The Chicago Bulls made it through one round in the Play-In Tournament before succumbing to the Miami Heat in the second round for the second straight year. They did so without rookie swingman Onuralp Bitim.
Bitim missed the regular season finale against the New York Knicks. The team announced on April 16 that he suffered a detached retina, adding that he would miss the rest of the postseason.
The Turkish wing took to social media to announce where he was at in his recovery this offseason.
“I underwent a successful surgery due to the injury I suffered in my eye,” Bitim posted on X on April 22. “My health is fine. Thank you for all your get-well wishes. I will come back stronger and return to the court for the new season in my best form.”
Onuralp Bitim an Intriguing Piece to Bulls’ Puzzle
Bitim began in NBA journey in the G League with the Windy City Bulls after a strong EuroLeague career.
He averaged 16.7 points and shot 43.3% from deep in 12 regular season games for Windy City.
The Bulls converted his two-way contract to a standard, three-year deal worth $4.6 million amid their slew of injuries and his strong performance. Bitim averaged a modest 5.9 points and shot 34.5% from beyond the arc in the first 11 games back from the All-Star break.
His play tailed off after that as his role was decreased. But he flashed enough and is on a reasonable deal, making him an encouraging potential piece of the puzzle going forward.
The current pieces don’t all fit.
That is evidenced by their 79-85 record over the last two seasons, though some of that has been due to injury. Still, Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas admitted the current group “doesn’t work”.
One of the key pieces of that group, two-time All-Star Nikola Vucevic, is in full agreement with the exec’s assessment.
Bulls All-Star Puts Onus on Front Office
Karnisovas mortgaged the Bulls’ future for Vucevic in his first blockbuster deal. The deal has not worked with the Magic in the postseason as the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference.
“Up to the front office now. We have a lot of stuff happening this summer they have to look at and decide, guys in free agency. It’s too early to discuss things like that in mid-April, just trying to process this now,” Vucevic said, per NBA.com’s Sam Smith on April 21. “That’s on management to decide and see what they want to do moving forward.”
Vucevic said the way the season played out was “sad” and “disappointing”.
He laid bare coming into the season that the Bulls had to perform up to expectations after sub-par finishes in each of the last two years. Karnisovas had the same expectation.
Where that leaves the Bitim, Vucevic, and the rest of the Bulls remains unclear.
Vucevic signed a three-year, $60 million contract before free agency last offseason. The deal was viewed poorly around the league and figures to be an albatross after the big man struggled this season, particularly shooting from beyond the arc.
He is already a questionable defender. His value takes a big hit when he is not able to space the floor consistently, which he has never done in his Bulls tenure.
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Bulls Rookie Reveals Major Update After Season-Ending Injury