After a promising start to this season, the Chicago Bulls ran out of gas and available bodies, eventually flaming out when the NBA Playoffs came around. This offseason, they’ll have plenty of decisions to make in the hopes that next year doesn’t unfold the same way.
The biggest question mark is obviously Zach LaVine‘s future as he enters unrestricted free agency. While he’s still likely to return to Chicago, other teams have been named in rumors, and he’s expected to test the waters with an open mind.
Barring something very unexpected, the rest of the core — DeMar DeRozan, Nikola Vucevic, Lonzo Ball, and Alex Caruso — will be back next year to build on their impressive run in 2021-2022. As the long summer continues, there are some important dates to keep in mind that will tell us more about Chicago’s plans as they gear up for the 2022-23 season.
Bulls fans need to know these key dates for the offseason
- According to Bobby Marks at ESPN (subscription required), the Bulls can only trade their 18th pick in the 2022 NBA Draft on the night of the event — June 23. He also states they cannot trade a future first due to owing picks to the Magic and Spurs, but they can trade their 2023 top-14 protected first-rounder from the Blazers.
- June 29: This is the last day Tony Bradley can opt into his $2 million player option. The Bulls also have until this day to tender a qualifying offer to Tyler Cook and Malcolm Hill to make them restricted free agents.
- June 30: This is the first day teams can begin negotiating with free agents, beginning at 6 p.m. ET. The Bulls have two restricted free agents in Troy Brown Jr and Matt Thomas and three unrestricted free agents in Zach LaVine, Derrick Jones Jr, and Tristan Thompson.
- July 1: Per HoopsRumors, this is the first day restricted free agents can begin signing offer sheets. The current team then has two days to match. If they don’t, the offer sheet becomes binding. This is also the date the moratorium period begins, which states agreed-upon deals aren’t official until it ends.
- July 6: The moratorium period ends at 12:01 p.m. ET. Teams can now officially sign, extend, and trade players. If an offer sheet was signed during the moratorium, the two-day window to match begins on this day.
- July 7: Per Marks, Chicago has until this date to use their $5 million trade exception from last year’s Daniel Theis deal.
- July 13: Per HoopsRumors, this is the last day teams can withdraw qualifying offers to restricted free agents.
- October 17: This is the last day the Bulls can sign Coby White to an extension.
The Bulls have a list of decisions to make this summer, and we’re only a few weeks away from things kicking into high gear.