The most hotly discussed need in free agency this summer for Chicago Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley to address is at the point guard position. If Karnisovas, Eversley, and the Bulls can find a solid point guard to sign this offseason, or to trade for, then this team will be in a much more advantageous position to contend in the Eastern Conference heading into next season.
Some of the more commonly discussed point guard targets for the Bulls this summer include New Orleans Pelicans’ Lonzo Ball, Los Angeles Lakers’ Dennis Schroder, Philadelphia 76ers’ Ben Simmons, and Brooklyn Nets’ Spencer Dinwiddie, among others. The good news for the Bulls to find a point guard this summer is that there is a plethora of solid options out there.
Lonzo might be the favorite to land with the Bulls this summer, but the asking price for him is likely to go pretty high in restricted free agency. It would be very surprising if the price tag to sign him this summer is any lower than $22 million annually.
Woj says Dennis Schroder turned down four years and $84 million in free agency. Says Chicago and New York have lots of $ and big point guard aspirations, and that New Orleans and Dallas could try to create cap space for similar reasons.
— Adam Aaronson (@SixersAdam) July 25, 2021
One looming option that is commonly mentioned in connection with the Bulls is Schroder. But while a lot of people around the media landscape think that Schroder would be a decent point guard target for the Bulls, most fans in the Windy City validly disagree.
It would be a colossal mistake for the Chicago Bulls to sign Dennis Schroder
There are so many other options out there for the Bulls to pursue this summer at point guard instead of Schroder. My personal take on it would be that even the Los Angeles Lakers veteran scoring point guard Reggie Jackson would be a better target at the one for the Bulls than Schroder.
Schroder was mentioned by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski in a mock draft he was on this weekend that Chicago could be opening the door to pursue Schroder in unrestricted free agency this summer. But the Bulls should avoid doing that if there are any other quality point guards out there.
It would even be valid to say that second-year point guard and former North Carolina Tar Heel Coby White would be a better option at the one for the Bulls heading into next season.
Woj mentioned that the Bulls, New York Knicks, Dallas Mavericks, and Pelicans could all be preparing to offer a point guard like Schroder north of $18 million annually this summer. That asking price is way too high for someone like Schroder that has not registered a single box plus/minus above zero in eight seasons in his NBA career to date.
Head coach Billy Donovan is going to need a more capable point guard to run with in this starting unit next season than Schroder. Even signing someone like Jackson would be a pretty disappointing way for the Bulls to address the point guard need given how much better this team could be next season with the right player starting at the one.