It’s Groundhog Day, the perfect time to check out the latest developments out of Chicago, the City of Broad Rebuilds.
We wake up thinking it’s a different day and a different juncture in the “process,” but soon realize we might as well be back in 1999, or 2012, or 2016, to name but a few prominent rebuilding years for our local teams.
At last look, the Blackhawks and White Sox were still in the early stages of their rebuilds, while the Bulls remained stuck in rebuild purgatory, waiting for a trade of Zach LaVine to kick things off. The Sky started their rebuild by letting point guard Courtney Vandersloot leave in 2022, and are still in the same position as they re-signed Vandersloot on Saturday.
So what’s new?
Nothing much, starting with the White Sox.
No one expected the Sox to go on a spending spree this offseason, but with so many holes to fill and few prospects ready to fill them, you might have thought they’d binge on one or two big ticket items just to sell tickets after the record 121-loss season.
But White Sox general manager Chris Getz said last week he’s done with the “heavy lifting” for the offseason, which makes us worry about his weight-training regimen.
The Sox signed five free agents to major league contracts, four of whom are aged 30 or above, and all on one-year deals. The heavy lifting apparently was performed during the deal of ace Garrett Crochet to Boston for four prospects, which could pay off in the long run, unlike the deal of Chris Sale to Boston that started the last Sox rebuild in ’16.
But unless catcher Kyle Teel makes the team out of spring training, Sox fans will once again have to wait for the proverbial “next step forward.” Teel was one of the two main acquisitions in the Crochet trade, along with outfielder Braden Montgomery, who figures to spend most of the season at Double-A Birmingham. Both need to have success in Chicago for the deal to pay off.
The Sox’s 26-man roster projects to a payroll of $53.3 million, according to spotrac.com, which is second-lowest in the majors and above only the Miami Marlins’ $29.4 million. If they trade Luis Roberts Jr. and his $15 million salary, they’ll be in Marlins territory.
So are the Sox even trying to win in 2025?
“You know, we certainly are, and I’m sure Will (Venable) can echo this, we are looking to win baseball games,” Getz told reporters last week. “We are. I think we all know that winning is part of the development process. Now, with a young developing roster, there’s going to be moments where you have to take a step back and think bigger picture, long term, what’s best for them to reach their ceilings as players.”
Thinking “bigger picture” is the thought process every team executive stresses in every rebuild, including the Blackhawks.
Last year Hawks fans were on board with the losing since the 2023-24 season was all about Connor Bedard’s development.
But adding veterans Tyler Bertuzzi, Teuvo Teräväinen, Alec Martinez, T.J. Brodie and Pat Maroon was supposed to fast-forward the rebuild. Long story short: It didn’t, leading to the firing of coach Luke Richardson with an 8-16-2 record and the promotion of Rockford coach Anders Sorensen.
Sorensen said before his first game on Dec. 8 that the Hawks needed to improve by one 1% every day: “If it’s 1% per day, then over 30 days that’s 30%. We’re trying to get to that.” It’s been two months now, and the Hawks are 8-15-3 under Sorensen after Saturday’s 5-1 in Florida.
I’m no math major, but that’s not close to a 60% improvement.
Only Bertuzzi has come close to living up to expectations, and the Hawks entered Saturday with 37 points, second from the bottom in the league standings, ahead of only San Jose’s 36.
“Did I expect us to be better than second (to) last? I did,” general manager Kyle Davidson said last week. “But that doesn’t at all mean that I’m concerned about the bigger picture here.”
Davidson dumped forward Taylor Hall on Carolina in a three-team deal last week, getting a third-round pick back for a player who was acquired with great hype, along with Nick Foligno, from Boston in the summer of 2023. But injuries and ineffectiveness led to less ice time for the one-time Hart Trophy winner, and a surprising benching by Richardson early this season.
“They’re on a different timeline than my career is, so I get it, I understand it,” Hall told Hawks beat writers last week in Carolina. “I wanted to play more. I’m definitely a better player than the amount I was playing.”
That remains to be seen. Either way, the Hall trade could signal the start of a mini-fire sale before the March 7 trade deadline, with Ryan Donato and Seth Jones among those expected to be made available. It’s doubtful he can dump Jones’ contract, but for the sake of the rebuild Davidson has to give it a 1% effort every day, hoping to perhaps improve to a 30% chance by the trade deadline.
Speaking of deadlines, the Bulls are back in familiar play-in territory as they prepare for Thursday’s NBA trade deadline. They’re reportedly dangling LaVine and anyone not named Matas Buzelis, the rookie who had his best game Friday in the 122-106 win in Toronto.
Executive vice president of basketball operations Artūras Karnišovas famously hasn’t made a deadline deal the last three seasons, but has little choice but to do something to shake up a franchise that’s been treading water since Lonzo Ball’s original knee injury four years ago.
Ball, whose endurance has been impressive with additional minutes, could be his best available trade piece, though center Nikola Vučević, who is motivated to play for a contender, might bring more in return.
Karnišovas can’t kick off a true rebuild until LaVine is traded, but after two seasons of rumors Bulls fans will believe that when they see it.
Sky fans are ecstatic about the return of Vandersloot, but they’re still in need of scoring with the decision to not extend a qualifying offer to Chennedy Carter. Vandersloot averaged 6.4 points per game last year with the New York Liberty and isn’t going to turn back the clock.
The Sky finished second-to-last in WNBA scoring last season, and can’t depend on Angel Reese to be much more than a defensive stalwart. Reese was the least efficient player in the WNBA around the rim in her rookie season, shooting 44.5% inside the restricted area. Even with slight improvement scoring-wise, Reese probably won’t be effective enough to fast-forward the rebuild. And like the Sox, the Sky are not expected to shell out for any big-name free agents.
“Patience,” as usual, will be the buzzword for the architects of Chicago’s rebuilds, along with “big picture.”
We can still imagine a day when there are no more rebuilds to wait on.
But on this particular Groundhog Day, it’s still a dream deferred.
