Are the Chicago Bulls better suited to compete or rebuild?
By Evan Bruner
The case for staying put may not be as exciting or compelling, but it still holds merit. The Bulls have tried their hand at multiple rebuilds since Michael Jordan’s second retirement, and outside of a couple of runs in the early 2010s, they were largely unsuccessful.
Most recently, the team traded away Jimmy Butler on the night of the 2017 draft in hopes of building a younger roster that would compete in the future. The Bulls had four top 10 picks between the 2017 and 2020 drafts, selecting Lauri Markkanen, Wendell Carter Jr., Coby White, and Patrick Williams. Markkanen and Carter are no longer with the team, and White and Williams haven’t lived up to their draft status, leaving their future with the team in doubt.
Why the Chicago Bulls should keep this roster together.
In other words, while Jimmy Butler was able to find similar levels of success with other teams, it took the Bulls several years to get close to being the team they were in the Tom Thibodeau days. The issue with rebuilds is that there is no definitive timeline. Some teams only need a couple of years. Others spend over a decade in the lottery trying to find their franchise cornerstone.
While the Bulls roster has its holes, it also has its bright spots. Making the precipitous decision to blow up the team mid-season will offer far more questions than answers, and with the Bulls’ 2023 first-round pick only being top four protected, it may not even offer immediate benefits.