Before I really dig into this list, I want to give a precursor that the point of looking at this is to see what the Chicago Bulls front office was able to do in free agency last offseason, and what options they potentially missed out on. I personally believe that executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley did a great job on the free agent market last offseason.
But there is always room to reflect and see how other potential free agent signings turned out so far this season, as we’re around one-quarter of the way through the 2021-22 NBA regular season.
Some of the bigger free agent signings for Karinsovas and the Bulls during the offseason included the former New Orleans Pelicans point guard Lonzo Ball, former San Antonio Spurs star shooting guard/forward DeMar DeRozan, and ex-Los Angeles Lakers point guard Alex Caruso. That trio highlighted the Bulls’ activity in terms of acquisitions during the summer.
Hindsight free agents Arturas Karnisovas and the Chicago Bulls could’ve targeted
A good portion of the Bulls’ bigger additions during the offseason came via sign-and-trade deals during the first week of the free agent negotiation window. DeRozan and Lonzo were both acquired via big-time sign-and-trade deals in August.
The Bulls also landed the former Portland Trail Blazers and Miami Heat small forward Derrick Jones Jr. via a sign-and-trade deal that sent power forward Lauri Markkanen to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
However, which players out of the free agent class from last offseason would’ve fit well with the Bulls in hindsight? Here’s a look at three free agents that Karnisovas and the Bulls missed out on during the summer of 2021.