Before the 2017-18 season starts for the new-look Chicago Bulls, the staff here at Pippen Ain’t Easy sat down and discussed some trendy topics heading into a rebuilding phase.
Brace yourselves. The Chicago Bulls are almost playing basketball games that technically count this season.
The Bulls open their 2017-18 NBA season on Thursday night against the Toronto Raptors, or as they were formerly known in the last couple of seasons in Chicago: the Tortrashto Trashtors.
(Seriously, Raps? How many losses in a row to the Bulls? 10? 11? Figure it out. If you’re losing to the Bulls 11 straight times, you need to re-evaluate your entire life.)
This season marks a new era of Bulls basketball. In the offseason, the Bulls traded three-time All-Star Jimmy Butler to the Minnesota Timberwolves and decided that a full-on rebuild was the best course for the future of the franchise.
Rajon Rondo was waived over the summer, while the rest of Dwyane Wade‘s mind-boggling two-year contract he signed last summer was bought out and the three-time NBA champion is now a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Bulls did sign Cristiano Felicio to a four-year, $32 million deal, while the Bulls brought in fresh faces in the forms of Kris Dunn, Zach LaVine and Lauri Markkanen, the No. 7 overall pick in the draft that the Bulls acquired in the Butler trade.
To the surprise of no one, the Bulls are one of the league’s youngest teams and on paper, they’re one of the worst teams in the NBA today. It’s going to take a while for the Bulls to become relevant again, which means this season is going to be a long one.
Thankfully, the fine folks here at Pippen Ain’t Easy and myself sat down to discuss some topics surrounding the Bulls heading into the 2017-18 season so you don’t have to. We understand. The Bears are starting Mitch Trubisky and the Cubs are in the National League Championship Series. We wouldn’t watch the Bulls either if we didn’t have to.
(We probably still would because it’s going to be hilariously bad at times. That’s a positive in a rebuilding phase!)
So, with that inspiring introduction out of the way, here’s five burning questions surrounding the Bulls heading into a new season.
Joining me today is Pippen Ain’t Easy co-expert Daniel Greenberg, and contributors Dru Berry, Craig Brallier, Willie Lutz, Nicholas Niendorf, Matt Ostrowski, Matthew Price. Former PAE co-expert Daniel Coughlin will also join us for a guest appearance in the discussion.