Remodeling the Chicago Bulls bench for the 2017-18 season
By Willie Lutz
There are clearly things the Chicago Bulls need to fix this offseason; things that can’t be fixed by the Jared Kushner-led unit from my piece on Saturday. With regards to the 2016-17 bench, the unit was resoundingly, well you watched ’em, average. However, reconstructing the bench may be the most valuable thing the Bulls could do between now and day one of next season.
Lacking a ton of cap flexibility, Gar Forman, John Paxson and the Chicago Bulls aren’t a landing-pad for a superstar free agent. However, there is clearly enough capital to create an optimal bench for a Bulls’ unit that was lackluster in 2016-17.
First, let’s start with some stats.
Middle-to-bottom of the pack is used to describe last year’s Bulls as a whole. Additionally, this is transcendent of the unit on the bench. Averaging 33.7 points (17th), shooting 41.9 percent from the field (28th) and ranking 18th in efficiency, the Bulls’ reserves, as a whole, were simply unimpressive.
While the bench was fifth in rebounding, it was ranked at 14th in defensive efficiency. Despite the efforts on the boards, the unit could simply be better with some tinkering.
Let’s be clear; there were guys on the bench who contributed valuable minutes on a regular basis. Those guys are more than welcome to stay. The rest of them can find a home somewhere else, because right now, the bench is lacking a clear message.
Examining the teams at the top of each conference: Boston, Golden State, San Antonio and Cleveland all seem to have a tough second unit. Adding that dynamic for Fred Hoiberg could be gigantic in the long run.