I am Blindly Believing in the Chicago Bulls

It is time to consider Lonzo Ball underrated

The NBA offseason has been going ballistic this past week, with the Lakers bringing in a dozen old men plus Malik Monk and probably becoming the title favorites because of it. But the team I wanted to talk about is the Chicago Bulls, who have never had a good season or player in franchise history.

Despite that, things look promising for Chicago heading into the 2021-22 campaign, at least to me. I have seen plenty of people saying that the Bulls are on the verge of something special here, and equal amounts of people making fun of that first set of people. Allow me to join in on being excited about a team that will almost certainly let me down, and I’m not even a Bulls fan.

Last year, the Bulls were bad, but they weren’t among the worst teams of the league. They finished with a 31-41 record and won five of their last seven games to end the season on a high note.

For a team that was pretty much out of the playoff race, going on that end-of-season run seems more harmful than not, right? That would be the case if not for the questionable move by Chicago at the trade deadline, where it gave up Wendell Carter, Otto Porter and first-round picks in 2021 and 2023 to get Orlando Magic center Nikola Vucevic, as well as Al-Farouq Aminu.

This move ended up backfiring, at least during the season. The Bulls won just three of their first 12 games with Vucevic in the lineup, and though they improved late, ultimately going 11-15 with their new center, it was not enough to even make the play-ins. Chicago finished 11th in the East, two games behind Charlotte, and went into an early offseason.

The Magic ended up getting the eighth overall pick with Chicago’s 2021 first-rounder and selected Michigan’s Franz Wagner, but from there, the Bulls have made a variety of moves that I would label as good.

First of all, Chicago took Illinois point guard Ayo Dosunmu in the second round of the draft, a strong all-around player who should be able to make an immediate impact for the team off the bench. The big moves, though, came after, with big-name acquisitions that fill a variety of areas the team needed.

The first big one was at point guard, where the Bulls signed Lonzo Ball for four years at $85 million. The deal was part of a sign-and-trade that saw the Pelicans acquire Tomas Satoransky, Garrett Temple and a second-round pick. I really loved this move, and believe that Ball has went from overrated to underrated remarkably fast in his time in the NBA.

At just 23 years old, Ball has turned into a more-than-solid point guard that is a very good defender and a strong shooter. Last season, Ball averaged 14.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 5.7 assists while shooting 48.2 percent from the field and 37.8 percent from three on 8.3 attempts a night. He also averaged 1.5 steals per game, an average he has kept throughout his career so far.

This is no longer the player with the overly loud dad and the horrific jump shot, but instead is a great piece to add to a team that already has young, talented scorers.

I also liked the move to sign Alex Caruso, a fan favorite on the Lakers who plays tenacious defense and can be a great spark plug off the bench. I think he could pair very well with someone like Coby White, who has shown plenty of ability through two seasons in the league.

The Bulls also added center Tony Bradley on a minimum deal, someone who I think is well worth that contract and could blossom into yet another major contributor.

But the biggest – and most controversial – deal was the addition of San Antonio Spurs small forward DeMar DeRozan, who comes in on a sign-and-trade for Thaddeus Young, Aminu and three future picks, one of which is a first-rounder. The big issue was with DeRozan’s contract, which stands at three years for $85 million.

That is, um, a lot of money and a lot of stuff for a player that is about to turn 32 on Saturday and who plays a very old school style of basketball. But, I don’t hate this move, and I think that there are enough strong shooters on the rest of the roster to help DeRozan play his game: the mid-range.

DeRozan certainly hasn’t been bad for San Antonio, where he averaged 23.0 points per game last season. He has also really come into his own as a playmaker, averaging 7.4 assists per game in 2020-21, a full assist per game more than his previous career high. His problem is his perimeter shooting (25.7 percent from three in 2020-21), but the good news is he does not shoot it from there a lot (1.3 attempts per game).

I do think DeRozan is a good fit here, overpaid for or not. Zach LaVine has turned into a true star in Chicago, and he is finally getting some real help there. LaVine averaged 27.4 points per game last season while shooting 41.9 percent from three, truly remarkable numbers for a guy who was known most for dunking back in his early years at Minnesota.

These moves not only give LaVine more talent, but they also give him compliments for his talent, adding another big-time scorer in DeRozan, while also adding a strong shooter and playmaker in Ball. Chicago also still has Vucevic, who can now be a complimentary scorer and big-time rebounder, something I think that will fit him much more.

Patrick Williams is also likely to be a starter next season, and he brings a great compliment to Vucevic through his defense, an area that is likely to be a weak point for the Bulls with the talent they have. Still, Chicago was better defensively (11th in the NBA) than offensively (19th) last year, and if head coach Billy Donovan can at least keep the defense in the middle of the pack, the offense should skyrocket toward the upper echelon of the league.

I really like what this Bulls team looks like heading into next season, and might think that their ceiling is higher than most do. Milwaukee and Brooklyn are the only teams I am very confident will be better than Chicago, and Atlanta is likely to be a cut above as well. But with Boston and Philadelphia having issues taking that next step, I see a world where the Bulls can be the third- or fourth-best team in the East next season, and maybe even give fits to one of those two juggernauts at the top.

But, when Chicago goes 39-43 next year despite this roster looking so promising, please do not quote this post. Thanks.

If I have sold you on the Chicago Bulls, or if you think I am an idiot who should never talk about basketball again, please share the post with the button below.

If you are interested in me talking about random topics like this, or on my more focused Mondays with Big Ten women’s basketball, you can subscribe with the button at the top of the post. Thanks!