May 15, 2013; Miami, FL, USA; Chicago Bulls small forward Jimmy Butler (21) is pressured by Miami Heat small forward LeBron James (6) during the second half in game five of the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at American Airlines Arena. Miami Heat won 94-91. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

One year ago, the Chicago Bulls faced an offseason full of questions. Derrick Rose was down and people wondered how to approach the next season. Should the Bulls keep the band together in anticipation of his return and hope to compete immediately? Or should they regard the season as lost and try to position themselves for 2013-14 and beyond?

As you doubtless know, they publicly professed to trying to split the difference, although it seems clear in retrospect they were much more concerned with saving money than anything else. Of course, the retooled Bulls did about as well as they could have hoped for, even amid countless injuries and with Rose sitting out the entire season.

This year, the questions heading into the offseason are more about the micro than the macro. Derrick Rose will almost certainly be back at the start of next season, and he figures to start along with Jimmy Butler, Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah. Taj Gibson will also be back, having signed a four-year extension at the beginning of the season, as will Kirk Hinrich and Marquis Teague. The rest of the roster is less clear.

Let’s start from the bottom and work our way up. Vladimir Radmanovic and Daequan Cook will almost certainly not be back for reasons pertaining to their utter suckitude. Both were brought in to shoot threes and do little else, but given that neither showed any particular ability to actually make the threes they shot, methinks they’ll be elsewhere next year.

Apr 9, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls power forward Malcolm Thomas (3) shoots the ball against Toronto Raptors small forward Quincy Acy (4) during the second half at the United Center. Toronto defeats Chicago 101-98. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports

Malcolm Thomas signed a contract in April that will, in theory, keep him in Chicago for next year. However, it’s non-guaranteed for the time being, and his performance in the Las Vegas Summer League — where he was excellent last summer — and in training camp will likely determine his fate. I myself would like him to stick around, and would like to slot him in next to Gibson as the Bulls’ fourth big man. Keep an eye on this over the summer.

Nazr Mohammed’s a tough one to figure. He was downright awful for the first half of the season and more or less fell out of the rotation entirely until constant injuries forced Tom Thibodeau’s hand in February. From there, he was actually pretty decent, especially in the playoffs, where he averaged 14.5 points and 10 rebounds per 36 minutes on 51 percent shooting. I swear to god I’m not making that up. He’s also been in the league long enough to make Rip Hamilton look like a rookie by comparison, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him hang it up this summer. Don’t be surprised to see him back, but probably as little more than a locker room presence/extreme emergency backup.

Rip Hamilton, playoff mini-renaissance aside, is almost certainly on his way out. The Bulls have a $1 million buyout option which they will presumably exercise rather than pay the aging Hamilton $5 million next year. Could they bring him back on the cheap afterward? They could, but I don’t see any reason why they would. Rip’s constant injuries and declining game make him hard to keep around.

May 15, 2013; Miami, FL, USA; Chicago Bulls point guard Nate Robinson (2) arrives before game five of the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs against the Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

We’ve reached Marco Belinelli and Nate Robinson now, and that’s where things start getting interesting. One aspect of last year’s purge that was almost entirely overlooked was that in signing players to one-year deals, the Bulls do not own Belinelli or Robinson’s Bird Rights. For those of you who are not CBA scholars, that means those two players — both of whom were starters in the playoffs — cannot be resigned while the Bulls are over the salary cap without using one of their exceptions. This summer, Chicago will have their $3 million mini mid-level exception and … that’s it.

So, the choice is pretty simple, albeit somewhat unfortunate. The Bulls can pay one player $3 million per year — or split it between them — and forfeit any ability to sign other free agents to non-minimum deals, or they can try to convince one or both players to take minimum-salary deals. Or they can say to heck with it and let them walk. This last seems most likely.

Marquis Teague plays the same position as Robinson and already is under contract for next year. It seems unlikely that noted cheapskate Jerry Reinsdorf would be on board with paying two guys to play backup point guard, especially when he’s already paying Rose and Hinrich more than $20 million combined next season. If Nate wants to come back on a minimum deal, that might work, but it seems likely that he’ll get quite a bit more than that on the open market. Same goes for Belinelli, although there isn’t a ready-made replacement already on the roster. But I think it makes more sense to let Belinelli walk and explore other options in the draft and free agency. Kyle Korver comes to mind, for instance.

Now, obviously there’s a lot more to the offseason than this. There are trade rumors to explore, there’s the draft, free agency and a whole summer to discuss everything remotely related to the Bulls roster. If you have any bright ideas, feel free to comment with your own take on the Bulls offseason.

Derrick Rose started the season strong, coming out of the gate in the Staples Center and leaving with a game-winner, much to the chagrin of Lakers fans. He outdid himself once again at the Staples Center, taking on Chris Paul and the Clippers in his best game as

Mar 7, 2012; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose (1) celebrates following the game against the Milwaukee Bucks at the Bradley Center. The Bulls defeated the Bucks 106-104. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-US PRESSWIRE

a professional. He finished the game with 29 points and 16 assists, taking just 14 shots. However, after a tough loss on the road against the Hawks, fans started to questions whether or not the new and improved Derrick Rose was being aggressive enough. After taking on a more aggressive role though, Rose found himself out with a toe injury just two games later. After sitting out five of the next seven games, he came back strong putting up a string of 30 point games. However, the injury bug lingered on as problems with his back forced him to miss another five games. He returned just two games before the all-star break. The Bulls were a strong 7-3 without their MVP but an even better 20-5 with him in the line-up.

Derrick Rose came out of the all-star break strong, helping the Bulls continue on what would be a 10-1 stretch including an eight game winning streak. Injury struck again however, after Rose hurt his groin going up against Jeremy Lin and the revitalized New York Knicks for the first time. After that, appearances from Rose were few and far between. He played only five games after aggravating his groin, and was clearly recovering from the rust. In the first game of the playoffs, the only one Rose would play, he had a shaky start but was finally making moves and shots he would when he was healthy. Until the 1:10 mark of the fourth quarter, that is. A torn ACL ended the season for Derrick Rose and Chicago Bulls. The rest of the playoff games were when the importance of Rose to this team was truly realized. The eighth-seeded 76ers easily beat the Bulls in six games.

Overall

Here’s what takes the cake for me. The Bulls were 18 – 9 without Rose, which is great for any team without their superstar. However, they were an elite 32 – 7 with him. The Bulls lost a total of two games at home with Derrick Rose on the court. Even when the Bulls played well without him, it took a lot more energy and it exhausted them. Rose made everyone’s job easier, and it was especially evident in the way Ronnie Brewer played when Rose was alongside him, compared to when he wasn’t. In a season riddled with injuries, Derrick Rose saw the worst of it. From a minor toe issue, to back spasms and then finally one of the worst sports injuries, a torn ACL. Even though he missed 40% of the season, Rose was the heart of this year’s Chicago Bulls.

Final Grade: A-