Trading Gibson and his expiring contract is no surprise. McDermott probably needed a change of scenery after underachieving from the time he was drafted in 2014. I'll miss the longest tenured Bull and a player I thought could have done so much more in Chicago.
As for the haul the Bulls got, none will really change the fortunes of the team, at least not in the short term. Payne becomes the latest in a bunch of point guards auditioning for the long-term starting job. If Nikola Mirotic or Bobby Portis don't get the regular start at power forward, figure Lauvergne will have a chance to earn some minutes. Morrow, 31, gives Rajon Rondo a fellow veteran presence off the bench.
Payne has the most promise of the three given his age and the Bulls' need for a point guard, but the other two deserve a chance to shine as well. At this point, every player who puts on a Bulls uniform is auditioning to be part of the next core to make a run at a championship, especially if they're young. While that can be true of any new player at any time, the Bulls are at a crossroads right now. They need to see who's worth their money both now and in the long run.
The question going forward for this season is will this knock the Bulls out of the playoff picture? It might have been easier to say yes if the Eastern Conference wasn't as putrid as it's been this century. But it's tough to succeed without a post player with the caliber of Gibson. Then again, a time when you're trying to develop the future of your franchise should be more about just that and not necessarily the playoffs, extra revenue be damned (though that's something the Reinsdorfs probably don't want to hear).
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