The Chicago Bulls offseason has been anything but exciting. Everything from this past year’s all-time great All-Star Weekend in Chicago to The Last Dance has led to more buzz about the Chicago Bulls. But even with the buzz, they are coming into next season with about the same team.
Major Moves of Note:
- Extend Denzel Valentine: 1-year, $4.7 million
- Sign FA Garrett Temple: 1-year, $5 million
- Sign rookie 4th overall pick Patrick Williams
- Sign rookie Devon Dotson and Adam Mokoka to two-way contracts
- Did not re-sign both Kris Dunn and Shaquille Harrison.
I understand why everyone is complaining, but please CALM DOWN.
Offseason Only Needed One Move
The Chicago Bulls offseason only needed one change to start rebuilding the team from the ground up and it arguably has been the best franchise move in the past decade. John Paxson and Gar Forman were relieved from their duties and replaced by Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley. “AKME” came in knowing this franchise needed an overhaul, and they knew it started with the coach.
AKME’s first major move was the hiring of Billy Donovan and that should tell you all you need to know about this upcoming season. Gone are the days of getting coaches with no head coaching experience in the NBA. They have brought in an experienced runner-up for coach of the year. With a limited training camp, it makes sense for AKME to see what they have with their players under a respected coach before making any major changes. This year should all be about the coaching change, growth of the young players, and waiting for cap space for next year. Let’s start by looking at the coaching improvement from Boylen to Donovan.
Boylen Ball Did Not Work
The Bulls had certain philosophies under Boylen on both sides of the ball. On defense, they concentrated on overhelping and turnovers. Boylen had some success with steals, but if you’re a team that is aggressive all the time, you become way too predictable. This is one of the main reasons the Bulls were such an atrocious second-half team as opposing teams would exploit all the holes in the defense as a fault of cheating too much.
On offense, they concentrated on what the analytics told them, shoot only three’s and shots close to the rim. Now it seems like that would work well especially in today’s NBA, but that should not be your main focus. Players like Lauri were relegated to the role of spot-up shooter and Coby was told to not shoot the mid-range. On top of in-game adjustments, it also did not help when Boylen always seemed to deflect blame to his players and not his schemes. It is considerably harder to play for someone that does not see their own faults.
Some stats — The Boylen Bulls were:
— Stephen Noh (@StephNoh) April 13, 2020
-12th in avg. seconds per possession (per @inpredict)
-16th in pace
-20th in assist %
-23rd in assists per game
-29th in offense https://t.co/9AItqKiBNX
Billy Brings a Fresh New Start
Last year, the Thunder had a different philosophy under Billy Donovan. On defense, it was all about challenging shots more than creating turnovers. Billy was able to work in a scheme that benefited both the team and each individual player. There was less energy needed to cover ground on rotations instead of cheating on defense. Players were able to get to their defensive spots a lot faster.
On offense, the Thunder were close to last in three-pointers but made up for that with the help of the mid-range game. The same mid-range game that Boylen was trying to phase out. Billy was also able to use his guards effectively with the mid-range and it resulted in one of the best closing lineups in the NBA. The Thunder were predicted to be one of the worst teams in the NBA but overachieved because of their coach. Lastly, Billy has a considerably better relationship with his roster. The coaching change will help determine what they actually have with their homegrown players.
Evaluate the Roster
It is worth repeating that this season will and should be an evaluation year for the young roster under Billy Donovan. It would be a different story if the Bulls had no potential to get better, but they are still one of the youngest teams in the league and need time to grow. Here are the ages of the “core” players on the roster:
- Patrick Williams (19)
- Coby White (20)
- Wendell Carter Jr. (21)
- Lauri Markennan (23)
- Zach Lavine (25)
They are all 25 or younger. 25?!?! Zach continued his ascent to an all-star level talent and Coby seemed to be on track for a 1st team all-rookie selection, had not the season ended early. There is still time to see what they can do with one another, and with a new medical staff also coming in, the injury concerns should be at a minimum.
Wait for 2021 Free Agency
The Bulls had a lot of guaranteed contracts to begin with and did not have much room for meaningful depth. Yes, most teams got better from the champion Lakers to even the Hawks, but it does not matter this year. The Bulls optimistic outlook is with a new coaching staff. This team will seem like a whole new roster. You always see teams, good and bad, change their roster, but sometimes the best moves are doing nothing at all.
The Bulls can look towards the 2021 free agency market when they can have over $50 million come off the books. They absolutely need a playmaker and maybe a player like Fred VanVleet could have helped, but there is no use in paying a premium for him. Coby White only started playing point guard about two years ago. The hope is that Billy can mold White into a lead playmaking guard and this is the year to do it. In the end, there was no need to pay up this offseason as no one would have improved the Bulls enough to where they want to be. It also helps that the 2021 free agent market should be deeper and better than it was this year.
A Fresh Perspective Starts with Patience
Changes don’t happen overnight. Bulls fans hate to hear be patient… but seriously, BE PATIENT. Will Patrick Williams have a defensive impact that would negate the losses of Harrison and Dunn? Will Lauri realize his full potential now? Will Wendell develop into Billy’s version of Al Horford? Will Billy’s 3 guard motion offense help or hurt Zach and Coby? All of these are valid questions to be asked, but might as well ride out the opportunity to see them in action under this new regime. Let’s give the new front office and Billy time to prove themselves before calling them another “Garpax”. It’s time to be optimistic and patient… at least until the trade deadline.
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