Weak 2020 Free Agent Class Is A Problem for Bulls
Below are the best players from each upcoming free agency class. If there is one thing that should stick out, it is that one class is clearly better than the other. Better in terms of more All-Star talent, and also talent that is younger. The 2020 free agent class lacks firepower. Danny Leroux of The Athletic wrote an article recently highlighting this fact, and the article had me thinking. The next offseason is a key one, especially for younger teams looking to add top tier talent around their young core. If there is a time to do it, it will be 2019.
2019
Kyrie Irving (27), Kemba Walker (29), Kevin Durant (31), Jimmy Butler (29), Klay Thompson (29), Kahwi Leonard (28), Kristaps Porzingis (24), Tobais Harris (27), Kris Middleton (28), D’Angelo Russell (23),
2020
Anthony Davis (27), Kyle Lowry (34), Jeff Teague (32), Goran Dragic (34), Reggie Jackson (30), Draymond Green (30), Al Horford (34), Andre Drummond (27), Hassan Whiteside(31), Jaylen Brown (23), Brandon Ingram(23), Pascal Siakam (26)
The Chicago Bulls are a team with a young core, and a team who will be looking to add better talent around that core. The Bulls have cap space heading into 2019, a projected $40 million. That is enough for a max player. Problem is the Chicago Bulls are not a good basketball team, with uncertainty surrounding their head coaching position. And possibly a lack of trust in the current front office. But what should be more highlighted is that other teams will have cap space going into 2019. Teams that are currently better than the Chicago Bulls, or have 2 max contract spots available.
The New York Knicks are an example of the latter. While teams like Brooklyn, Denver, Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Sacramento are teams that have cap flexibility. And all arguably have better situations than the Bulls up to this point. That is a problem if you are Chicago.
The Bulls are set up to miss out on all the top tier free agents of 2019.
2020 would be a better opportunity for the Bulls to land a top free agent. As of now the Bulls should have max space but we do have to wait and see what happens with Portis along with any other moves they make this upcoming offseason. But assuming the Bulls don’t acquire significant money moving forward, the Bulls have 2020 cap flexibility.
As we talked earlier, there are not great options in free agency for 2020. Unless the Bulls can somehow convince Anthony Davis to come home ,which at this points seems like a dream, the Bulls aren’t signing a star in 2020 either.
Are we waiting until 2021?
If you are a young team like the Bulls who needs to surround their players with top tier talent, especially talent who fit their age timeline, they have set themselves up to fail when the opportunity is at its best. Now the Bulls will have to get creative, or get lucky. But the idea of waiting until 2021 is not a good one. Plus what will a Portis, Dunn, Markkanen extension look like then? With the addition of more draft picks and possible additional money. The Bulls need a plan for now. How are you going to make this bottom-five NBA team better before 2021?
I mentioned earlier how the Bulls are going to be competing against many teams in free agency, so they can’t just rely on it as their best means of improving the team.
It is possible they might have to start looking at trade ideas. Rumors have the Bulls listening to trade offers for everyone on their roster besides Lauri Makkanen and Wendell Carter Jr . To me that makes perfect sense. Why not get creative and see what a Zach Lavine or a Kris Dunn can get you? I could even argue you should listen to offers for Markkanen and WCJ as well. But the point is the Bulls have to start exploring all possibilities here. They can’t limit themselves.
If the Bulls want to compete for the playoffs within the next 2 seasons, they will have to be bold vs being safe. And by bold I mean consider trading anyone on your roster to also get better.
The weak 2020 free agent class is a problem for the Bulls because if they want to become better, they can’t just rely on an All-Star committing via free agency. There isn’t many in 2020, and the Bulls aren’t heading into the 2019 offseason on top of many player’s list. Even if they get a good player with their 2019 pick, how much impact can he make right away? Four, maybe five wins at the most? Do the Bulls want to finish in the lottery again next year? Perhaps the core will be healthy, develop together and start winning.
But the Bulls are listening to offers on some of their core players, which suggest to me that they feel their current youngsters may not be enough to pull the franchise out of the abyss. Unless the Bulls front office gets creative in their efforts to acquire more talent, they will likely be back in the lottery in 2020, and there is a good chance Chicago could be in the same position in 2021.
