Getty CHICAGO, IL - MARCH 05: Zach LaVine #8 of the Chicago Bulls moves around Aron Baynes #46 of the Boston Celtics at the United Center on March 5, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. The Celtics defeated the Bulls 105-89. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
It really doesn’t feel all that long ago since the Bulls were a formidable team yet here we are.
The Chicago Bulls hold the seventh pick in this year’s NBA Draft and there’s a lot of pressure on the team to pick someone who will help them both in the near and far future.
The Bulls have traded away franchise stalwart Jimmy Butler, lost Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah which has left the Bulls of the last decade in sort of an identity crisis.
The Bulls has a sizable fan base so there will be a lot of eyes on who the Bulls will be targeting. A lot of the chatter surrounding the draft was that the Bulls will be going for a big man. It certainly sounds like the Bulls will be targeting a big man in the draft whether it’s Mohamed Bamba from Texas or someone else.
Of course the Bulls would love to snag Trae Young from Oklahoma if does manage to remain on the board when the Bulls are on the clock. The Bulls do already feature Kris Dunn who is a former top pick of the Timberwolves and is just 24-years-old so it’s possible the team would want to give up on the young point guard so quickly.
The Bulls roster overall isn’t very strong so there’s a lot of different ways to improve. This might end up being one of those drafts where the Bulls will end up just taking the best player available which is good for a team trying to rebuild.
The current iteration of the roster doesn’t feature many traditional big men outside of Asik and Lopez so it certainly seems like a possibility a big man will be targeted in this draft.
Pretty much nobody on the roster is a household name which means the Bulls are in some desperate need of some star power. Zach Lavine and Kris Dunn are both young are probably expected to be the backcourt of the future but that doesn’t mean the Bulls won’t be taking a hard look at Trae Young.
The Bulls still have a long ways to go to come back into championship contention but a strong showing the in the draft and in free agency, coupled with the development of some of the younger players and we might be looking at surprise team in the eastern conference.
Here’s what the current roster looks like for the Chicago Bulls. Keep in mind this includes current free agents, and the roster is likely to continue to shift this summer.
Bulls Roster & Projected Starting Lineup For 2018
Guards:
- Kris Dunn
- Zach Lavine
- Jerian Grant
- Ryan Arcidiacono
- Antonio Blakeney
- Jarell Eddie
- Cameron Payne
- Sean Kilpatrick
- Justin Holiday
Forwards:
- Bobby Portis
- Denzel Valentine
- Noah Vonleh
- Paul Zipser
- Christiano Felicio
- Lauri Markkanen
Centers:
- Robin Lopez
- Omer Asik
As mentioned before, the center position is definitely the thinnest of all the positions but that’s not necessarily a bad thing in today’s NBA. With more teams going smaller and getting big men that have the 3-point range, having less centers is starting to seem like a better thing.
It’s hard to lock down a definitive starting lineup since the team used so many different ones last season.
Bulls Cap Space: $12.5 Million
Although the 2017-2018 season for the Bulls was pretty much a disaster, the team does have a good amount of cap space available.
The Bulls never really factored into being major players in free agency but could find themselves taking on a bad contract in order to get a coveted first-round pick in the future.
With this being NBA Draft week we are likely looking at several trades and moving parts, with the Dwight Howard trade becoming the first domino to fall.