Top Six Bulls Stories of 2018
For just about all of Bulls Nation, 2018 can’t end fast enough. The Bulls went through more twists, turns and drama than anything resembling a competent franchise would over the same period. But everyone has moments than define their calendar year for better or worse, and the Bulls are no exception. That said, here are the six moments that most stood out for them in chronological order.
Nikola Mirotic traded
Mirotic, the final holdover from the Tom Thibodeau era, was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans. In return, the Bulls received, among other things, a first-round pick that became Chandler Hutchison. At the time of the trade, Mirotic’s season had included taking a punch from Bobby Portis and leading the Bulls to enough wins that threatened their draft position. He was just as responsible for the Bulls ending up with the seventh pick as Sean Kilpatrick.
Lauri Markkanen makes All-Rookie First Team
In trading Jimmy Butler, the Bulls found their next centerpiece in Markkanen. His 15.2 points and 7.5 rebounds a game landed him a spot on the NBA All-Rookie First Team. Joining him were Donovan Mitchell, Jayson Tatum, Kyle Kuzma and Ben Simmons, all of whom could provide their respective franchises with years of excitement. And despite missing the first 23 games of his second season, a more muscular Markkanen picked up right where he left off, averaging 17.2 points in his first 14 contests.
Bulls draft Wendell Carter Jr.
After a period of moaning that the draft lottery was an indictment on how the Bulls didn’t lose enough in 2017–18, the speculation as to who they would take in a deep draft began. They went with what many viewed as the safe pick in Duke big man Wendell Carter Jr. The rookie has started every game at center with averages of 10.7 points, seven rebounds and 1.5 blocks a game. While he might never be more than a solid role player, he could be a valuable piece on a winning team in the future, and an All-Rookie selection would support that possibility.
Jabari Parker saga
When the Bulls signed the Chicago native to a two-year, $40 million contract, there was plenty of hope that he could be reborn after four seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks that mainly were plagued by injuries. But while Parker stayed healthy and provided sufficient scoring at 15.2 points a game, his defense was lacking, and it happened while shooting a career-low 45.5 percent from the field and averaging a career-high 2.6 turnovers a game. Despite hope that he would come around, Parker finally fell out of the rotation. He’s sat on the bench in each of the past eight games while the Bulls look at possible trade partners for him.
Injury bug hits
The Bulls might have better than 10–27 had they not had some horrible luck with health early in the season. Markkanen suffered a significant injury in the very first practice, and once the games started counting, Kris Dunn and Portis followed suit. While all three eventually returned, a fourth player, Denzel Valentine, never even got a chance before having season-ending ankle surgery. One can’t help wondering how different the Bulls’ record would be had things turned out differently, though that’s probably a pipe dream.
Hoiberg out, Boylen in
With the Bulls off to a 5–19 start, the decision was made to fire Fred Hoiberg as head coach and immediately grant the same role to associate head coach Jim Boylen. Drama quickly developed during Boylen’s first week as not only did the Bulls suffered their worst loss ever, but the players nearly threatened to not show up to a practice Boylen decided to schedule the very next day even though it was supposed to be a day off. It wasn’t until the development of a leadership committee that the fire was put out, at least for the moment. Boylen’s most noticeable improvement has been on defense, with the Bulls allowing 102.6 points a game since he took over (sixth in the NBA), a stark contrast to the 113 points a game the Bulls were allowing before (24th in the NBA).
