At this point of the offseason, the Chicago Bulls have largely rounded out the core part of the rotation ahead of next season for head coach Billy Donovan. Executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley were very busy at the outset of the free agency negotiation window last week making moves to help bolster this rotation.
With a full season under their belt to evaluate what was on hand with this roster from the previous front office regime of John Paxson and Gar Forman, Karnisovas and Eversley were ready to take the next steps in the reshaping of this organization. And they surely made quite the mark this offseason around the NBA landscape.
Chicago Bulls need to focus on the bench with what remains in free agency
It all started for Karnisovas, Eversley, and the Bulls with the big-time sign-and-trade deal with the New Orleans Pelicans to land restricted free agent point guard Lonzo Ball. The Bulls gave up veteran shooting guard Garrett Temple, combo guard Tomas Satoransky, and a second-round draft pick.
The other big sign-and-trade and Karnisovas, Eversley, and the Bulls pulled off in free agency thus far involved getting star shooting guard/forward DeMar DeRozan from the San Antonio Spurs. The Bulls gave up veteran forward Al-Farouq Aminu, forward Thaddeus Young, a first-round draft pick, and some second-round draft picks, in exchange for DeRozan.
That was a lot for the Bulls to give up to sign two free agents in Lonzo and DeRozan. But the goal is clear for Karnisovas and Eversley heading into next season; let’s finally get over this postseason hump.
Needs do still remain in the rotation in the midst of the Summer League slate, and ahead of the start of Training Camp and the preseason. Here’s a look into five of the better remaining free agent targets for the Bulls to help round out the bench.