First-year head coach Billy Donovan and the Chicago Bulls have definitely established themselves as one of the most inconsistent teams in the Eastern Conference post-All-Star Break and post-trade deadline. Just when it feels like Bulls fans have a good read on this team, they switch it up on you.
On the night of April 24, the Bulls had any hopes of establishing a two-game winning streak ruined by their former star shooting guard/small forward Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat. Through and through, the Heat controlled the pace of play in their win over the Bulls on April 24, up until about the fourth quarter. By then, it was too little too late for Donovan and the Bulls to come back and pull off the win.
Following their loss to the Heat on April 24, the Bulls now sport a record of 25-35. They’re starting to fall behind the red-hot Washington Wizards and the star guard duo of Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal very fast. The Wizards now hold a 1.5 game lead over the Bulls in the Eastern Conference standings, as they’ve won a whopping seven games in a row.
Meanwhile, the Bulls haven’t even come close to posting a .500 record since their busy trade deadline last month.
Looking back on the Chicago Bulls busy trade deadline
The Bulls’ new front office regime was very busy on deadline day last month. Back on March 25, the Bulls moved the look of their roster into more of a win-now mode. First-year executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley landed the likes of star big man Nikola Vucevic from the Orlando Magic, center Daniel Theis from the Boston Celtics, and shooting guard/small forward Troy Brown Jr. from the Wizards, among other deadline moves.
A few of the players that the Bulls shipped off at the deadline are doing well with their new teams too. That isn’t a great look for the Bulls’ new front office at the moment, with other former key pieces of the young core playing better elsewhere. But this win-now approach still needs to take some more patience than the Bulls fan base is sporting now.
Nonetheless, here’s a look at three former Bulls players that are shining elsewhere this season since leaving the team.