This cycle of free agency will be very important for the Chicago Bulls front office to get right. Executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley have now had a full season to evaluate the talent on hand and what the direction of this franchise will be ahead of the 2021-22 season.
There was definitely a one-season grace period before expectations could realistically tick up a notch for head coach Billy Donovan, along with Karnisovas and Eversley. And it’s not like it’s realistic to expect the Bulls have the title window open up heading into next season.
Granted, it should be a very realistic expectation for Donovan and the Bulls to at least snap the four-year-long postseason drought. And to do that, the Bulls will need to upgrade this rotation, starting with the backcourt unit.
Not only do Karnisovas and the Bulls need to find a starting point guard of the future, but the depth to the bench among the guards also should be strong. The Bulls have some impending free agent guards that might not be brought back next season, like point guard Ryan Arcidiacono, veteran shooting guard Garrett Temple, and shooting guard/wing Denzel Valentine.
Among that trio of impending free agent Bulls guards, we do know that Arch is going to be able to fully test the open market this summer. The Bulls declined Arch’s team option (worth around $3 million) this offseason, which means he will become an unrestricted free agent.
If the Bulls don’t try to bring Arch back next season on a minimum deal, here’s a look into three free agent guards that could be replacements for his spot in the rotation.