As the Chicago Bulls and the rest of the NBA enter the final stretch of the 2020-21 season we have gotten a pretty clear picture of who the contenders are and who the pretenders are.
While the Bulls themselves are not competing for a championship this season and actually appear to be on the verge of missing the playoffs entirely, a number of players that used to play for the organization are going to the playoffs. Of those players, a select few are playing significant roles on teams with real title aspirations.
As the Bulls shift their focus onto the offseason and how to take the next steps toward becoming a contender, we will highlight some former Bulls that may be on their way to winning a championship this season.
A few players are honorable mentions at best. Saying they are truly playing for a ring would be a massive stretch. That includes a few New York Knicks, such as Derrick Rose and Taj Gibson. We will focus on the next tier of teams to make sure the focus remains on actual contenders.
Chicago Bulls Former Players Competing for a Championship: Cameron Payne, Phoenix Suns
Cameron Payne and the Phoenix Suns make the cut in terms of being a real contender this season for this writer. While they are much less likely to win it all than the upcoming teams, saying they don’t have a path to winning it all just seems lazy.
The Suns are one of the top Western Conference teams and have made massive improvements this season due to a number of improvements. One of those is their roster depth, and that is where Payne has earned himself a pretty important role on the team.
He was originally given a chance with the Suns last year when the bubble was taking place and parlayed that stretch of games into a significant bench role for the suddenly competing Suns. This year he is averaging 17.3 minutes per game for Phoenix.
In those minutes he is scoring 7.3 points per contest and shooting 40.2 percent from behind the arc. It has been quite the reinvention for Payne to prove himself as a capable and useful player in the association.
Payne played for the Bulls over the course of three seasons in which he made 67 appearances, including 26 starts. He didn’t pan out in a Bulls uniform like the team had hoped, averaging 6.7 points per game while shooting under 40 percent from the field in his time in Chicago.