Two years ago, the Chicago Bulls committed to winning. They abruptly ended their rebuild and traded for Nikola Vucevic, signaling their desire to push forward and make a run at the playoffs. That following summer, they signed DeMar DeRozan, Alex Caruso, and Lonzo Ball, but things haven’t gone quite according to plan.
Ball played just 35 games for the Bulls in 2021-22 before suffering a knee injury and has yet to step back on the court since. And now, it’s looking like he’ll miss the entirety of next season, too. Chicago can’t afford to use Ball’s injury as an excuse for their mediocrity, though.
Instead, the Bulls need to move forward under the assumption that they won’t have Ball at the helm. They desperately need a playmaking point guard. It’s unlikely they will find anyone perfect to replace Ball, but there will be some decent free-agent options available to them this summer.
With that in mind, here are three free agents the Bulls could target to help replace Ball’s production.