Chicago Bulls Preview
You thought having no spacing is ugly? Check out having no talent.
Last Year:
What a disaster. If the lineup was a fantasy team, Rajon Rondo, Dwyane Wade, Jimmy Butler, Taj Gibson, and Robin Lopez would be a talented starting group. But basketball talent isn’t additive, it has to fit, and that Bulls lineup had no floor spacing. General manager Gar Forman decided the best way to maximize coach Fred Hoiberg’s pace and space offense was to construct a roster with no floor spacing. Oh, and arguably their best 3 point shooter Doug McDermott? Traded alongside Taj Gibson midseason for Cameron Payne (3rd or 4th point guard on the depth chart), Joffrey Lauvergne (12.1 ineffective minutes per game), and Anthony Morrow (only played 9 games).
Sure, the Bulls made the playoffs off a tiebreaker over the Heat, but this was a flawed roster. In an NBA world where talent is distributed by cap space, opportunity cost is key. And the opportunity cost for constructing this flawed roster was way too high. The future looked bleak.
Fast forward to draft day, and somehow management screwed the Bulls even more. Jimmy Butler, a star player on a good contract entering his prime, was traded for Kris Dunn (arguably the worst player in the league with consistent playing time), Zach LaVine (torn ACL, non-entity on defense even when healthy), and the 7th pick which translated to Lauri Markkanen. Just getting those three should not have been good enough to trade away Butler, but the Bulls somehow managed to bless the Timberwolves with the 16th pick too (which turned into Justin Patton, a pick and roll center with good defensive potential, would have been a great fit next to Markkanen and they have the same timeline).
On top of this, the team decided for some reason to sell (i.e. trade for money, not assets) the 38th pick of the draft, which turned into Jordan Bell, a versatile defensive big who impressed at Oregon. Cash is a non-factor for billionaire owners in the NBA, and rebuilding is about stockpiling assets. Good luck finding someone who can rationalize the rebuilding Bulls selling a pick for nothing.
Draft From The Past:
7th pick, Lauri Markkanen. The sweet shooting 7 footer from Finland is similar to Bulls player Nikola Mirotic. Not the perfect comparison but the Bulls don’t have a lot of bigs whose best skill is outside shooting. However, Mirotic did not shoot well (34.2% from 3), so Markkanen could outplay him, and this year’s iteration of the Bulls could employ the pace and space offense, keyword being “could.” Markkanen is an excellent pick ’n’ pop power forward with defensive and rebounding limitations, but the situation he is entering is not ideal for his talents. The lineup will either be Dunn, Wade, LaVine, Markkanen, Lopez or LaVine, Wade, free agent 3, Markkanen, Lopez. In either case neither Dunn nor LaVine are players who set up others. Dunn showed that he can’t run an offense last year, and LaVine and Wade are both shoot first players. This offense tanked Mirotic’s shooting (because he was literally the only person who could, so defenses knew exactly what he was going to do), so good luck Markkanen.
Offseason Priority:
Lose Wade/Rondo and sign young players other teams gave up on. The selling Butler for 50…. I mean 20 cents on the dollar trade happened after Wade opted into his player option worth $23.8 million. Rondo is also due $13.4 million next year (albeit only 3 million is guaranteed if he is waived by June 30). Moving those two players whose only function is sabotaging the tank will be extremely beneficial for the Bulls. The team has a decent amount of cap space that won’t amount to anything because no good free agent in or past their prime would want to join that rebuilding project, so Chicago can take in bad salary to facilitate losing Wade and Rondo (although both of those players are on bad contracts too). Stretching or buying out one of them is also possible, and while that essentially wastes a lot of money, it could benefit the Bulls.
Free Agent Tinder Superlike:
Otto Porter Jr. The Bulls don’t have a small forward right now. They also need young talent to grow with that can blossom into stars in a few years. Porter fits both descriptions, as his breakout season last year with the Wizards showed fantastic shooting and great defense. Porter scored 13.4 points on 51.6% shooting and 43.4% from 3, and although a lot of that can be attributed to the greatness of John Wall setting up the offense, the potential for Porter is definitely there. Porter is a restricted free agent, and there is a huge difference between Wall and Beal drawing defenses in versus Dunn and LaVine never passing you the ball. But with losing Rondo and a few extra pieces they shouldn’t intend to keep anyways (oh, hi, Michael Carter Williams), the Bulls will have max space for Porter, so why not? This is a tinder superlike, just swipe up, cross your fingers, and imagine how you’re going to grow old together.
Other free agents Bulls could target include Shabazz Muhammad, Tony Snell, Reggie Bullock, and K.J. McDaniels. All of them are small forwards who could be realistically acquired due to not fitting well in their previous teams.
One Defining Stat:
47.9% 2-point percentage (29th in the league). The 3-point percentage is not good, and the Bulls don’t take a lot of threes, but what jumped out is the consequence of having a clogged offense. The Bulls ranked 29th in the league in 2 point percentage, of which they have taken the 3rd most at 64.8. Not having shooters space the floor not only means you can’t hit outside shots, it also makes shots inside more difficult because there is more traffic.
How Far Away Are They?
Well they’re going to be pretty close to winning next year’s lottery. The Bulls have one of the worst rosters in the league, and they would be wise to tank. So at least 5 years until they get back into championship contention.
The Up & Under:
The Up: Dunn makes an unprecedented improvement and plays like a competent point guard on offense. LaVine’s ACL is completely healed, he realizes passing is cool, and he finds out that defense is 50% of basketball. Paul Zipser improves into a very solid rotation piece. The team actually plays Hoiberg’s pace and space offense. Markkanen plays well and learns to use his 7-foot frame to rebound more like Dirk Nowitzki and less like Andrea Bargnani. Team goes 24–58, wins the lottery.
The Under: Dunn stays who he is, a 37.7% FG shooter and 28.8% 3pt shooter who can’t attack the rim and can’t set up his teammates. LaVine is never the same after his ACL tear. Markkanen, devoid of players passing the ball to him, turns into a bust who gets run off the floor every time he steps on due to his defensive limitations. Wade stays and somehow drags the team 35 wins, giving them the 12th pick. Gar Forman is rewarded with the GM position for life, team stays in NBA purgatory until he dies.
