Increased hope about what the Chicago Bulls outlook is for next season was brought on thanks to a nice offseason from the front office. The Bulls are clearly going all in on this current unit, especially with how much draft capital Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley have shelled out since the trade deadline last season.
Two of the key additions for Karnisovas, Eversley, and the Bulls this summer included the former New Orleans Pelicans point guard Lonzo Ball and San Antonio Spurs star shooting guard/forward DeMar DeRozan. The Bulls nabbed both Lonzo and DeRozan by way of sign-and-trade deals. They didn’t have to give up too much to sign Lonzo, but the same can’t be said for DeRozan.
Moreover, it’s clear that this Bulls team is going into full win now mode with this new core group on hand. Head coach Billy Donovan has a solid starting unit to work with heading into next season, which also includes the trio of star shooting guard Zach LaVine, second-year forward Patrick Williams, and star center Nikola Vucevic.
Interesting opinion from Charles Barkley about the Bulls on @WaddleandSilvy: "I'll be totally shocked if they don't make the playoffs. And I'm not just saying this ... I think it's fair to say the Chicago Bulls have had the best offseason in the NBA."
— Nick Friedell (@NickFriedell) August 26, 2021
While it looks like the Bulls are clear postseason contenders heading into next season, not everyone is a believer. Former Bulls and current ESPN reporter Nick Friedell has expressed his opinion multiple times that he doesn’t feel that all of these additions will actually effectively move the needle for this team.
Charles Barkley high on what the Chicago Bulls can do next season
But the Hall-of-Fame forward and TNT media personality Charles Barkley apparently feels different than Friedell regarding all of these moves the Bulls made this offseason. Barkley actually feels that the Bulls had the best offseason of any team around the NBA landscape.
Barkley sounds like he believes that all of these moves for the Bulls will definitely finally get this team over the postseason hump. Where exactly he believes the Bulls could fall into the Eastern Conference playoff picture is unclear.
It’s still good to hear about the positive reviews coming from a big name around the NBA landscape that the Bulls did well this offseason. You won’t find many media personalities that feel that the Bulls got worse during the offseason. Most contrarian opinions have to do with how much the Bulls gave up to get key pieces like DeRozan and Lonzo.
The Bulls are set to open up the 2021-22 regular season slate on the road on Oct. 20 against the divisional foe Detroit Pistons. That will be the first step in seeing if Donovan and the Bulls can meet the increased hype levels next season.