Getty Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan look on during a game between the Chicago Bulls and the Boston Celtics.
Despite the best efforts of their Arturas Karnisovas-led front office, the Chicago Bulls fell well short of making good on their stated win-now goals this season. There were extenuating circumstances, of course — Lonzo Ball‘s knee issues being chief among them — but, even then, there are things to sort out.
The team’s core of current and former All-Stars in DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic would appear to be a winning mix, but the Bulls actually ran at a deficit of 0.4 points per 100 possessions when the three shared the court in 2022-23.
And even with Ball having missed the entirety of the campaign, the one-two punch that was the team’s 40-42 record and play-in tourney ouster hardly feels like a satisfactory result.
With all of that being the case, Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale is of the belief that the club should look at a starting-five shakeup as the absolute minimum response to the shortfall. However, the analyst is skeptical of Chicago’s willingness to go even that far in the effort to right the ship.
B/R: Chicago Bulls Should Enact ‘Serious Changes,’ But Don’t Bet on It Happening
Favale’s latest take on the situation in the Windy City comes via a May 8 feature on “NBA starting lineups that could look the most different next season.” Alas, he ultimately placed them in the group of teams that likely won’t make the “serious changes” they ought to.
Wrote Favale:
Three core starters populate the Bulls’ roster: DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic. Alex Caruso finished the year inside the opening five.
All four should be back next season. Vooch is a free agent, but he has Chicago in a bind unless the organization decides to rebuild. Which, well, it won’t. Even the fifth spot might already be wrapped up by Patrick Beverley (unrestricted). I’d love for it to be wrapped up by Lonzo Ball, but his left knee has other ideas. (Related: Ban injuries forever.)
While Ball is seemingly the linchpin in this unit’s postseason viability, there’s at least some reason to believe Beverley can keep the boat afloat in his stead, particularly if Caruso remains in place his backcourt mate.
The five-man lineup combination of Beverley, Caruso, LaVine, DeRozan and Vucevic actually boasted a net rating of 14.7 across 267 shared minutes. Over the course of an entire season, though, it’s difficult to envision that crew making noise beyond what we saw in 2021-22 (which ended in a first-round exit).
Bulls’ Streak of All-Rookie Selections Officially Comes to an End
Dalen Terry was the only rookie to see the court for the Bulls this season, and the 20-year-old averaged all of 2.2 points in 5.6 minutes per contest. Consequently, there was nary a Bulls player to be found when the NBA’s All-Rookie Teams for the 2022-23 campaign were officially announced on Monday.
Paolo Banchero of the Orlando Magic, Jalen Williams of the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Utah Jazz’s Walker Kessler, the Sacramento Kings’ Keegan Murray and Bennedict Mathurin of the Indiana Pacers comprised the First Team.
Meanwhile, the Detroit Pistons’ Jalen Duran and Jaden Ivy, the Houston Rockets’ Tari Eason and Jabari Smith Jr. and Jeremy Sochan of the San Antonio Spurs were honored as Second Team picks.
With Ayo Dosunmu, Patrick Williams and Coby White having made the cut in each of the previous three years, respectively, this marks the first time since 2019 the Bulls won’t have an All-Rookie honoree.