The Chicago Bulls are not going to be in a good position heading into this cycle of free agency and the NBA Draft in all likelihood.
The dysfunction within the Chicago Bulls organization is hitting a new high this offseason with all of the turmoil in the locker room and with the coaching staff. The Bulls had a lot of their best players getting mentioned in the midst of a ton of discussions, from the rumor mill to the inner turmoil, in the last few days.
Among those top Bulls players that had their names tossed around the turmoil/rumor mill discussion are 25-year-old former UCLA Bruins shooting guard Zach LaVine and 23-year-old former Arizona Wildcats power forward Lauri Markkanen. A few other names to watch includes center Wendell Carter Jr. and veteran forward Thaddeus Young in those same discussions.
However, Markkanen and LaVine really came to the forefront in this dysfunctional Bulls discussion of late. Apparently Markkanen wasn’t thrilled with the way the Bulls were running the offense in the season that was for them under the direction of head coach Jim Boylen.
According to a report from Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times on Aug. 1, Markkanen is one of multiple Bulls forwards/big men that is getting interest from other teams around the NBA in potential trade talks. But Markkanen is gaining momentum on the trade block too since he apparently “privately ridiculed” their offense under Boylen in the season that was.
Here’s more on what this piece from the Sun-Times had to say on the matter.
"It was a square peg trying to be jammed into a round hole, and Boylen was accepting whatever the analytics department was feeding him.LaVine did have one of his better offensive seasons, but he still felt somewhat handcuffed and could have done more. The same can’t be said for Markkanen, who privately ridiculed the offense most of the season."
This isn’t a good sign for the Bulls team chemistry or how the locker room feels about Boylen potentially heading into another season with him as the head coach.
Can anyone really blame the players for not being happy with the way that the coaching situation is being treated by ownership and the new look front office regime?
No.
But this level of dysfunction just after the Bulls reshaped the look of their front office from the top-down is not a good look either. This was supposed to be the key offseason that helped to jump start a new era in the Bulls rebuild.
So far nothing of the sort is happening. And the frustrations with the players and fan base will continue to mount until the full necessary changes are made.
The Bulls finished up the 2019-20 regular season, prior to the novel coronavirus pandemic-induced hiatus, with a record of 22-43. They finished well outside of the standings that were needed for them to get into the NBA’s 22-team restart plan.