Despite the gruesome 2017-18 slate ahead, the Chicago Bulls look like they have what it takes to come up green. With copious cash, an attractive city and a young roster, GarPax might’ve cooked up something good. Perhaps Chicago is up for a quick rebuild after all.
It’s late in the month of August and I’ll stay on the “the Jimmy Butler trade stunk” team, but I maintain my right to say it could work for the Chicago Bulls. The biggest step in the positive direction is the Dwyane Wade buyout, which seems imminent.
Since, and I’m assuming here, we’re not in any seat of the Bulls front office, we’ll never know. Currently, the Bulls might be two years out from a top-4 seed in a decimated Eastern Conference.
Let’s take a look at the core of this team, or at least what we’re left to assume is the core. Zach LaVine, Lauri Markkanen, Kris Dunn (?) and whatever comes from the 2018 draft. That’s not good.
You know what sounds better? Dishing out Robin Lopez, buying out Wade and drafting Marvin Bagley III/Michael Porter Jr/Luka Doncic (pick your poison) atop the lottery.
Credit some interesting trade and contract decisions that’ll eventually lead to this potential turbo rebuild. Kyrie Irving’s trade to Boston waters down division rival Cleveland. Factor in the LeBron James to LA rumors and you’ve got yourself a mighty weak Eastern Conference.
If LaVine, Markkanen, and a potential top-tier 2018 pick turn green, Chicago is a free agent hotbed in the future
Suddenly, the Windy City outlook doesn’t seem so bleak. It’s not entirely unlikely that GarPax picked the right moment to play prospects.
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This Eastern Conference is a disaster outside of Boston and Cleveland. Granted, Cleveland’s reign looks like one or two years from its own doom. Meanwhile, looking around the league, Milwaukee looks like the only other pool of hope. Giannis Antetokounmpo is legit, deal with it (not that it’s controversial).
Meanwhile, the Bulls are silently reeling out the old and bringing in the new. With the sixth-youngest roster among NBA teams, the average Bull is about 24 years old. Without Wade, it’s shaded just below that 24-year-old mark.
Even today, this team is young. Fortunately, that means they’ll be learning to play together during their rookie and second contracts.
Looking ahead to the 2018 offseason, where I’ll assume the Bulls pick will be in the top-5 range, this rebuild looks like it’ll zip along, assuming free agents are interested in Chicago. LeBron James, Paul George, DeMarcus Cousins and Isaiah Thomas are among a daunting 2018 class of free agents.
Scooping up any one of the aforementioned players makes the Bulls a contender. However, for the time being, Bulls fans should hope for a 2017-18 stink-a-thon for a shot at a top-3 pick. Luka Doncic, Michael Porter Jr and Marvin Bagley III all look like franchise-changing players.