The rebuild arrived late for the Chicago Bulls, but as the saying goes, it’s better to show up late than never, and Chicago finally walked into the party carrying a bowl of roster-shaking decisions that altered the direction of the franchise in early February.

For years, the Bulls resisted large-scale changes, choosing instead to stay competitive enough to hover around mediocrity while avoiding the uncomfortable but often necessary phase of tearing down and rebuilding.

However, executive Artūras Karnišovas finally broke that cycle during the first week of February, orchestrating a flurry of trades that shipped out seven players in exchange for second-round picks and several young talents seeking a fresh opportunity.

The return package was underwhelming in terms of star value, but it reflected the unavoidable truth: Chicago waited too long to make decisive moves, and the market responded accordingly with limited leverage and modest offers.

Still, the Bulls made the important first step — accepting reality and resetting the roster — and even if the haul was small, the strategic impact could turn significant by the time the NBA Draft Lottery arrives in May.

Chicago’s new direction has already begun affecting its placement within the lottery standings, as the team’s losses and deadline moves have quietly increased their odds of landing a valuable top selection.

Since the trade deadline, the Bulls have slipped behind both the Charlotte Hornets and the Milwaukee Bucks in the standings, sliding into the ninth slot and improving their statistical chance at securing a Top-4 pick.

If the lottery were held today, Chicago would possess a 20.3 percent chance of landing a Top-4 selection and a 4.5 percent shot at earning the No. 1 overall pick, which is significant given their previous refusal to lean into lottery positioning.

Those odds would rise even higher — to 26.3 percent and 6.0 percent respectively — if the Bulls were to fall behind the Memphis Grizzlies, who sit 2.5 games worse and currently hold the eighth-best lottery odds.

Suddenly, what once seemed unthinkable inside the Advocate Center has become an opportunity: obtaining a franchise-altering draft pick through a strategic embrace of short-term losing.

Historically, the Bulls have rejected any form of tanking philosophy, often citing “competitive integrity” as the foundation of their identity, yet their long-standing resistance may finally be softening in this transitional season.

Given that Chicago may not realistically contend for meaningful playoff positioning in the coming months, maximizing lottery odds could be the smartest approach — one the organization has rarely been willing to consider.

If the Bulls were still reluctant to embrace a full tank — and the recent Jaden Ivey situation suggests they might be conflicted — then the NBA’s latest announcement may force their hand sooner than expected.

According to reporting from ESPN insider Shams Charania, NBA commissioner Adam Silver is preparing to implement sweeping anti-tanking rules that could take effect as early as next season.

Silver reportedly informed the league’s 30 governors that significant changes are under consideration, including freezing lottery odds at the All-Star break, preventing teams from securing Top-4 picks in consecutive years, implementing two-year record calculations, or flattening the odds entirely.

Charania also published a more detailed list of proposals, signaling that the league office is serious about cracking down on perceived intentional losing.

This push follows the NBA fining the Utah Jazz $500,000 and the Indiana Pacers $100,000 for conduct the league interpreted as tanking strategies, prompting Silver to acknowledge during All-Star Weekend that the trend appears more concerning this season than in previous years.

He emphasized the need for meaningful change, framing the reforms as necessary to protect competitive balance, fan trust, and the integrity of the league’s product.

For a franchise like the Bulls, the looming rule changes present both a blessing and a curse, depending on how aggressively they plan to use this transitional period to reshape their future.

On one hand, the upcoming anti-tanking rules could benefit Chicago long term by reducing the downside of being stuck in mediocrity, as flattened odds and tougher limitations would prevent deep-bottom teams from dominating the lottery year after year.

On the other hand, if Chicago truly intended to capitalize on a short-term tank for the first time in over a decade, the timing is disastrous, potentially cutting short the window during which such a strategy could produce maximum reward.

If the league proceeds with freezing lottery odds at the All-Star break, the Bulls’ current standings may end up locking in place before they can fully lean into a bottom-tier finish.

Even so, the Bulls remain only 2.5 games away from the eighth-best lottery odds, making the opportunity still attainable with a sustained stretch of losses or continued lineup experimentation designed to evaluate young talent.

Ironically, continued struggles could align perfectly with the front office’s long-avoided transitional plan, especially considering the team has dropped 10 of its last 11 games and has not won consecutive matchups in nearly a month.

While some hope exists that the group could settle in after the trade deadline chaos, the Bulls have yet to display consistent chemistry, identity, or execution, making a late-season surge increasingly unlikely.

Given the circumstances, this may be the last season in which Chicago can meaningfully benefit from traditional lottery odds before Silver’s reforms reshape the landscape and erase the advantages typically gained by intentionally falling down the standings.

The situation presents the Bulls with a rare alignment of timing, necessity, and opportunity — a crossroads that could define the next era of the franchise depending on how decisively they act in the coming weeks.

If they embrace the strategy fully, they have a legitimate chance to secure a Top-4 pick in a class projected to contain several high-upside prospects capable of elevating their long-term rebuild.

If they resist, as they have in years past, they risk missing one final chance at obtaining a franchise cornerstone through the draft before new rules dramatically limit their ability to benefit from losing.

In either case, the Bulls must confront an organizational question that has lingered for years: will they finally commit to a direction, or will they once again drift into the murky middle tier that has defined their recent history?