Bulls 2022 Offseason Blueprint

The Chicago Bulls have been a bottom of the pack team for the last couple years. Over the past 2 seasons however, the organization made decisions to make the team relevant again. The team hired former Denver Nuggets’ general manager Artūras Karnišovas (AK) as executive vice president of operations and former Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Billy Donovan to revamp the front office. The new look office took the team in the right direction as they traded for former all star center Nikola Vucevic at the 2021 trade deadline to pair with budding star Zach LaVine. The following offseason, the team also acquired young two-way point guard Lonzo Ball, former all star forward DeMar DeRozan, and the defensive minded guard Alex Caruso. The team saw progress and were a consistent top 3 seed in the East but started to slip in the standings after the all star break. The new look Bulls finished the season with a 46-36 record as they secured the 6th seed but saw their season end at the hands of Giannis Antetokounmpo and the defending champ Milwaukee Bucks. Now that they went from lottery team to playoff contender, where do the Bulls go from here?

Current Roster

The chart below shows the current state of the roster. It displays how many players the team have at each position. The players in the first row are the starters. Here’s the key to better understand who’s a free agent and who’s still under contract.

Key:

• Unrestricted Free Agent

• Restricted Free Agent

• Player Option

• Team Option

Salary Cap

To explain the terms stated below, the salary cap is a set limit of money that teams can use to sign players. The NBA has a soft salary cap which means that teams can exceed the limit under certain circumstances, like retaining a player that’s already on the team. The luxury tax is a second limit for teams over the cap. Teams may go over the luxury limit, but there’s a tax for the money spent over the limit. The mid-level exception goes to teams over the cap but under the luxury tax and can be used for sign players to up to 4 years. The bi-annual exception is for teams that are under the luxury tax and did not use this same exception the previous year. This can be used to sign players for up to 2 years. A trade exception goes to a team that renounces more salary than they received in a previous trade. Now that you’re all caught up, here’s a look at the Bulls’ salary cap situation.

• -$43.8M in salary cap

• $10.2M mid-level exception

• $4M bi-annual exception

• $5M Daniel Theis trade exception (expires July 7th, 2022)

Draft Picks

The Bulls currently have the 18th overall pick in the NBA draft. They’re in the middle of the pack but just outside of the lottery. They are in a good position to take a bigman in this power forward/center heavy class, but the pick could also be a useful trade chip.

Key Players

The most important key to building a great team, let alone a championship team, is identifying the core. Below is a list of the best and most important players on the team’s roster. This does not include free agents.

In-House Free Agent Extensions

The organization’s main free agency priority is to retain their all star wing guard Zach LaVine. The 27 year old guard averaged 24.4 points per game, 4.6 rebounds per game, and 4.5 assists per game on 47/39/85 percent shooting splits. LaVine was the second leading scorer for the team and formed a great duo with DeRozan to lead Chicago to their first playoff appearance since 2017. He also underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee and is expected to make a full recovery. Because Zach did not make an all-NBA team, he’s not eligible for a supermax and can sign a 5 year, $212.3M extension with the Bulls. Chicago’s front office should try and see if he would sign for less to give the team more leeway and leverage to sign other players in free agency, but LaVine said he will keep an open mind in free agency. He’s also the biggest name in the free agent class so if it comes down to it, AK should be willing to pay LaVine the full max. He was the key piece in the Jimmy Butler trade from 2017 and the team has gone all in to build around him. It’s also been reported that LaVine is expected to resign with the team so it looks like the Bulls were already prioritizing his return. Another player the team should bring back is forward Derrick Jones. He’s a 25 year old who provides solid defense and shooting along with depth. Chicago should bring him back on a 2 year deal around $8-$10M with a team option.

Trade Assets

With the team over the cap, one of the better ways to better the team is by making trades. Below are listed some of the Bulls’ best trade chips and assets.

• Nikola Vucevic

• Zach LaVine (sign-and-trade if he wants to leave)

• Coby White (1 yr/$7.4M with $9.9M qualifying offer following year)

• 18th overall pick

Biggest Needs

The biggest needs for the team entering this offseason is defense and interior presence, depth in the frontcourt, and bench shooting to go with the depth. The team was 29th in rebounds per game (49.3), 25th in blocks per game (4), 27th in 3 point percentage allowed (36.7%), 26th in field goal percentage allowed (47.4%), 22nd in defensive rating (113.6), and 22nd in point in the paint allowed per game (49.3). The team shot pretty well as they were 4th in field goal percentage (47.6%), 9th in 3 point percentage (36.3%), and 10th in true shooting percentage (113.9%). The front office should look to add shooters at the forward positions since 4 of their 7 forwards on the roster are set to be free agents this offseason.

Potential Free Agents

Below is a list of potential free agents that Chicago could or should target. It’s not which superstar the team should target but some of the best fits based on skillset and affordability.

• PJ Tucker (PF, 37 years old, Heat)

• Markieff Morris (PF, 32-33 years old, Heat)

• Josh Okogie (SF, 23-24 years old, Timberwolves)

• Carmelo Anthony (SF, 38 years old, Lakers)

• Mo Bamba (C, 24 years old, Magic)

• Hassan Whiteside (C, 33 years old, Jazz)

• Bol Bol (C, 22-23 years old, Magic)

• Mitchell Robinson (C, 24 years old, Knicks)

• Moses Brown (C, 22-23 years old, Cavaliers)

Potential Trade Candidates

The best way for the Bulls to add another star would be the trade market. It is reported that the team is monitoring the trade market for Nikola Vucevic and are also throwing around a Coby White and 18th overall pick package. Here are some potential players the front office could look at making a trade for.

Potential Draft Prospects

While it is most likely the organization will move the pick, they could remain put and draft someone. Since the team was a first round playoff exit, they are right outside the lottery, but are still in good position to draft a stud in this loaded draft class. Here’s a list of potential draft prospects that could end up in the Windy City.

• Kendall Brown (SF, Freshman, Baylor)

• Caleb Houstan (SF, Freshman, Michigan)

• Nikola Jovic (SF, 19 years old, Mega Mozzart [Serbia])

• E.J. Liddell (PF, Junior, Ohio State)

• Christian Koloko (PF, Junior, Arizona)

• Dominick Barlow (PF, 19 years old, Overtime Elite)

• Jalen Duren (C, Freshman, Memphis)

• Michael Foster Jr. (PF, 19 years old, G League Ignite)

The Chicago Bulls have a superb blend of youth and veteran leadership with guys like DeRozan, LaVine, and Lonzo leading the team. Now that they achieved their goal to be relevant and make the playoffs, it’s time for them to take the next step to become legit title contenders in the league, especially with the Eastern Conference growing stronger every year.