The Chicago Bulls are going to enter the 2025-26 NBA season in the same place they entered essentially every other season for the past decade: somewhere in the bottom half of the Eastern Conference, but not quite the bottom bottom, but definitely not close enough to the top to warrant real excitement from the fan base.
It's a common refrain to say the Bulls are stuck in mediocrity, but is it really true they're stuck? The fans certainly feel stuck. But the front office, including president of basketball operations Artūras Karnišovas, GM Marc Eversley and owner Jerry Reinsdorf, seem fine with it all. And that's why there's no reason to think the Bulls will soon change into anything except the middling team they've been for years; because everyone in charge is fine with doing just a bit more than the bare minimum.
It also won't comfort fans to know that at least one Bulls player will defend the job the ownership group has done. Center Nikola Vucevic recently talked about his relationship with the front office:
"I know it is kind of the position he is in. If the results are not there, we all get a little bit of criticism, but that just comes with the job," Vucevic told BasketNews. "When he first got there, I thought he made some very good moves—signing Lonzo, Caruso, Vucevic, and DeMar. I thought it was a very good team; it just did not work out.
The Bulls' inactivity is what has doomed them for years
That part I actually agree with. The first half of the first season of the Lonzo / Caruso / DeRozan era (can it be called an era?) was electrifying. Everyone was flying around for loose balls and throwing down dunks and United Center was popping.
But then it faded quickly, and it was clear that wasn't going to work... and the front office did nothing to adapt with the situation. The attitude that they gave it the ole' college try doesn't resonate with fans.
"After that, sometimes it is hard to figure out what to do next. We had a lot of injuries and other challenges, but overall, I think he has done a good job," Vucevic stated. "Now they have decided to go with slightly younger players, and they did a good job in the draft as well."
Again, I agree with Vooch here... sort of. It is hard to figure out what to do next. But players are expected to perform consistently and adapt to their situations, and front offices should be, too. I don't blame Vucevic for not going scorched Earth on his bosses, by the way. That doesn't make for a comfortable work environment.
The Zach LaVine trade, the hesitation on either signing Josh Giddey or trading him, the lack of Nikola Vucevic trade, the draft pick of talented but very raw prospect Noa Essengue... none of it feels like it's being done with conviction. Every move the Bulls make right now feels like its done with trepidation, and that's led to, unsurprisingly, a blurry outlook for the immediate and long-term future.