This offseason will be absolutely crucial for the Chicago Bulls. For the past two years, they have been rolling with their new-look core of Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Nikola Vucevic. However, all they have to show for it is a first-round playoff exit in Year 1 and a Play-In Tournament exit in Year 2. Simply put, they aren’t a championship-caliber group.
Arturas Karnisovas has made it clear that he wants to keep the core together, but if that’s the pathway he wants to walk down, he needs to significantly improve the team around them. Unfortunately, according to Keith Smith of Spotrac, they don’t necessarily have the wiggle room to make massive changes.
In his offseason preview for the Bulls, Smith spoke about Chicago’ “relative lack of immediate flexibility,” noting how it will prevent them from making big changes this summer.
“The relative lack of immediate flexibility makes it unlikely Chicago makes major changes this summer,” Smith wrote. “As long as they don’t give out deals that are too large or too long, that should be fine. The core is solid for at least another year or two. Hit the right role players around them, combined with growth from the kids, and this team should be in the playoffs next season.”
All that being said, as Smith pointed out, this Bulls squad has the talent to make a playoff push next season. If they put the right pieces around their star trio, they should be a solid team.
It’s on Karnisovas and the front office to do just that.
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