Now that the Bulls' season is over, what can they look forward to?
Now that the Bulls' season is over, what can they look forward to?
The Chicago Bulls' season predictably ended Wednesday night in the play-in, where the Miami Heat kicked the Bulls in the teeth, and that's all she wrote on a season that proved consistently inconsistent, with no sign of an organizational path forward.
The team did trade former All-Star Zach LaVine at the deadline, deciding to empower offseason acquisition Josh Giddey and the already-established Coby White. The result was a modest bump in the dead months of March and April, as Bulls management seems ready to invest in Giddey after the Australian displayed numerous games with solid raw stats.
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The Bulls failed to be proactive at the deadline with a major contractual issue involving White, who can leave as a free agent in 2026, meaning loads of questions will hover around the 6-foot-5 guy throughout next season.
The Bulls' Nikola Vučević and Josh Giddey saw their season come to an end against the Miami Heat at the United Center on Wednesday. (Photo by Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
(Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
One player who is under contract long term is former lottery pick Patrick Williams, who signed a five-year deal last offseason worth $90 million. The 6-8 forward responded to that vote of confidence by averaging nine points and 3.8 rebounds and connecting on 39.7% of his shots, making it difficult for the Bulls to pivot off him this summer.
Unsurprisingly, Chicago played itself back into mediocrity, and that's despite a much-improved shot-profile that saw the Bulls take more 3s than any other point in its franchise history and generally play a more modern style of offensive basketball.
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Now the focus shifts to the offseason, which could prove to be just as challenging, given that executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnišovas believes Chicago's future should consist of having "nine to 10 very good players" while downplaying the need for a real franchise-altering star. Good luck with that.
2024-25 record: 39-43
Highlight of the season
The play of rookie Matas Buzelis, who has genuine star upside. The 6-10 forward is utterly fearless, wildly athletic and proved to be a much better shooter than originally believed.
Biggest offseason need
Let's not beat around the bush. Chicago's unorthodox plan — if you can even call it that — has no merit in reality, so the biggest need for the Bulls this offseason is change. Change in ownership, who keeps empowering weak front offices. Change in management, which lacks any sense of progressive creativity. Change in every branch of the organizational tree is drastically needed.
Projected draft picks (pre-lottery)
Nos. 13 and 45
Draft focus
The Bulls got a good one in Buzelis, and now the mission should be obvious: add another player of similar quality to pair with the explosive forward. The draft is the one place where lottery luck could force their hand into a full-on rebuild, which is very much needed. The Bulls simply aren't in a position to allow themselves to think about players with specific skill sets in the draft. They just need talent, full stop.
Key free agents
Josh Giddey (RFA)
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Tre Jones (UFA)
Salary-cap breakdown
The Bulls are historically great at avoiding the luxury tax and are in a potentially interesting situation in regards to Giddey, who is likely to ask for the moon after accumulating seven triple-doubles on the season.
Can the Bulls afford a deal in the $30 million-a-year range, while still hanging onto Williams, Nikola Vučević and Lonzo Ball, only to go into 2026 needing to offer White a deal that's likely going to start in the $35 million-a-year range? Eventually, something's gotta give if the organization wishes to avoid the tax once again.
Next season's goal
Another round of exciting NBA play-in competition?
Kidding aside, the Bulls are likely to attempt the impossible, which is to build from the middle, so the goal will be to identify hidden value in every external acquisition to optimize their own path toward a genuine playoff berth in 2026. Unfortunately for the Bulls, there are much smarter front offices out there that will likely spot value players long before they make it onto Chicago's radar. Have a seat, Bulls fans. You could be in for a few years of deafening mediocrity.
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