Looking back on how executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley built out this team for the Chicago Bulls since the start of last season, there’s plenty to be appreciated of thus far. The Bulls are in a good spot right now in first place in the Eastern Conference standings 37 games into the regular season slate.
As the Bulls are taking on the Detroit Pistons on the night of Jan. 11, it’s important to know where this team was to also know where it could be headed next. The Bulls do look to be heading in a promising direction, despite the convincing loss at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks on the road on Jan. 9.
Dennis Schroder and who the Chicago Bulls would be worse off this season with if they had signed last offseason
Prior to that loss to the Mavs over the weekend, the Bulls held a nine-game winning streak. There will be ups and downs on this journey for the Bulls to what will hopefully be a deep postseason run.
But it now seems like a long time ago that the Bulls were one of the worst teams in the Eastern Conference. Just two seasons ago, the Bulls didn’t look to be headed in a great direction under former head coach Jim Boylen and the front office regime of John Paxson and Gar Forman.
AK and Eversley have shifted that direction, as has Donovan and this coaching staff that took over in place of Boylen and his staff.
Some of the moves that the Bulls made last offseason too helped to move the needle for this team. It was also good to see the Bulls avoid some of the players that were in free agency last offseason that would make the team worse off now than they are otherwise.
Here’s a look at three free agents from last offseason that would’ve made the Bulls worse than they are now this season.