Waiting too long is what the Chicago Bulls are best at.

Year after year, this team refused to fully press down on the reset button. It’s why they ended up with three consecutive Play-In Tournament losses. It’s also why they watched (*takes deep breath*) Alex Caruso, DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, Alex Caruso, Lonzo Ball, Nikola Vucevic, Coby White, and Ayo Dosunmu all depart the organization without netting the Bulls a single extra first-round pick.

To Arturas Karnisovas’ rare credit, the Bulls did finally accept reality in recent weeks. They started the roster teardown that many fans and analysts have called for over the last couple of seasons. However, once again, it sure feels like this franchise might be seeing the painful effects of waiting too long.

Tanking Just Got That Much Harder for the Bulls …

Significantly improving their lottery luck will be a challenge. While the Bulls have lost ten of their last eleven games, they have still only dropped one spot out of the Play-In Tournament picture. The Milwaukee Bucks could soon push them further down the totem pole, but making up any additional ground may not be in the cards.

There is currently a three-game gap between the Bulls and the Grizzlies, who currently sit with the lottery’s 8th-highest odds. After trading Jaren Jackson Jr. at the deadline, the franchise also finds itself in the thick of the tank race. So, would the Bulls really be able to catch up?

Even if the organization tried its absolute hardest to plummet down the leaderboard, the NBA may have something to say about it. Tanking has now become such a blatant issue in league circles that Commissioner Adam Silver finally made an example out of two teams this week.

The league sent out a memo on Thursday that shared news of a $500,000 fine for the Utah Jazz, as well as a $100,000 fine for the Indiana Pacers. The announcement comes in the wake of the Jazz sitting both Lauri Markkanen and Jackson Jr. during the fourth quarter of a winnable game despite both being active and healthy.

The 2026 NBA Draft is one of the deepest the league has seen in years. There are at least three players viewed as potential superstar talents, with a handful more who would be considered excellent consolation prizes. With that in mind, it’s not at all surprising that many teams have thrown their hat in the ring this early. But that’s also part of the problem.

The timing likely has a lot to do with the NBA’s harsh messaging. Teams still have roughly a month and a half to go before the end of the regular season, and the last thing the league wants is to see nearly a quarter of the league flushing games down the toilet.

“Overt behavior like this that prioritizes draft position over winning undermines the foundation of NBA competition and we will respond accordingly to any further actions that compromise the integrity of our games, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “Additionally, we are working with our Competition Committee and Board of Governors to implement further measures to root out this type of conduct.”

Often looking the other way, the league office has seemingly reached its breaking point. And that sure isn’t promising news for a Bulls team that finally decided to join the party.

Now, does this mean we’re suddenly going to see every team swimming in the depths of the NBA swim upstream? No. The league will still have a hard time pushing back against potential injury designations or an organization’s choice to develop young talent. This could very well be the Bulls’ strategy to continue on their current track, as there are long-term benefits to playing guys like Rob Dillingham and Jaden Ivey more than veterans like Anfernee Simons or Collin Sexton.

However, this is already a Bulls franchise that has been so hesitant to go down this road in the past. Could a warning signal like this be enough to stop them in their tracks? Could it give head coach Billy Donovan reason enough to continue pushing for the postseason? If one thing is for sure, this doesn’t feel like an ownership group that would like to be handed a $500,000 fine!

The oddly good news is that the Bulls roster might not be good enough for this to matter at all. Heck, they haven’t won a single game since the trade deadline, anyway. But there is no question that the league has now thrown a wrench into many plans across the league, and the timing of that wrench sure feels awful for the Bulls. Should have tanked sooner!