Tag: 2023-24 Chicago Bulls

Chicago Bulls re-sign Javonte Green for rest of the 2023-24 season, cut Terry Taylor

The Chicago Bulls have made some moves to shake up their roster a bit as they head into the NBA’s 2024 postseason.

The Chicago Bulls have made some moves to shake up their roster a bit as they head into the NBA’s 2024 postseason. The Bulls have signed veteran Chicago wing Javonte Green to an end-of-season deal ahead of the Bulls’ play-in tournament tilts, according to recent reporting from NBC Sports Chicago’s KC Johnson.

Per Johnson, the transaction makes Green playoff eligible — and given the Radford alum has a proven track record in the playoffs vs. Terry, who has not shown much with Chicago — the move makes sense for the Bulls’ postseason aspirations. “Green is a fan and organizational favorite who is just getting fully healthy after undergoing knee surgery last season while with the Bulls,” writes Johnson.

“He played 10 games in the G League with the Golden State Warriors affiliate before signing his 10-day contract with the Bulls.”

In that 10-day deal, Green put up an average of 5 points and 3.7 rebounds over the three games he played with the Bulls this season.

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Chicago Bulls hold steady in latest ESPN weekly NBA power rankings

Just ahead of the Brooklyn Nets and just behind the Atlanta Hawks, the Bulls are perhaps ranked a little low given their recent play.

The Chicago Bulls have continued to hold steady in the latest ESPN weekly NBA power rankings, remaining at No. 21 overall after punching their ticket to the league’s 2024 play-in tournament. Just ahead of the Brooklyn Nets and just behind the Atlanta Hawks, the Bulls are perhaps ranked a little low given their recent play.

“The Bulls officially locked their spot in the play-in tournament on Tuesday night in ironic fashion after a loss to the Hawks, as that pairing almost certainly will constitute the East’s Nos. 9-10 play-in matchup,” writes ESPN analyst Jamal Collier of Chicago’s ranking this week.

“Chicago currently holds the No. 9 seed and the tiebreaker, which would give it home-court advantage in that single-elimination postseason contest.”

“However, the Bulls’ lead over Atlanta has dwindled to just half a game, and they face the (New York) Knicks three times and the (Orlando) Magic once in their last six games of the regular season,” adds the ESPN analyst.

It’s certainly possible that Chicago makes their play-in path tougher with such a murderer’s row to close out the system. But at the very least, they have also managed to make it there in the first place, which did not seem very assured even as recently as a week ago.

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Could the Chicago Bulls convince the New York Knicks to part with center Mitchell Robinson?

We’re skeptical the Bulls have a player that would interest New York, but the deal proposed might be what it would take to pry him loose.

Could the Chicago Bulls convince the New York Knicks to part with center Mitchell Robinson III? In the eyes of Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale, it is certainly a trade target that the Bulls ought to at least try to pry loose from the Knicks. “Chicago has good size up front with Nikola Vucevic and Andre Drummond, but there’s hardly any bounce between the two bigs,” writes the B/R analyst.

“An aggressive deal for … Robinson, who’s perhaps been made expendable by the rise of Isaiah Hartenstein, would change that in an instant. Robinson possesses the kind of hops you almost never see in a 7-footer, and he routinely puts it to good use as a shot-blocker, glass-cleaner and above-the-rim finisher.”

“He’s had his share of injury issues, though, and the … Knicks could conceivably be willing to let him go if they plan on paying what it takes to bring Hartenstein back as an unrestricted free agent.”

“A straight-up swap with Vucevic for Robinson wouldn’t do much for the ‘Bockers, but a three-team deal that sends Vucevic elsewhere and delivers assets to New York (probably including at least one first-round pick from Chicago) could work,” he adds.

We are skeptical that the Bulls have a player that would interest New York enough to make sense, but the framework proposed by Favale might just be what it would take to pry the defensive big man loose.

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Should the Chicago Bulls target Orlando Magic big man Jonathan Isaac?

The Bulls could use some younger, more reliable frontcourt depth able to stop opposing offenses.

Should the Chicago Bulls target Orlando Magic big man Jonathan Isaac? The Bulls could use some younger, more reliable frontcourt depth able to stop opposing offenses, and Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley has a player in the NBA’s Eastern Conference in mind to do the job for the Bulls next season.

Pointing out just how bad Chicago’s offense can be this season compared to last, the B/R analyst suggests that “the Bulls should still be in the market for more stoppers, especially a hyperactive, all-purpose defender like … Isaac. He has played a big part in the ascension of Orlando’s defense, but given his lengthy injury history, you wonder whether the Magic want to keep relying on him going forward.”

“They desperately need more offense, too, so it feels like they might be one of the few teams actually interested in Zach LaVine,” adds Buckley.

He proposes that “if there is a blockbuster deal to be made between the teams, the Bulls would be wise to want Isaac included in it,” and for our part, we’d have to agree.

The Magic big man has not had the best injury luck in his career thus far, but with other parts coming back in such a deal, could be one of the better options to retool the roster in a hurry.

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Chicago Bulls slide two spots in latest Bleacher Report weekly NBA power rankings

After losing games to the Boston Celtics, Houston Rockets, and Washington Wizards, the Bulls now find themselves ranked lower.

After the week that the Chicago Bulls had, we do not blame Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey for dropping the Bulls two spots in his latest weekly NBA power rankings. After losing games to the Boston Celtics, Houston Rockets, and Washington Wizards, the Bulls now find themselves ranked No. 21 overall after climbing to No. 19 last week.

“The slide may not be all that big a deal, though. Chicago seems more or less locked into ninth place and home-court advantage in the bottom half of the play-in tournament,” writes Bailey. “So, instead of bemoaning those three losses, we’ll shine a little light on Andre Drummond’s renaissance campaign.”

“He was a plus-23 and had 14 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals in Wednesday’s win over the Indiana Pacers,” he adds.

“The Bulls’ point differential is better when he’s on the floor,” notes the B/R analyst. “And he has, by far, the highest rebounding percentage of any player with at least 500 minutes this season.”

Can Chicago bring Drummond back next season? While it might be a bit early for that conversation, his looming free agency will be an interesting one, with the UConn alum clearly outplaying his minimum deal.

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Is there a favorable play-in opponent for the Chicago Bulls?

Chicago is currently in ninth place in the Eastern Conference standings, a full game ahead of the Atlanta Hawks, and within 4.5 games of the Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat.

With the NBA’s 2023-24 regular season nearly finished, the Chicago Bulls find themselves in the mix for the league’s 2024 play-in tournament after a very tough season in terms of uneven play and injuries. That in itself is something of an accomplishment, but Bulls fans want and deserve more from their favorite team. Is there a favorable play-in opponent for the Bulls?

Chicago is currently in ninth place in the Eastern Conference standings, a full game ahead of the Atlanta Hawks, and within 4.5 games of the Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat. There’s even a small chance the Indiana Pacers could fall into the range of the play-in tournament.

Which clubs would the Bulls best match up with?

The host of the “Chicago Bulls Central” podcast, Haize, took a closer look at the likely suspects and how Chicago has been playing them so far this season.

Check it out in the clip embedded above!

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Could one of the Bulls’ young guards be up for some full-season awards?

Not all has been lost with Chicago’s 2023-24 season.

This Chicago Bulls season has been almost anything but what fans of the team hoped they would be getting, even before it started. Point guard Lonzo Ball started the Bulls’ 2023-24 campaign on the bench, and before the NBA’s 2024 trade deadline (or perhaps because of it), fellow Chicago starting guard Zach LaVine joined him as out for the season injured.

But wait, there’s more! Not only did the team’s front office stand pat at the deadline for the this season running, but starting forward Patrick Williams went down injured for the rest of the season as well. The small silver lining for Bulls fans is the growth of reserve guards Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu, made possible in part by those injuries.

Could one of Chicago’s young guards be up for some full-season awards as a result?

The host of the “Chicago Bulls Central” podcast, Haize, weighed in on the possibility on a recent episode of his show. Check it out above!

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How far can DeMar DeRozan take the Chicago Bulls this season?

Is it too much to ask for the ball club to get back to .500 by the end of the NBA’s 2023-24 season?

How far can DeMar DeRozan take the Chicago Bulls this season? Is it too much to ask for the ball club to get back to .500 by the end of the NBA’s 2023-24 season? And beyond the regular season, can they advance in the play-in tournament to the actual 2024 playoffs?

The veteran wing has been one of the most important parts of the Bulls’ late-season winning play, and they will need his veteran savvy if they want to achieve any of the goals we have listed above. Is Chicago asking too much of DeRozan, giving the relative inexperience of most of the rest of the players on the Bulls’ roster?

To talk it over, the hosts of the “CHGO Bulls” podcast took some time to look into DeRozan’s role with the Bulls this season in light of trying to salvage some of the team’s preseason goals.

Take a look at the clip embedded above to hear what they had to say!

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The Chicago Bulls defense will end up being its downfall this season

The Bulls could really use something of a defensive renaissance this season if they don’t want it to end in a hurry.

The Chicago Bulls are far from a perfect ball club in a number of ways. Very far indeed last week, but the team is dealing with a host of injuries and comparatively inexperienced backups stepping into their roles. There are also structural concerns with the team, given they could really use some 3-point shooting added to the roster.

But according to at least one team analyst, the Bulls could really use something of a defensive renaissance this season if they don’t want it to end in a hurry. And the analyst in question, you ask? The host of the “Chicago Bulls Central” podcast, Haize, recently weighed in on the state of the Bulls’ defense this season.

To hear his thoughts on what is going wrong with Chicago’s defense in recent contests and why it is so important for the Bulls to fix, take a look at the clip embedded below.

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Chicago projected to finish the NBA’s 2023-24 season with less than 40 wins

That may not be the .500 record some have been hoping for of late, but far better than it looked like it might end up.

The Chicago Bulls have been projected to finish the NBA’s 2023-24 season with a 39-43 overall record by Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley. That may not be the .500 record some have been hoping for of late, but far better than it looked like it might end up when Zach LaVine went down injured earlier in the season.

“The Bulls should be looking up at the Philadelphia 76ers and plotting ways to leapfrog the Joel Embiid-less team in the standings,” writes Buckley of the Bulls’ current position in the standings. “Instead, Chicago is looking over its shoulders and hoping that it won’t get jumped by (the Atlanta Hawks).

“That possibility remains very much in play, especially with the Bulls having just face-planted against a Washington Wizards team playing without Kyle Kuzma and Tyus Jones,” recalls the B/R analyst.

“The Bulls don’t have the firepower to overwhelm opponents, so they’re either grinding out wins or suffering gut-punch losses.” he adds.

Sounds about right for one of the best clutch teams in the league, given you can’t win a clutch contest without the score being close to begin with.

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