Chicago Bulls: Officially eliminated from playoff contention

The Chicago Bulls have officially been eliminated from playoff contention following the Washington Wizards 120-105 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night.

It is not shocking news given the dominoes that needed to fall the Bulls way in order for them to make the playoffs, but it is certainly worth noting now that it has become official. Although this result has felt inevitable for a while now it is still a tough pill to swallow.

The Bulls are far more talented on paper than their record for the 2020-21 NBA season will show, Unfortunately, they were unable to turn that talent on paper into success on the court. Now the focus shifts to a crucial offseason for the franchise.

The Chicago Bulls ensured they have two all-star level players on their team moving forward when they acquired Nikola Vucevic from the Orlando Magic at the NBA trade deadline. In doing so, they gave up the rights to their first-round draft pick this season, unless it lands in the top four picks in the NBA lottery, in addition to multiple other assets.

While missing the playoffs does give them an outside chance at retaining their pick with a little lottery luck, it certainly can’t be counted on. Until the lottery plays out, the front office should assume they will not have a pick in the early first round.

That allows them to plan for free agency, any potential trades or even the possibility of trading back into the first round if needed.

The Chicago Bulls are entering a huge offseason

Keeping the pick would be a luxury at this point. With or without it, the Bulls need to make improvements to their roster via free agency and potentially on the trade market. This team, while talented collectively, has a number of needs that need to be addressed.

Making sure the pieces fit together is just as important as getting talent in the first place. It will be interesting to see who the Bulls target to improve around Zach LaVine, Vucevic and Patrick Williams moving forward.

The clock is ticking on LaVine’s contract and if improvements are not made sooner than later, the Bulls may find themselves watching as their all-star guard walks away. That makes this offseason huge for the front office, fans and organization as a whole.