The Chicago Bulls were supposed to enter their phase of contention in the last 2 seasons but the franchise has seemingly gotten worse.
With a 29-36 record this season, their starting center Nikola Vucevic already feels like being good this season might not be realistic.
“Maybe 30 games ago, but now it’s hard to look at it that way. It doesn’t really depend on us anymore. I mean, it does. We have to win. But we’re depending on the people in front of us, on how they do. So it’s hard to say after 65 games we didn’t figure it out. It’s tough to believe that something’s just going to (click) like that. We’ll see. We’re going to keep fighting, keep hoping something happens. But it’s obvious we’ve put ourselves in a very difficult spot now.” (h/t The Athletic)
Since February 8, the Bulls have gone 3-9 in their 12 games. Even though they added Patrick Beverley to improve their guard play, it looks like the franchise stands no chance to contend this season while owing their lottery pick to the Orlando Magic.
Is A Playoff Push Even Worth It?
If The Bulls really try, they could manage to sneak into the 10th seed for a play-in spot. However, the teams ahead of them are undoubtedly more competitive like the Toronto Raptors and Washington Wizards. If the Bulls don’t have a top-4 pick in the 2023 Draft, the pick conveys to the Magic in the Nikola Vucevic trade they made a few seasons ago.
That trade has already landed them crucial players in Franz Wagner and Wendell Carter Jr., so the Bulls essentially handicapped themselves when they made that trade. Vucevic can walk in the summer as a free agent and at this point, even the Bulls re-signing him doesn’t make a lot of sense.
Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan could’ve been traded at the deadline for assets to allow the Bulls to rebuild. However, now they must make the decision to either stick with their core and make ancillary additions, or blow it up for whatever value they can get.
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