- The Chicago Bulls went 40-42 last season and missed the playoffs
- Lonzo Ball will miss his second straight season in 2023-24
- Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Nikola Vucevic are the headliners again
The Chicago Bulls took a major step back last season after making the playoffs in 2022 for the first time since 2017. They went only 40-42 and missed the postseason. The Bulls beat the Toronto Raptors in the 9-10 play-in game but lost to the Miami Heat in the 8-9 play-in game.
Lonzo Ball missed the entire 2022-23 season and he won’t play at all in 2023-24 after undergoing a cartilage transplant in his left knee in March. Ball’s absence was a big reason why the Bulls regressed last season.
Many people around the NBA thought the Bulls would rebuild this summer and trade Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan and not re-sign Nikola Vucevic. However, Chicago’s front office re-signed Vucevic and kept LaVine and DeRozan (as of this writing).
The Bulls will only go as far as LaVine, DeRozan, and Vucevic can take them next season. However, Chicago’s supporting cast has to perform well too.
Point Guards
Starter: Jevon Carter
Reserves: Alex Caruso, Ayo Dosunmu
The Bulls signed Jevon Carter to a three-year, $19.5 million contract in unrestricted free agency. The 27-year-old appeared in 81 games for the Milwaukee Bucks last season, averaging 8.0 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists while shooting 42.3% from the field, 42.1% from beyond the arc and 81.6% from the free-throw line.
Carter should be the Bulls’ starting point guard since he’s a rugged defender and a strong spot-up shooter. The Illinois native is a career 39.7% shooter from 3. The Bulls desperately needed more shooters last season, as they were 30th in the NBA in 3-point field goals.
Carter’s shooting ability and defensive prowess will be critical for the Bulls, who have one of the best defenders in the NBA in Alex Caruso as a player they can put in the starting lineup if Carter struggles.
Shooting Guards
Starter: Zach LaVine
Reserve: Coby White
Zach LaVine averaged 24.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists for the Bulls in 2022-23 while shooting 48.5% overall, 37.5% from 3-point range, and 84.8% from the foul line. He will make $40 million next season after signing a five-year, $215.2 million deal with Chicago in July 2022.
LaVine has established himself as one of the top scorers in the NBA. The two-time All-Star has appeared in 348 games with the Bulls. He’s averaging 24.5 points with Chicago.
However, the Bulls have won only one playoff game since acquiring LaVine from the Minnesota Timberwolves in the summer of 2017 in the blockbuster Jimmy Butler trade.
The Bulls have checked the temperature on LaVine’s trade market throughout the offseason, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports. LaVine’s name will likely pop up in trade rumors during the 2023-24 regular season if Chicago struggles again like last season.
Small Forwards
Starter: DeMar DeRozan
Reserves: Dalen Terry, Julian Phillips
DeMar DeRozan averaged 24.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 5.1 assists for the Bulls last season while shooting 50.4% from the field, 32.4% from beyond the arc, and 87.2% from the free-throw line. The USC product is one of the greatest scorers and mid-range shooters in NBA history.
The 34-year-old DeRozan will make $28.6 million next season. He becomes an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2024. The Bulls are unlikely to sign DeRozan to an extension despite the future Hall of Famer averaging 26.2 points in 150 games with Chicago while making two All-Star teams.
The Bulls are 80-70 with DeRozan in the lineup. They acquired the guard in the summer of 2021 in a sign-and-trade deal with the San Antonio Spurs. Like LaVine, DeRozan’s name will probably come up in trade rumors next season if the Bulls aren’t winning games.
Power Forwards
Starter: Patrick Williams
Reserve: Torrey Craig
Next season is a big one for Patrick Williams, who becomes a restricted free agent in the summer of 2024 unless the Bulls sign him to a rookie-scale extension before the first game of the 2023-24 regular season. Williams hasn’t lived up to the hype of a player who was drafted with the fourth overall pick.
In 170 games with the Bulls, Williams is averaging 9.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.3 assists while shooting 47.7% from the floor, 41.4% from 3 and 77.9% from the foul line. The swingman averaged a career-high 10.2 points last season, but his scoring numbers have to be higher in 2023-24 for the Bulls to get back to the playoffs.
If Williams doesn’t get the job done for the Bulls, Chicago head coach Billy Donovan can turn to Torrey Craig, a sturdy veteran who joined the Bulls this offseason in free agency on a two-year, $5.4 million contract.
Center
Starter: Nikola Vucevic
Reserve: Andre Drummond
Nikola Vucevic signed a three-year, $60 million contract extension with the Bulls on June 28. He averaged 17.6 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 3.2 assists last season while shooting 52.0% from the field, 34.9% from beyond the arc, and 83.5% from the free-throw line. Vucevic was third in the NBA in double-doubles (51).
Vucevic is averaging 18.2 points and 11.1 rebounds since coming to the Bulls from the Orlando Magic in March 2021. He has a strong relationship with Chicago executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas, which is why the Bulls re-signed Vucevic before free agency started.
Vucevic told Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports that he knows next season is the “last chance” the Bulls’ Big 3 will have to win. Chicago has won only one playoff game in the Vucevic-DeRozan-LaVine era.
“We know we can do better, and we have to do better,” Vucevic said. “And we know it’s kind of our last chance as this core of guys to do something.”
If the Bulls are not in the playoff picture near the February 2024 trade deadline, don’t be surprised if LaVine, DeRozan, and Vucevic are traded and Chicago enters another rebuild in the post-Butler era.
