The Golden State Warriors and Chicago Bulls have been regularly linked as potential trade partners over the last 12 months, but the reality is that the two franchises haven't pulled off a deal since a draft night trade involving Jordan Bell in 2017.
The Warriors have had various interest in the likes of Alex Caruso and Zach LaVine previously, but it's Nikola Vucevic and Coby White that might have the Bulls most regretful over their stagnation in the past 12 months.
Bulls are quickly regretting failed discussions with Warriors
Golden State had real interest in Vucevic at one time last season, having desperately needed a center and with the veteran big man still posting a very solid 18.5 points, 10.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists on 40.2% 3-point shooting.
A deal may have got done if Chicago's asking price wasn't so high, leaving them stuck in a worse position leading into this deadline and regretful of their previous stance according to Andrew Hanlon of Pippen Ain't Easy.
..."Despite remaining productive at 35, (Vucevic) comes with all the same flaws he did last season, chief among them a lack of foot speed and rim protection. Those two things generally decline with age, not improve," Hanlon wrote. If the Bulls could've extracted a few second-round picks from any team last February, they should've been happy to sign on the dotted line and move on."
While the Warriors are probably glad they didn't trade for Vucevic, they could have perhaps benefited from acquiring dynamic young guard Coby White. For what it's worth, there wasn't any concrete reports stating Golden State held interest in the 25-year-old, but there was some speculation to the point where ESPN's Anthony Slater (formerly of The Athletic) even proposed a hypothetical deal involving Moses Moody and draft capital.
The Bulls also held a level of interest in Jonathan Kuminga during the offseason, albeit were handicapped slightly by their own restricted free agency drama with Josh Giddey. Perhaps a deal involving Kuminga and White would have been best for both parties, with Chicago now "more open to trading White than they've ever been" according to NBA insider Marc Stein on Sunday.
It remains to be seen whether the Warriors or other teams will be able to meet the Bulls' asking price on White leading into the deadline, or whether they're now scared off at the prospect of his looming free agency in a way they may not have been during the summer.
White is averaging a team-high 21.2 points to go with 3.5 rebounds and 5.2 assists this season, but he's shooting less than 30% from 3-point range. Not making him more available in the offseason, and not executing a deal with Golden State on Vucevic 12 months ago, could continue to haunt the Bulls as trade speculation ramps up before the February 5 deadline.