off, back-to-back away games at Miami is not somewhat of an in-season tournament. play in style that will determine perhaps what our church Karnashovus and Mark Eversley famously dubbed Acme decide to do. And whatever it is, I hope it's better than what happens to Wiley Coyote every time he uses an Acme product. The one thing I worry about, and that is the Bulls get a week in Miami. Isn't that nice? Right?

Because that's what essentially it would be? Yeah. I guess they probably, after that, if they're doing the players and the wives and the families, any justice? Because I used to see this with the Cubs. You think they take them on the trip? Probably, you know, I don't know how it works in the NBA, but I do remember when I was doing pre and post with the Cubs and lucky enough to be on their charter, that when they went on the West Coast trips, big friends and family, wives, kids for those trips to Arizona to Los Angeles, like San Francisco, all of a sudden, we're going to need a bigger plane is the way it would work. I love that for them.

And I love the opportunity that the Bulls have. I lament the fact that they are not in a position to make a trade for Janus Ante Kumpo, who's recovering from a calf strain. But whenever he's healthy, he's going to help someone in a major way. Bill Belichick has been on our minds today in the wild life that he has been living and something that has been pulled out from under him pertaining to the Hall of Fame. We'll go a little bit deeper on it next here on Rahimi. Harrison Grotie on the score.