For the tenth season in a row, the Chicago Bulls didn’t live up to their own standard, but they seem to have found a silver lining.
The Chicago Bulls, one of the most storied franchises in the NBA, have not made it past the first round of the playoffs since 2015. This season, they got blown out in the Play-In tournament by the Miami Heat, ending another disappointing season.
After trading away Zach LaVine in an ill-fated deal to the Sacramento Kings, Josh Giddey emerged as the engine for their offense.
After trading away LaVine, Giddey averaged 20.2 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 8.3 assists. Those are the numbers of a franchise player, although he is a turnstile on defense and, despite his hot streak, is not known as a shooting threat.
Between promising rookie Matas Buzelis, Coby White, and Giddey, the Bulls have a solid young trio, although they are still short a franchise player and defender. Heading into the offseason, there is a clear blueprint for them to follow, and they seem to understand that they have failed to live up to the hype.
Billy Donovan just wrapped up his fifth season leading the Bulls, and there is absolutely no indication that he will be fired. When next season starts, he will be the longest-tenured Bulls’ coach since Phil Jackson, who won six titles.
Donovan has always been an offensive-minded coach in the NBA, and he seems to think Giddey can be molded into an elite point guard.
“I think he’s made some drastic improvements, and he’s getting a lot better,” praised Donovan. “I think there’s ways that he can still grow in terms of manipulating the basketball game with his IQ.”
There’s no doubt that Giddey is an elite rebounding guard and passer, although the Oklahoma City Thunder traded him for a reason. Last year against the Dallas Mavericks in the playoffs, it was clear that he couldn’t be depended on as a defender with the game on the line, and he was swapped out for Alex Caruso.
However, the offensive upside is clear.
“He’s guarded in different ways, and there are ways he can manipulate those things to generate good outcomes for himself and other guys, but overall, from where he started to where he is today, he made really good progress from the start to the end of the season,” finished Donovan.
The Bulls, despite limited success in the 21st century, are one of the proudest franchises in the league, and that’s not always a good thing. Since 2020, they have won only a single playoff game, although they refuse to rebuild. They have committed to middling lineups and are fixtures of the Play-In, but rarely advance past that.
Donova and executive vice president of basketball operations Artūras Karnišovas are not expected to be fired anytime soon, despite the lackluster results throughout their tenure. BUzelis has shown flashes, but 2020’s fourth overall pick, Patrick Williams, has not carved out a solid NBA career, but he gets paid like he has.
Giddey is a solid player, but he will command a lot of money in restricted free agency this summer.
“He’ll be a restricted free agent this summer and is expected to seek a new multiyear deal that pays at least $30 million annually,” reported insiders Jake Fischer and Marc Stein.
That would make him more expensive than Jaren Jackson Jr. and in the same stratosphere as James Harden, Jrue Holiday, and perhaps even MVP candidates like Donovan Mitchell, Jayson Tatum, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
The Bulls, who seem convinced that he is a fixture of the future, however bleak that future may be, could shell out to make him one of the most valuable players in the league, limiting their financial flexibility moving forward. Déjà vu? The same happened with LaVine when he signed an extension in 2022.
