Bulls: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly from 2023 NBA Summer League

After failing to secure a late comeback against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the fourth game of Summer League action, the Chicago Bulls have officially been eliminated from contending for the tournament’s championship. Looking good in several areas, and pretty awful in others, this Bulls team went 2-2 in their slate of exhibition games and has left us with plenty to digest in the coming weeks.

Now that the Bulls have been eliminated from the Summer League playoff chase, their fifth and final consolation game in Las Vegas has been scheduled for Saturday against the Wizards. This will be the last opportunity for several players on this roster to show out, so I expect to see a few more minutes allocated to the fringe and relatively unknown players on the roster.

As for the players most Bulls fans tuned in to see — primarily Dalen Terry and Chicago’s newly drafted pair of rookies — we’ve seen enough to draw quite a few conclusions. Some of these paint an optimistic picture, others… not so much. Let’s dive into the good, the bad, and the ugly of the Chicago Bulls’ 2023 trip to Las Vegas.

The Good: Javon Freeman-Liberty looks primed to make a leap

Having already covered Javon Freeman-Liberty’s breakthrough Summer League performance extensively here at Pippen Ain’t Easy, you shouldn’t be surprised to see him here headlining the “Good” section. Averaging 20.5 points, 4.3 assists, and 4 rebounds per game, there was never any doubt that JFL was the Bulls’ best player in the Summer League.

On the back of his great efforts, the Bulls achieved a 2-2 record. Had the Bulls managed to close out a close game against the undefeated Cavaliers, they could have advanced to the Summer League playoffs to compete for their first championship since 2016. While that reality may have not come to fruition, at the very least we now know that Chicago has an incredible prospect on their hands with Freeman-Liberty.