It’s taking everything in me not to dig into our database and delete the words I wrote about being excited for the Chicago Bears season. I expressed genuine optimism in what the Monsters in the Midway could accomplish. Aside from the Blackhawks, they were arguably the team with the brightest future. They were the team with the next budding Chicago superstar!
Welp, it took all but two weeks for them to rip the hope right out of my chest and punt it into Lake Michigan. They did the unthinkable and truly made me have more faith in this upcoming Chicago Bulls season than the rest of their seasons. Who woulda thunk it!?
Of course, that isn’t to say I’m incredibly confident in the Chicago Bulls’ ability to turn this upcoming season into something special. But I have expressed numerous times that I think folks have begun to underestimate this veteran roster a little too much. At the end of the day, Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Nikola Vucevic are talented enough to keep the organization in at least the Play-In Tournament mix. Then, I think a revamped offensive game plan and a more well-rounded set of role players could certainly push them closer to competing for a top-6 spot (as they did two years ago).
With that said, as the Chicago Bears graciously reminded us, the wheels can always fall off fast. The margin for error for this Bulls team does remain rather small, and they’re only about one injury or one toxic locker room incident away from catastrophe. I also think the moment they begin to underachieve this season, the front office may finally be prepared to do something drastic. While that may just be wishful thinking, it does say something that they continue to pop up in trade rumors with just a couple of weeks to go before training camp.
As I outline in the post above, I think the chances of the Chicago Bulls becoming a real threat in the Damian Lillard sweepstakes are extremely low. But the mere fact that LaVine’s name has continued to come in conversations surrounding multi-team trades is something we’ll have to keep an eye on. This feels even more true when we consider Adrian Wojnarowski’s comments on ESPN on Wednesday. The NBA insider said that some hesitancy around the league to go hard after Lillard could have to do with the idea of other “massive talents” becoming available in the very near future. In other words, if the Bulls can’t find a multi-team deal here, it sure sounds like there might be other opportunities on the horizon.
One of those “massive talents” to make headlines this summer is Giannis Antetokounmpo. Some eye-brow-raising comments have left teams dreaming about a scenario where he becomes available for trade. Some specific teams have been named as monitoring that situation, but I guarantee your EVERY TEAM will have this on their radar.
News flash: Every team in the league will be monitoring the Giannis situation closely. It would be organizational malpractice not to.
NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson posted a recent mailbag. He first answered a question on the Lillard situation, further stressing how difficult adding the All-NBA guard would be to pull off. Johnson also wrote about the upcoming training camp and discussed a few key things that we’ll want to follow. I’ve already written about the potential Patrick Williams-Torrey Craig competition a couple of times, and Johnson pinpointed this as one of the biggest storylines. I lean toward Williams earning the job right now, but there is no denying that Craig is a great fit with the “Big 3” on paper. The second unit could also be a great place for a young duo like Coby White and Williams to play uptempo and get some more shots up.
Arguably the most important storyline for training camp, however, will be the Chicago Bulls’ new offensive scheme. If the idea is to add more 3-point shooting across the board, then we should be able to see this right away when the preseason tips off. The Athletic’s Darnell Mayberry also recently wrote about this from the DeMar DeRozan perspective, sharing some past quotes from DeRozan regarding a potential uptick in long-range shots.
When you’ve lasted 14 NBA seasons, and been an All-Star for six, it’s understandable to view your game as satisfactory.
But the Bulls understand the challenge of converting DeMar DeRozan into a consistent long-distance shooter.
The Chicago Bulls are going all-in on the team bonding. Not only is the group headed to Nashville, Tennessee for the first week of training camp, but they had the whole Guaranteed Rate Field to themselves yesterday for a little friendly competition. It looks like the roster was split up into two teams, with Ayo Dosunmu’s squad coming out on top (according to his Instagram story, at least). Anyway, you can check out some pictures from their day on the diamond here.
If I come across Derrick Rose highlights, I must share those Derrick Rose highlights. I think it’s in my contract.
Throwback to some of the best finishes from Derrick Rose. 🔥
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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NEWSLETTER
