The Chicago Bulls are drowning. They have a record of 9-14, and 12th on the Eastern Conference, while winning only three of their final 10 games? Yikes. It's time to make some changes.

The Los Angeles Lakers have reportedly privately discussed a trade proposal which would bring DeMar DeRozan as well as Nikola Vucevic to La La Land. In this hypothetical deal the Bulls would get the former All-Star Russell Westbrook and the Purple and Gold's 2027 and 2029 initial round selections.

However, there are a lot of reasons why that the Bulls should make a move on this deal to the Lakers.

3. Mediocrity is the death sentence
In the present NBA front office, the players are prepared to be able to live and die by two routes: they wish for their team to be among the top 6 seeds of either conference, with hopes of winning the championship or at minimum, an opportunity to make it to reaching the finals of their conference. Executives are also willing to drop until they are at the bottom, freeing the cap space for potential free agents, boosting confidence into youngsters to find out what their ceiling is and hoping that a lottery ball will be to their advantage.

As of now at the moment, the Bulls aren't taking either path. They are currently at 12th place and are still aiming for the playoffs, and are not likely to make a lot of noise. In light of that, it's the right time for the general director Marc Eversley to hit the exile button. This isn't the group of players that can make the Bulls an elite team once in the future.

DeMar DeRozan is still a bucket, but he's becoming older. Zach LaVine has not looked like the same player since surgery. And Nikola Vucevic's shortcomings tend to obscure what he actually brings in the room. Lonzo Ball appears to be a long way from returning back on court let alone his previous performance prior to his injury. It's time for this team to go. The idea of lingering over the play-in tournament in the next few years only hinders towards the tank that will eventually be empty.

2. The Bulls front office has to answer for its actions
The Bulls front office made a trade with Vucevic to acquire Wendell Carter Jr., Otto Porter, and two first-rounders. When you look back this year, the Bulls will probably be reluctant to trade Vucevic once more, considering that Vucevic's behavior isn't worth losing two picks in the first round and a competent young man with the name of Carter Jr.

The team signed DeRozan on a 3 year $85 million contract and also signed Zach LaVine to a five-year maximum contract. That's a lot of money that is tied to an old star and injured bucket-getter. In contrast to the Vucevic deal, there are some mistakes to be expected but. In the end, the front offices must hire their stars to stay for a long time.

But they also need to be aware of when it's time to look at alternatives beyond those stars in the case of the Bulls they're ready to press the reset button.

The Orlando Magic own the Bulls selection in the coming draft, assuming an unlucky Top-4 selection. The idea of staking your bets on a chance to land in the top four isn't the best option, but pairing this potential shot with Lakers draft picks makes trading more appealing from the Bulls from a perspective.

The years 2027 to 2029 are the ones when LeBron James is likely to be retiring, or joining Bronny's son's team. Anthony Davis could still be an Los Angeles Lakers player, however his contract is likely to expire in 2027 and he'll be 33 in 2027. We have seen what happened to the Lakers following Kobe Bryant retired, and the front office has displayed certain levels of incompetence during the LeBron time. Being able to get the Lakers picks, after having lost important ones in the trade with Vucevic could be a chance to salvage the future of the Bulls team.

They can also serve as trading bait, instead of simply taking a shot at the next big international or college athlete.

Russell Westbrook also holds a contract that expires in the year $47 million. It is believed that the Bulls are a long-standing team with a bit of a reputation as a destination for free-agents. LeBron was a fan of his options with the Bulls when he signed his first contract to the Miami Heat, as did Davis before signing as a player with the Lakers. The trade will bring in important selections, while creating cap space to sign free agents in the future.

In that case, the Bulls must make a move on this deal prior to it is too late and the Lakers decide to move at a different route.