When De'Aaron Fox was traded in early February, everyone was concerned about how the deal would affect the Sacramento Kings and San Antonio Spurs. However, as you'll recall, there was a third team involved in the trade: the Chicago Bulls. And so far, they have emerged as the clear winners of the deal.
The Chicago Bulls have won the De'Aaron Fox Trade (so far)
To start, let's look at the records of each team since the trade. Here is the record, win percentage, and net rating of every team since February 3 (the day after the trade):
Team | Record | Win Percentage | Net Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
Bulls | 12-12 | 50% | -0.1 |
Kings | 12-14 | 46.2% | -2.3 |
Spurs | 10-17 | 37% | -3.5 |
It isn't by much (and none of these teams have been world-beaters), by any stretch), but the Bulls have been playing the best basketball of the three over the last two months.
The disparity is even greater if you look at the last 12-14 games. Since March 5, the Kings are 4-10 (28.6% win percentage), the Spurs are 5-8 (38.5%), and the Bulls are 9-3 (75%).
There is some additional context that needs to be added here. The Spurs have been in full-on tank mode after losing Victor Wembanyama and De'Aaron Fox for the remainder of the season.
Meanwhile, while the Kings struggled to make their new pieces fit together, they have also been suffering from some terrible opponent shooting luck. Since March 5, opponents have been shooting 40.6% from three against the Kings, which is the highest mark of any team in the league.
As for the Bulls, they have had the seventh-lowest opponent three-point percentage during that stretch (34.8%). Plus, they have benefitted from playing some weaker teams in this recent run (like the Brooklyn Nets, Miami Heat, and Utah Jazz).
Still, what the Bulls are doing is certainly commendable. I don't believe that Zach LaVine is the empty-calorie player many people make him out to be. However, the Bulls have benefited from addition by subtraction. It is giving guys like Coby White, Josh Giddey, and Matas Buzelis more room to explore the study space, and they are capitalizing on this chance.
White, in particular, has shined bright with increased usage. In the month of March, White is averaging 29.1 PPG, 5 RPG, and 3.9 APG on 63.3% true shooting. He even became the second Bulls player (the other being Michael Jordan) to win back-to-back Eastern Conference Player of the Week awards.