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With the Chicago Bulls’ offseason officially underway there are plenty of ideas swirling about what the team should do this summer. The most crucial decision for the Bulls will be made by All-Star Zach LaVine, who is an unrestricted free agent.
LaVine has said he plans to enjoy the free agency process but is open to re-signing with the Bulls. What LaVine decides will ultimately shape the Bulls’ offseason and how many moves they could make.
The Bulls front office has expressed their desire for continuity of their current core group so if LaVine does re-sign it likely means the team won’t make any major deals. If LaVine were to sign elsewhere though the team would have to be aggressive in replacing him.
Possible Moves
Even if the Bulls do re-sign LaVine, the team still has some weaknesses on their roster that they need to address. The team needs to add some rim protection and three-point shooting to strengthen the roster.
Former Bull and current NBC Sports Chicago analyst Stacey King recently took to Twitter to discuss some of the moves he’d like to see the team make.
All three of the players King mentioned are players that could help the Bulls. Howard is an eight-time All-Star that spent this past season with the Lakers where he averaged 6.2 points and 5.9 rebounds in 16.2 minutes per game.
While Howard is not the All-Star he used to be, he can provide the Bulls with an interior presence on the defensive end. He’s also relatively cheap, Howard played this season on a one-year $2.6 million contract.
Brown is another affordable option the Bulls could explore. This season he averaged 9.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game while shooting 40.4% from three.
Sports Illustrated recently projected that the 25-year-old could sign a three-year contract in the range of $14-18 million this offseason. The question would be can the Bulls lure him away from Brooklyn.
Crowder won’t be a free agent this summer, he currently has one year left on his contract with the Phoenix Suns. If the Bulls wanted to add a three and D wing this summer some players they could look at are Taurean Prince, Robert Covington, and PJ Tucker(player option).
Crucial Offseason
This past season was a huge success for the Bulls as they were able to make it back to the postseason. Chicago got off to a strong start before injuries started to disrupt the team in mid-January.
The Bulls’ success this season was spurred by their busy 2021 offseason, where the team acquired DeMar DeRozan, Lonzo Ball, and Alex Caruso. The team also landed Ayo Dosunmu with the 38th pick in the 2021 draft.
While the last offseason was certainly a success for the Bulls, this offseason could be just as important. If Chicago is going to become a championship contender then the team will have to address the roster in the right ways.
The Bulls were able to make big moves last offseason and the hope is they’ll be able to do it again. Only time will tell if they’ll be able to.