Chicago Bulls: 5 free agents that must be avoided this offseason

The Chicago Bulls are expected to have a busy offseason this year. Unlike last offseason, changes are inevitable and moves will be made by the front office in hopes of building a team that can find more success than the group did during the 2020-21 NBA campaign.

We know more about Arturas Karnisovas and his front offices approach this year, as well. When they made the blockbuster trade for Nikola Vucevic, among other trade deadline deals, their priorities became much more clear.

The top priority is rostering the best possible group. That may seem like common sense, but it’s worth mentioning again because the Bulls valued a proven all-star caliber player more than upcoming draft picks.

Moves like that should make the fan base excited. Being excited does not mean the fan base should not be watching closely, though. The team has a long way to go to be a true playoff team in the Eastern Conference.

That’s what makes this off-season so vital. Oftentimes people discuss the moves teams make. Less often, people credit the moves teams avoid making. That will be the focus of this piece. The Bulls not only need to pull the right strings, but they also need to avoid crucial mistakes.

There will be a theme with some of these players you will notice. That theme will be age, which needs to be a major factor in who the Bulls pursue this off-season.

When building this team around Zach LaVine, there needs to not only be a high level of play right now but also enough promise moving forward to convince LaVine the Bulls can build a winner in the coming seasons.

Bad contracts can’t be given out. In fact, every dollar of cap space needs to be valued and used efficiently in order for this Bulls group to get to where they want to be. It’s going to be a tough job, but there is reason to believe this front office is up to the task.

Before they start making moves, the front office needs to commit to players that simply should not be on their list of targets. This is not only about talent level but also about upside, contract and how a player will affect the team moving forward.