I’m trying to find the words to describe the feeling of waking up after the Chicago Bulls’ second-straight Play-In Tournament collapse.
It doesn’t quite feel like the morning after some bar hopping. It also surely doesn’t feel like the morning after a one-night stand. Instead, it feels more like the morning after being trapped in a room where 10-year-olds are learning the violin and you’re forced to build IKEA furniture.
In other words, I got up out of bed today relieved that it’s over but still extremely frustrated it happened.
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
We don’t have to talk about the game, right? All things considered, there really isn’t much to get into. The Bulls shot 38.8 percent from the field and scored just 91 points on the night, which tied their lowest-scoring effort of the season. The Miami Heat’s attention to detail, physicality, and 3-point shotmaking made this a no-contest, so I’d rather not waste any more time talking about the Bulls’ crappy on-court product.
What we should do is focus on the future. This offseason is about to be jam-packed with storylines – the biggest of which is probably DeMar DeRozan’s contract. Failing to reach an extension with the franchise, DeRozan is now headed to unrestricted free agency. The veteran forward was asked about whether or not he still wants to remain with the Bulls, and his response was … interesting:
“That’s still where I’m at,” DeRozan said about wanting to be in Chicago. “But, at the end of the day, I hate losing. I hate missing opportunities. I think it really hits you after the season when you look up, the last seconds run off, and you don’t have another game. The next time I play a game will be my 16th season. You realize the window closes for you personally. I ain’t trying to play 25 years or nothing like that.
You want to have an opportunity to give everything great in you an opportunity. Like I said, my stance on wanting to be here is still the same, but I just want to win. More than anything just have the opportunity to win and not have to go home and see the first-round of the playoffs?”
More specifically, when asked what DeRozan needed to see from the Bulls to feel comfortable re-signing, the soon-to-be 35-year-old said: “[A] Competitive team. A team that gives us a chance to make a run.”
To be sure, this is precisely what we should expect someone of DeRozan caliber and age to say. He deserves to be on a competitive team that is vying for a playoff run year in and year out. But does he really believe that team can be built by next season in Chicago? All they’ve done is miss opportunities the past three years. Staying in this situation wouldn’t be giving the great basketball that left in DeRozan an “opportunity.”
Unless the Bulls pull off something magical, I really don’t see a world where it makes sense for either party to fight for this marriage. And that sucks to say. I’ve loved watching DeRozan. Despite what the postseason record shows, he’s going to go down as a Bulls legend for his countless clutch buckets and resilient play. But, as the saying goes, if you love someone you have to be willing to let them go. It’s not a smart move for DeRozan to stay, and it’s not a smart move for the Bulls front office to pay him the money he DESERVES without a better infrastructure in place.
Let’s hope the front office takes as much accountability as the players. Nikola Vucevic didn’t mince words when talking about the disappointment that has clouded this recent era after last night’s game:
“We’re all aware that is hasn’t worked out the way we wanted it to, and we haven’t achieved the results we’ve wanted. We’re very aware of it. It’s clear. Again, that’s up to management to decide and see what they want to do moving forward,” Vucevic said.
Coming into this season, the “Big 3” were open about the fact that this was likely their last run at things if they couldn’t put it all together. We have yet to hear the front office share a similar sentiment, but the players acknowledging that should tell us all we need to know about what must happen next. Stop trying to force this thing.
Coby White said that Zach LaVine has been speaking with the team ever since he went down with his season-ending injury. Something I think we have to remember is that there is a difference between player-to-front office relations and player-to-player relations. To put it differently, I really don’t think it should come as a surprise that LaVine has remained close with his teammates.
Coby White said Zach LaVine texted him after the Atlanta game and has been texting the team daily with motivational messages.
“I think in my conversations with Arturas, the feeling was can we generate and create some continuity with the group. I think that was the overriding thing. That continuity just never happened quite honestly. I don’t believe it ever happened. And the reason it never happened is because we basically have two starters out,” Donovan said.
Donovan did attribute a lot of the failed continuity to the injury trouble the team faced this season, which I don’t love. But I’m still glad he called out the fact that what they discussed didn’t come to fruition and didn’t work. We still have yet to even hear this front office speak this frankly. Again, I really hope that changes as soon as today.
Jevon Carter and Torrey Craig combined for 15 minutes of action in last night’s do-or-die game. Those were the team’s two “marquee” signings this past offseason. That’s another strong indictment of this organization’s poor rostering building.
Thanks for reminding us, Bill.
The Chicago Bulls are in the 3rd biggest market in America. They’ve only paid the luxury tax once. It’s actually hilarious how cheap they are. They just try to go 42-40 every year and win a play-in game and call it a year. The other big market owners must loving having them. pic.twitter.com/pRJjOlCixi— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) April 20, 2024
I feel the worst for Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu. They did what they were supposed to this year and each took a massive step. If there is one thing we can look forward to, it’s that the Bulls have some young building blocks in the backcourt.
Coby White: "It hurts. The guys in this locker room came in every day and worked their butt off. I care a great deal for everybody in this locker room. We didn’t want it to end this way."— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) April 20, 2024
Elias Schuster is the Lead Chicago Bulls writer at Bleacher Nation. He started with BN full-time in 2019 immediately after graduating from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign with a degree in Journalism (yes, he started with the Jim Boylen Era). Since joining, Elias has been the driving force behind Bulls and NBA content for both the site and social accounts. You can follow him on Twitter/X @Schuster_Elias.
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