The Chicago Bulls 2019-20 season is growing closer. With a young roster, unproven head coach and embattled front office there is a lot to prove.
By now everybody is over the 22-60 debacle that was the 2018-19 season for the Chicago Bulls. The team put up poor numbers in a whole host of statistical categories while dealing with various injuries and turmoil brought on by an early-season coaching change. By season’s end, the tension between media and the front office even seemed strained, if ever so slightly.
Summer 2019 has been quite the opposite though. Not only has the media coverage of the team by and large been more favorable, but the moves made by the team has garnered positive attention on the national level and from around the association. That is an encouraging sign given all that took place in the last 12 months.
But winning the offseason is completely separate from winning in the regular season, something the Bulls struggled with last season.
What they have done has the potential to turn into more victories, a supporting cast for a superstar, and (hopefully) eventually a championship. But in sports, ‘potential’ might as well be a four-letter word. So much can change from game to game, let alone from season to season, that teams have to strike while the so-called getting is good.
Are the Bulls really in a position to take advantage of the stage they have set for themselves?
The Front Office
Everything starts at the top. It is no surprise then that with the state of flux the Bulls have been in, really, since Derrick Rose was traded to the New York Knicks, that the front office has been under almost incessant heat. John Paxson, in his umteenth season on the Westside, and Gar Forman are synonymous with that and ownership has bristled when that is brought up.
It is understandable that they would, though. After all, the Bulls have only missed the postseason five times and won fewer than 41 games four times in the 16 seasons Paxson has been at the helm. In that span, they also had the youngest MVP in league history.
But their .510 regular-season winning percentage since the 2003-04 is tied for 13th with the Los Angeles Lakers.
They have only made it beyond the first round four times in 11 postseason appearances; the last time being in 2015. And they have only made one Conference Finals. Injuries played a role in much of the makeover the team has undergone, sure. But friction between at least two head coaches, one getting physical, has also led to the negative that has hung over this team.
To their credit, Paxson and Forman have done well assembling the talent on this roster in the wake of two rebuilds but haven’t always handled the talent well. They have a similar situation brewing this year. Most have applauded their efforts this offseason. From staying put in the draft and landing their point guard of the future to shrewd signings to fill holes made evident in 2018.
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The Head Coach
Jim Boylen is, perhaps, in the least enviable position of all. He is tasked with justifying his bosses’ decision to not only install him in place of a fired Fred Hoiberg but for extending his contract. He deserved to be paid commensurate to his role, sure. But the coach went (17-41) and brought up the rear in numerous statistical categories.
Under normal circumstances the fate of the front office would be tied to Boylen. But in Chicago, a failure from the coach likely just means another firing and a new coach.
That’s where it gets tricky for Boylen though. How much of the struggles from 2018 can be realistically laid at his feet? Many actually. The myriad of injuries certainly dampened any hopes of a big step forward for the squad last season. But the team still regressed in some key areas and Boylen’s approach rubbed some players the wrong way initially.
They got over that by year’s end but the results on the floor didn’t get any better. Will better health really be enough to lift the funk of a (22-60) season? Player improvement is obviously required but, while not a given, it is an expectation.
Especially with all the workout videos on the internet these days.
Squad Goals
The front office can have made all the right moves. Boylen could channel his inner-Pop. None of it will matter if the players don’t hold up their end. The core guys should have lofty goals like making the All-Star team (Zach LaVine) and averaging 20-plus points and double-digit boards (Lauri Markkanen). Rookies and free-agent additions just need to fill in the blanks.
The Bulls roster is interesting because it has the pieces and potential to either be a strong supporting cast or an under-the-radar playoff contender.
They could have an even higher ceiling if Lauri can recreate his stretch from February 2 to March 1, when he averaged 26.5 points and 12.6 boards per game and never scored fewer than 20 points. During that stretch, LaVine put up 26.5 points, 6.1 assists, and 5.7 boards per game.
That would have made them the second-highest scoring duo in the NBA last season, Just behind (.3 points) the Steph Curry and Kevin Durant of the Warriors and ahead of Houston Rockets James Harden and Clint Capela and former Oklahoma City Thunder Russell Westbrook and Paul George.
It was a ridiculously small sample size, but if that run was a glimpse of the future and not just an aberration, things could get interesting at the United Center this fall.
Winning the Offseason Vs. Actually Winning
Summer 2019 has been kind to the Bulls. They got their point guard without giving up anything. They’ll presumably have better health in 2019, though Chandler Hutchison reportedly has suffered a hamstring strain. And the players appear ready to take the next step. Too bad offseasons this solid don’t count for wins.