The Chicago Bulls made quite a bit of noise in the hours leading up to the NBA trade deadline. Now that the deadline has passed and there is a clear outlook on how the roster will look for the remainder of the season we can look into the teams’ lineup and rotation moving forward.
Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley gave head coach Billy Donovan some options to consider both in terms of who the starting five will be and how the bench unit will look on a nightly basis. Obviously, options aren’t the worst problem an NBA head coach can have. Donovan has proven he can and more often than not will make the right choices with his team. That should only increase the optimism Bulls fans are feeling right now.
Chicago Bulls starting backcourt:
Point guard – Tomas Satoransky
Shooting guard – Zach LaVine
Satoransky has been in the starting lineup for a handful of games now and it seems unlikely the trade deadline moves are going to change that on day one. The reason he moved into the starting five had more to do with Coby White and Zach LaVine fitting together than it did with Sato forcing his way into the starting group.
While it’s expected Sato will be in the starting guard spot as the new Bulls make their first handful of appearances, there is truly no guarantee how long that will last. In an ideal world, White would force himself back into the starting unit at some point but no one should be holding their breath.
Next to him is LaVine, an obvious starter and the current face of the Chicago Bulls. LaVine is where everything starts and ends with this team, a statement that is still true after the deadline but not as dramatically.
Chicago Bulls starting frontcourt:
Small forward – Patrick Williams
Power forward – Lauri Markkanen
Center – Nikola Vucevic
Williams, who was taken fourth overall in the 2020 NBA Draft, is another locked-in member of the team’s starting unit. He doesn’t require the ball in his hands which is valuable when playing next to the lethal scorers he has beside him.
He will retain his spot and continue chipping in where asked as he grows into the NBA game. He will likely be joined in the frontcourt by Markkanen, who was heavily rumored to be discussed in trade talks but eventually didn’t go anywhere at all.
Markkanen is the hardest projection to make because Thaddeus Young is more than capable of starting in this spot as well. In the end, it comes down to fit with the players in the starting group vs coming off the bench.
Markkanen should have the opportunity early to show what he can do now playing off of LaVine and a stud center in Nikola Vucevic. He won’t be asked to be the team’s second scoring option anymore and that should help him get back into the flow of doing everything else right on the court.
Last but certainly not least, Vucevic starts at center. Obviously this is the case as he is a part of their All-Star 1-2 punch and they invested somewhat heavily in bringing him to the Windy City. No questions to be asked at the five.
Chicago Bulls bench unit:
Guard – Coby White
Forward – Thaddeus Young
Big – Daniel Theis
Wing/Guard – Garrett Temple
We need to start off on Temple who if healthy will likely have the opportunity to lock up that ninth spot in the rotation. If not healthy or unable to fend off the younger players behind him, it could eventually be a spot filled by one of either Denzel Valentine or Troy Brown Jr.
If those two really get a battle going for who is behind him the rotation could include whichever one wins out added behind Temple. There’s potential for a somewhat deep group if everyone is healthy moving forward.
The first three players off the bench, though, should combine to create an absolutely lethal bench unit. Not only when playing together, but they all have skills that can be inserted with different starters in order to play differently and expose the opponent’s weaknesses.
This group playing minutes together offers defense and rebounding in Young and Theis and allows White to go to work as the natural scoring guard he is. Young’s strong vision and passing ability offer a playmaker in the group that doesn’t force White into a role that might make him overthink things at this point in his career.
Chicago Bulls depth players:
First and foremost, a few of these players can certainly earn their way into the rotation. It won’t be given to them but it is not impossible they take it over the coming weeks. That being said, certain players are not going to force their way into minutes barring an injury before them on the depth chart.
Either way, these are the Bulls depth/ end of bench guys as of right now:
Guard – Javonte Green
Point guard – Ryan Arcidiacono
Center – Cristiano Felício
Guard – Adam Mokoka
Guard – Devon Dotson
Forward – Al-Farouq Aminu