Tag: 2023-24 Chicago Bulls

Chicago’s Nikola Vucevic is having one of the worst seasons of his career – why?

Will they fix the mess they have made, or can we expect some front office turnover yet again in the short-term future?

Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vucevic is having one of the worst seasons of his career. How much of it is the fault of the Bulls’ front office? The Bulls big man is shooting worse from beyond the arc than he has for a decade plus now, and the lack of lethal options from deep elsewhere on the court is no small part of the reason why that is the case.

The lack of moves by the front office at the NBA’s 2024 trade deadline was just the icing on the cake of the negligence driving Vooch’s rough season in large part. Will they fix the mess they have made, or can we expect some front office turnover yet again in the short-term future?

Haize, the host of the “Chicago Bulls Central” podcast, took a moment on his show to talk over what is going on with Vucevic on a recent episode.

Take a look at the clip embedded above to hear his thoughts on the Chicago center.

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Chicago’s Patrick Williams on using his platform for good, his recovery, and the Bulls’ season to come

Take a look at how the Patrick Williams Foundation came to be, and what it plans to do. But first, let’s dive into Williams’ situation with the Bulls.

A season-ending injury can be the sort of thing that can have a younger player down in the dumps as they sort through the emotions such a situation can elicit. But for Chicago Bulls forward Patrick Williams, the show must go on, as the Florida State alum leaned into using his platform to effect change in the local community.

Williams put on a gala to launch his eponymous “Patrick Williams Foundation” on Thursday evening of this week, and we hear it went swimmingly. But what is his foundation about, what does it hope to to, and how did he get it off the ground?

The Bulls Wire linked up with the Charlotte native to talk it over just before the gala kicked off; let’s take a look at how the Patrick Williams Foundation came to be, and what it plans to do. But first, we dove into Williams’ situation with the Bulls.

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.

Is Billy Donovan the right head coach to develop the Chicago Bulls’ young players?

Could a coaching change end up coming in the 2024 NBA offseason?

The Chicago Bulls had a bad loss to the Milwaukee Bucks at the United Center, and fans of the team were left with more questions than answers after the defeat. Is the youth movement on the team back on track? Should we be more worried about the team’s elder statesmen as far as leadership goes?

And is Billy Donovan the right head coach to develop the team’s young players? At times, there seems to be a reluctance to play the ball club’s younger players in key junctures, even after what we have seen from this team’s younger players of late. Could a coaching change end up coming in the 2024 NBA offseason?

Haize, the host of the “Chicago Bulls Central” podcast, took a moment to break down what he was seeing in that game regarding all of the aforementioned.

Take a look at the clip embedded above to hear what he had to say.

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Should the Chicago Bulls give up on a Lonzo Ball return?

We have been down this road before, only to see ourselves be disappointed with yet another setback.

Should the Chicago Bulls give up on a Lonzo Ball return to the court? Once again, we are hearing rumbles and seeing videos that hint that the Bulls floor general is trending in the right direction with regard to his longtime knee injury issues.

But we have been down this road before, only to see ourselves be disappointed with yet another setback. At this point, it is probably only safe to say that Ball is back when we see him on the court playing at a high level. But how does Chicago deal with this level of uncertainty about a player that takes up so much of the Bulls’ cap space?

The hosts of the “Locked On Bulls” podcast, Haize and Pat The Designer, weighed in on Ball’s current status and potential to return to the organization.

Take a look at the clip embedded above to hear their thoughts in full.

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Bulls move up in latest Bleacher Report weekly NBA power rankings

Whether the Bulls can maintain this level of play through to the end of the 2023-24 regular season is another story.

The Chicago Bulls have moved up in Bleacher Report’s weekly NBA power rankings after having won two of their last three games this week. The uptick in good play from the dinged-up Bulls roster has them taking a jump up the weekly analysis of the NBA’s status quo. With it, Chicago jumps from No. 20 overall last week to No. 19 for this one, per B/R analyst Andy Bailey.

“Let’s spend a little time on the Andre Drummond resurgence that really hasn’t gotten enough attention this season,” writes Bailey. “The 30-year-old started alongside Nikola Vucevic in Wednesday’s double-overtime win over the Cleveland Cavaliers and went for 26 rebounds, 17 points and three blocks in 36 minutes.”

“Since Christmas, Drummond is averaging a double-double in just over 20 minutes per game,” he adds. “And after Wednesday’s win, he’s been on the right side of the plus-minus ledger in five of Chicago’s last six games.”

Whether the Bulls can maintain this level of play through to the end of the 2023-24 regular season is another story, but a little positive reinforcement certainly can’t hurt the confidence of the youth movement behind it.

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Is it time to start doubting the leap made by Chicago Bulls guard Coby White after his recent slump?

“What slump?”, you ask, thinking of the recent stat lines of White.

Is it time to start doubting the leap made by Chicago Bulls guard Coby White after his recent slump? “What slump?”, you ask, thinking of the recent stat lines of White in Bulls games. And it is true, his counting stats are still decent over the last few games.

At least until you look at his efficiency, which has had him averaging just 23.1% from the field overall over Chicago’s last three tilts, and a mere 14.8% from beyond the arc. As good as his 13.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 7.0 assists have been over that stretch, the possessions he’s needed to put them up has not been helping the Bulls.

The host of the “Chicago Bulls Central” podcast, Haize, took some time to share his thoughts on White’s recent slump on a recent episode.

Take a look at the clip embedded above to hear what he had to say about the Bulls guard’s play of late.

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Why the Chicago Bulls’ double-overtime win is evidence that it’s time to trust the youth

Is it finally time to pass the torch to the Young Bulls?

The Chicago Bulls just showed off how tough they can be when they want to be in a surprising double-overtime win against the Cleveland Cavaliers at the United Center last Wednesday night. The Bulls came away with a 132-123 victory thanks to players up and down the roster, but especially from the ball club’s youth movement.

Guards Ayo Dosunmu (21 points), Coby White (14 points, 8 rebounds, 12 assists), Onuralp Bitim (10 points, 6 rebounds), and Julian Phillips (7 points, 5 boards) helped the Bulls get over the hump (eventually) in overtime. Is it finally time to pass the torch to the Young Bulls?

The host of the “Chicago Bulls Central” podcast, Haize, took some time to talk about Chicago’s youth movement on a recent episode.

Take a look at the clip embedded above to hear what he had to say about unleashing the Bulls’ young talent to maximize the ball club’s future potential.

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The Chicago Bulls will make the playoffs (no, really!)

Apart from being one of the most unlikely “I told you sos” of all time, it’d also be an extreme validation of Chicago’s internal development machine.

Most fans of the Chicago Bulls and plenty of analysts are seriously wondering what it is that the Bulls’ front office is hoping to do in terms of improving the roster after standing pat at the 2024 trade deadline. But what if the healthy players on Chicago’s roster manage to get the Bulls into the play-in tournament and, through it, the postseason?

Apart from being one of the most unlikely “I told you sos” of all time, it’d also be an extreme validation of Chicago’s internal development machine. The one silver lining the team has managed to pull out of the 2023-24 season has been the growth of reserve guards Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu.

Could Chicago actually pull such a thing off, or is this just a hot take?

The host of the “Bulls Central” podcast took a deep dive into the (very remote) possibility of Chicago making the postseason. Check it out above to hear what they say.

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Should the Chicago Bulls regret not turning Alex Caruso into a mountain of assets?

The Bulls are going nowhere this season. Wouldn’t it be nicer if it was going nowhere with more draft assets?

The Chicago Bulls probably wish they could do their 2024 NBA trade deadline over again. And their 2023 trade deadline. And their 2022 deadline. You get the picture. After injuries further decimated the Bulls’ roster with the season-ending injury to Patrick Williams, it is clear this season is going nowhere. Wouldn’t it be nicer if it was going nowhere with more draft assets for future moves?

That is the question posed in a recent article by Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley, who asked if the Bulls might regret not turning 3-and-D specialist guard Alex Caruso into a mountain of draft assets. “He isn’t someone who the stat sheet thinks would’ve delivered a pile of assets in a deal,” writes Buckley. “In this market, though, he loomed as a top target for seemingly every win-now shopper.”

“His glue-guy game made him a fit with anyone, while his $9.5 million salary, per Spotrac, felt like a fit for any budget.”

“The Bulls could have charged a premium in a Caruso deal and teams still would’ve paid it,” writes the B/R analyst. “Multiple first-round picks were not out of the question.”

“Given Chicago’s low-hanging ceiling, it should have let Caruso, who’s closing in on his 30th birthday, go and received the kind of assets needed to build up this roster to a point where it can actually compete for something of substance.”

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What exactly are the Chicago Bulls doing for the rest of the season?

Are they going to lean into the development of young players like Onuralp Bitim in the hopes that they strike lightening twice, as they did with Coby White?

The plan was, we were told, to field a competitive ball club after the Chicago Bulls’ front office decided to stand pat for the third season in a row at the trade deadline. But then life happened, as Patrick Williams joined guard Zach LaVine as out for the rest of the 2023-24 NBA season.

What exactly are the Bulls doing for the rest of the season? Are they going to lean into the development of young players like Onuralp Bitim in the hopes that they strike lightening twice, as they did with Coby White? Will they survey the buyout market for a younger player with upside?

Or will the front office find another way to make a mess of this season?

The host of the “Chicago Bulls Central” podcast, Haize, took some time on a recent episode to talk over what the Bulls’ plan might be for the rest fo the season. Check it out above!

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