Basketball is not a sport, it's a way of life.
#24 in the LBB end of the season team rankings...
I know that the preferred narrative around the Bulls is one of almost chiding disappointment. Yet, despite several gutting injuries and questionable double-downs on decisions, the team is a combined 125-121 over the last three seasons and has made the playoffs in ’22 and the play-in the last two years. Is that exciting? Not particularly. Is that as disreputable as the narratives like to make it sound? No. This is a middling team that has amassed a decent collection of talent, both young and old, but has never been able to put it all together following the injury to Lonzo Ball. There is enough here to be a fringe playoff team again, or to be a team that could have a strong collection of assets, so the position they find themselves in this summer is far from untenable.
#24 Chicago Bulls
Record: 39-43 (20th); 96.94 Pace (28th); 114.0 Offensive Rating (19th); 115.7 Defensive Rating (22nd); -1.7 Net Rating (20th)
Total Salary Cap Allocations: $221,026,489 (6th)
Cap Space: $-80,026,489 (25th)
Current Roster: Lonzo Ball, Onuralp Bitim, Jevon Carter, Alex Caruso, Ayo Dosunmu, Andrew Funk, Zach LaVine, Julian Phillips, Dalen Terry, Nikola Vucevic, Coby White
Key Free Agents: Torrey Craig (Unrestricted – Player Option), DeMar DeRozan (Unrestricted), Andre Drummond (Unrestricted), Javonte Green (Unrestricted), Adama Sanogo (Restricted – Two-Way), Patrick Williams (Restricted)
Single Word Description: Inertia
Biggest Positive: Coby White. I’m not going to lie, I did not see the Coby White star turn happening. After starting just 19 games combined over the prior two seasons and seeing his scoring numbers and efficiency continuously drop, it seemed like White’s destiny heading into this year was as a reserve who ideally could get hot and provide scoring punch off the bench. But White clearly changed his offensive approach, and in doing so, unlocked a player that now looks to be a fringe All-Star level performer. The former 7th overall pick by Chicago in the 2019 draft became a much more aggressive downhill attacker, using his quick first step and 6’5" frame to punish teams for closing out hard on him at the three-point line by getting into the paint at the highest volume of his five-year career. White attempted 54% of his field goals from two-point range, his highest percentage ever, and only the second time in his five years of NBA play that he has attempted a higher percentage of his field goals from inside the arc. White diversifying his shot diet not only made him a far more complete scorer but a much more efficient one, as he shot a career-high 44.7% from the field on his way to a career-best 19.1 points per game. Even better for the Bulls as they possibly try to build around White, he signed an incredibly team-friendly three-year, $36 million deal last offseason, making him one of the best value contracts in the league for the next couple of years.
Biggest Negative: Inaction. Let me preface this by saying that the persistent narrative surrounding the Bulls is a bit too negative considering that the team has remained consistently competitive despite getting little from Zach LaVine, less from Patrick Williams, and literally nothing from Lonzo Ball last season. Not many teams would be capable of withstanding injuries to presumably three of their top eight players and remain a unit capable of hovering around .500. Clearly the Ball injury two and a half years ago was an inflection point for this group and remains one of those unfortunate sliding door moments. However, the reality is that fan bases and the media now demand that a team be heading in a clear direction towards success or rebuilding, so the Bulls' unwillingness to make any substantive moves over the last three seasons now feels like complacency. That’s not totally fair, but the Bulls' hand is in many ways finally being forced this offseason, as they have to make some important decisions on the direction of this team and the players who fit within that paradigm, as this just feels like a group whose parts are greater than their sum.
What’s Next: If DeMar DeRozan is re-signed this offseason, then it’s likely business as usual, though I would fully expect the Bulls to at least do everything they can to deal Zach LaVine during an offseason where several teams will be looking for his scoring ability at the shooting guard position—ORL, PHI, or DET could be suitors. The Patrick Williams contract negotiations loom large, as this is a front office that has made it clear that they don’t like to admit error, and at still just 23 years old, with a beguiling past of flashes and crashes, he’s the type of player you don’t want to break the bank for, but also don’t want to see pop somewhere else after the time and energy the team has invested in him. My guess is that another franchise comes in off the top rope and overpays for him, but I do not envy Bulls brass having to decide what that figure looks like—though anything that locks you in over $25 million for four years should be the absolute line of demarcation. Andre Drummond was good for Chicago last year, and honestly, if they could get something for Nikola Vucevic and just try to re-sign Drummond, they should do so in a heartbeat. But again, that requires a tacit admission of folly that I’m just not sure they are capable of. At age 33, Torrey Craig will likely opt out of his player option in an attempt to get one last relatively substantial payday, and with him being a decent option as a versatile defender who can shoot it a bit, he’ll probably be priced out of Chicago’s plans.
What They Shouldn’t Do: Continue to run with these Bulls. For the love of God, please just don’t let this roster look like the same underwhelming group that it’s been over the last couple of years. There are several players on the roster (Caruso, LaVine, Vucevic) who are depreciating assets that are not capable of moving the needle enough to continue to sit on them. Keeping Caruso as a culture setter because of his defensive play and infectious energy is something that could be convincing, but the smart move for Chicago is to finally take a few steps back, collect assets, and try to reimagine the team in a couple of years around some of the younger players currently on the roster and taken in the coming draft.
Is There Hope?: I guess that really depends on expectations. With Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu, the team has a good young backcourt that I think could be built upon were they to decide to liquidate assets this summer and reset. However, if they more or less run it back, they’ll likely forfeit their draft pick in next year’s draft, which goes to San Antonio if out of the top 10, and we’ll be looking at the same level of mediocrity that has been the norm for two and a half seasons.
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