With Free Agency starting in a matter of days, most teams are frantically attempting to lure big free agents. The Chicago Bulls shouldn’t do this.
The Chicago Bulls shouldn’t follow this trend and instead focus on the unheralded free agents.
Since the season ended, the impending free agent decisions of Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie Irving, etc. have taken over. Big market cities such as New York and Los Angeles have made it known that they are willing to spend whatever it takes at the expense of their young talent to create an immediate super team.
Chicago, being one of the major NBA cities, could join the crowd and with over 20 million in cap space, could lure a big free agent to join their team. But that isn’t the route the team should take. With their current roster, all the Bulls potential starters would be 26 years old or younger, who still have to prove their worth in the league.
Most of the tier one free agents are looking for situations where they could contend for a championship immediately, but the young core we have right now isn’t there yet and aren’t proven enough to convince a big fish to join the Windy City.
That brings us with the tier two free agents. These would be the Tobias Harris, Khris Middleton, Al Horford, Malcolm Brogdon, etc. of the league. These are exceptional players, but shouldn’t receive a max contract. That being said, they will be paid in the range of $20-30 million a year because other teams would have missed out on their tier one targets.
Sure if the Bulls went after a player of a tier two caliber, they may improve a little bit, but why would they do that? It would only hinder the development of the current young talent that the Bulls have. Anchoring the team to another 20 million dollar contract not only hinders future off season moves, but also takes touches away from players like Zach LaVine and Lauri Markkanen.
This current Chicago Bull’s team doesn’t need a high caliber player now. Instead they should use this year as an audition for their young talent. Even if Gar-Pax, for example, don’t believe LaVine or Markkanen aren’t the cornerstone pieces for their franchise, use this year to showcase their potential and increase their trade value. But if they do thrive, then you have your pieces for a future contender.
Instead, with their $20+ million cap space, the Bulls should chase after free agents who need a prove-it-year contract. They could overpay for a one year deal to sway them to join the Bulls. They would be able to both play enough minutes to show teams that they deserve a long term contract and the Bulls speed up their core players development without losing their cap flexibility.
Names that I thought the Bulls could go after that would fit this criteria include Isaiah Thomas, Cory Joseph, George Hill, Dewayne Dedmon, Nerlens Noel, Richaun Holmes, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Joakim Noah.
Although it may not show in next year’s record, this is the right choice for the Bulls and will benefit them in the long run as they attempt to build a contending roster.