A reconfiguration of the Chicago Bulls rotation this summer might involve a slight position change for big man Wendell Carter Jr.
Any number of changes could happen this summer in the Chicago Bulls camp. There needs to be sweeping changes that come along from the front office down within this Bulls organization given how poor the third year of the rebuild is going 60 games into the 2019-20 regular season. The Bulls own a record of 20-40 after a lame 125-115 loss on the road at the hands of the New York Knicks on Feb. 29.
Changes need to be on the way involving vice president of basketball operations John Paxson, general manager Gar Forman, and head coach Jim Boylen, along with a number of other voices in the Bulls front office. GarPax should really be the first to go if the Reinsdorfs want to evoke an actual culture change in the Windy City. Boylen would then be next to go if that were to happen.
The roster would also see sweeping changes if the front office and coaching staff were overhauled. The Bulls do have bits and pieces that could thrive in a rejuvenated version of the rebuild, but not everyone would be sticking around beyond this summer.
However, those aforementioned sweeping changes aren’t likely to happen exactly as I described. If literally any Bulls fan is familiar with the way this organization operates, necessary changes that need to be made don’t happen when the time calls for it.
In reality, maybe one or two changes will come to the front office and/or coaching staff this offseason.
One player that could see a change to his development and role this summer could be to-be third-year center Wendell Carter Jr. In that loss to the Knicks over the weekend, the Bulls got Carter Jr. back in the starting five after he missed nearly two months with a sprained ankle. There were examples this season of WCJ making strides on both ends of the floor prior to that injury.
If the Bulls coaching staff could use those strides to parlay Carter Jr.’s usage more effectively into the rotation, that would be great. WCJ does seem open to a hypothetical switch in positions if it were to happen this summer.
According to a report from Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, Carter Jr. would be open to his bosses switching his position at the end of the regular season. That doesn’t necessarily mean this is a change that will definitely happen, but it could be on the table at least.
Here’s exactly what that piece from Cowley had to say on the matter.
"“Are you saying [Carter] could play some four someday? Probably,’’ Boylen said. “I think he could, but he’s missed 50-some games in two years, so before we get there, we just gotta get him healthy and get him into a rhythm.’’Carter is all for that. But he also wants some winning to start happening. He’s only a second-year player, but he’s definitely looking to have a voice in this rebuild. Losing just isn’t cutting it.“Everybody has got to be able to look at themselves and know that even though we go out there and play well individually, we didn’t play well as a team,’’ Carter said. “If we can get everybody to understand that individual stats — someone doing something individually very good — do not lead to wins. Including myself, we’ve got to learn that none of that [expletive] matters if you’re not winning.’’"
So far this season, Carter Jr. is averaging 11.6 points per game, 9.9 rebounds, and 1.2 assists, while shooting 53.2 percent from the field and 21.4 percent from beyond the arc. He’s played in 38 games so far this season, and should get more playing time overall than he did during his rookie campaign.
Up next for Carter Jr. and the Bulls is a matchup on March 2 at home at the United Center against the Dallas Mavericks. The Bulls could also be getting small forward Otto Porter Jr. back from his foot fracture soon, and power forward Lauri Markkanen is already shooting around after his pelvic injury.