Getty Images Billy Donovan
The NBA has reached a slow period as the Summer League has come to an end and free agency has severely slowed down. Teams will now turn their attention toward getting ready for training camp and the upcoming season.
For the Chicago Bulls, the team’s focus will be on getting healthy for the start of the season. Last season the team was inundated with injuries after a strong 27-13 start to the season.
Lonzo Ball, Alex Caruso, and Zach LaVine all missed time with injuries as the team stumbled to a 46-36 record and the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference. Caruso and LaVine are now healthy but the status of Ball’s knee is still in question.
Recently the Bulls have said that Ball is progressing, but not as quickly as they would like. Only time will tell if Ball will be able to be ready for the start of the season.
Grading the Offseason
Now that free agency has slowed down there’s time to take a look back at how teams did during the offseason. For the Win’s Bryan Kalbrosky wrote a new article on Tuesday where he graded each team’s offseason.
Kalbrosky wasn’t impressed with what the Bulls did as he gave the team a D+ for what they did.
Some of their biggest moves included signing past-his-prime big man Andre Drummond and 36-year-old veteran guard Goran Dragic, which isn’t much to write home about. Meanwhile, the latest injury updates from Lonzo Ball do not sound good.
At least they didn’t lose Zach LaVine in free agency, but to be honest, I’m still not one hundred percent convinced that LaVine is a max contract guy and he got one anyway.
I will give the Bulls some points because I love their draft pick, Dalen Tery.
Kalbrosky clearly isn’t a fan of what the Bulls did this offseason. It’s fair to point out that Chicago didn’t address some of their needs this offseason.
The Bulls failed to add a rim protector and didn’t add any three-point shooting. While Drummond and Dragic are capable veterans that could help the team neither of them will do much to address those needs.
For now, it appears that the Bulls are done with free agency but the team could still possibly make a trade if an opportunity presents itself. Chicago explored trading Coby White earlier in the offseason but didn’t get an offer they like so if they do get a good offer a move is possible.
Key Young Guys
While Ball’s injury status will certainly be huge for the Bulls this season, his health isn’t the only thing the team needs. Chicago will need some of their younger players to step into bigger roles to help the team improve.
Players like Patrick Williams and Ayo Dosunmu’s development will be crucial for the Bulls’ improvement this season. Also if the Bulls could get contributions from rookie Dalen Terry and second-year big man Marko Simonivic that would also bolster the roster.
The Bulls took a big step forward last season as they made it back to the playoffs. If the team wants to build on that success they’ll need some of their young players to step up.