Chicago Bulls: 3 reasons to give Brandon Ingram a max contract

2. Who else do the Bulls build around?

Since the Chicago Bulls clearly don’t have a solid option at small forward on the roster right now (or any obvious options in the 2020 NBA Draft class) to build around, where do they go from here?

Vice president of basketball operations John Paxson and general manager Gar Forman don’t seem to have a clear plan of attack either. And while there’s a lot of blame to place on GarPax’s shoulders for where the Bulls rebuild is at in its third year, I can’t really blame them for the lack of options to turn to this summer.

The 2021 free agent class will be much more potent and deep than 2020. All the Bulls could really try for in terms of landing a quality starter that has a lot of upside this summer is from a host of restricted free agents that might be staying in their same spots and a very limited list of unrestricted options.

The unrestricted players that could make a legit impact encompasses big men Andre Drummond and Montrezl Harrell, small forward Gordon Hayward, and power forward Danilo Gallinari. Unless someone like Ingram, San Antonio Spurs shooting guard DeMar DeRozan, or Utah Jazz point guard Mike Conley get away from their current teams, the Bulls will have to dig deep for answers.

This is why going for Ingram could make so much sense. If the Pelicans don’t want to give him that often-discussed max contract offer, then the Bulls could try and jump into the mix.

Other presumed cornerstones on the Bulls roster right now including power forward Lauri Markkanen, shooting guard Zach LaVine, center Wendell Carter Jr., and point guard Coby White might not be able to get them to where they want to go.