5 Disappointing Things about the 2016-17 Chicago Bulls

The Front Office Indecision

I feel that the Pippen Ain’t Easy staff has been rather straightforward about the mess that Chicago finds itself in. This is a very bleak outlook. I was speaking with a colleague who covers baseball and he immediately mentioned the Herb Kohl-era of the Milwaukee Bucks. They were a team that shouting from the hilltops about simply making the playoffs. Kohl put a value on the playoffs that no marquee player or long-suffering fan can buy into – reaching the playoffs is more than enough.

There’s a very dangerous and painful cycle looming. If the Bulls make no changes in ownership or management, there doesn’t appear to be a clear path to contention or rebuilding. Some fans will be happy to see the team back in the playoffs, but what if this becomes the new annual tradition? At the beginning, I referenced the tremendous sales figures that Chicago has achieved. Now, they’re also going to secure some playoff revenue. From the outside, the appearance given by the Reinsdorfs and GarPax is that of a job well done.

For this year, it could have been worse. There really isn’t going to be a difference between drafting in the low- or mid-teens and a likely first-round exit in the playoffs isn’t any different than being the last team out.

However, management hasn’t shown that they have a plan moving forward. All outward facing facets of the organization have the same message – Forman and Paxson are safe and everything is fine. Things just aren’t good and nothing that is being demonstrated gives reason for confidence that next year will be different or better.

If Wade returns, a year older, he still proves to be a net negative for this team when he plays. And he likely won’t play all that much as he continues to age and a Hall of Fame-worthy career catches up with him.

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If the team brings back Rondo, it’s an incredible amount of money against their cap for a player that’s a year older and doesn’t play defense.

And, regardless of either of those looming decisions, another year of team control on an insanely team-friendly contract for Butler is down the drain. He’s only got two years left on this deal. Does he have another year or more of relative health? Can he continue to improve year after year or has he hit his ceiling? Butler may have just played his best season, dragging the Chicago carcass to the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. Butler may have just eclipsed his maximum trade value. The Bulls have an incredible player and I’m so glad that he’s a Bull. But is having a talent like Butler worth a 41-41 season that, at best, results in a first-round playoff exit? If the front office is committed to building with Butler on this team, they need to get to work fast.

Absolutely nothing the front office did this season indicates that is the case, and this is the single most disappointing thing about the 2016-17 Chicago Bulls.