There will be no fighting for a No. 9 or 10 seed and a spot in the NBA Play-In Tournament for the Chicago Bulls this season. No mediocre year that ends in a late lottery pick.
At least that's the plan for 2024-25.
Certainly, there could be obstacles to the franchise accomplishing that. But it finally seems like the Bulls are ready to avoid another average campaign.
That doesn't mean there won't be intriguing storylines for fans to keep track of, however. On the contrary, it could be a more exciting season in Chicago, at least off the court.
Here are six narratives to keep track of as the organization enters year one of its rebuild.
Burning questions the Bulls need to answer in the 2024-25 NBA season
6. What's the plan for Lonzo Ball?
Lonzo Ball's return to an NBA floor this preseason was an unprecedented milestone. The veteran guard will be on a minutes restriction indefinitely until - maybe if - the team feels comfortable letting him ramp up.
That leads to two questions surrounding Ball's future in Chicago.
One, how much does he improve the team on the floor and as a leader in the locker room? And two, will that lead to a new contract?
The 26-year-old is an unrestricted free agent after the season. If he stays healthy and contributes, is it worth taking the risk and signing him to another deal?
5. Who will be the key contributors off Chicago's bench?
Bulls Head Coach Billy Donovan has some options outside his starting five. More importantly, most of them are young options who need playing time so the organization can continue to build its roster for the future.
Rookie Matas Buzelis will likely earn a starting spot at some point this season. Ayo Dosunmu will be the first guard off the bench for Donovan. Jalen Smith will likely be Nikola Vucevic's backup at center. Ball will get his minutes as long as he stays healty.
After that, things are up in the air.
Julian Phillips was a star in the preseason for the Bulls. His 6-foot-8 size, explosive athleticism and burgeoning outside shot give Chicago a 3-and-D wing archetype it doesn't have anywhere else on the roster.
Dalen Terry showed flashes in the exhibition games. Despite being listed as a guard, he would give Donovan another layer of versatility at 6-foot-7. Even Adama Sanogo could earn minutes in certain spots as one of the Bulls' best rebounders.
It will be interesting to see how Donovan allocates minutes to his young reserves.
4. Does Coby White take another leap?
Coby White finished second in the NBA's Most Improved Player voting last year. The 24-year-old averaged career highs in points, rebounds and assists on 45/38/84 shooting splits.
With Josh Giddey now in Chicago, Ball back in the rotation and Dosunmu coming off the bench, White can lean more into his skills as a scorer rather than spending a large chunk of his time at point guard.
Zach LaVine is back healthy as the Bulls' No. 1 scoring option, though. How does all of that affect White's development? Does it stunt his growth or open things up for him to continue his rise?
As one of Chicago's building blocks moving forward, a second consecutive season of marked improvement from White will be crucial.
3. How does Giddey fit in and what happens with a potential contract extension?
The Bulls brought Giddey in from Oklahoma City in exchange for Alex Caruso, a significant move that proved the franchise is ready to retool.
But the 22-year-old is coming off his worst NBA season and was played off the floor during the Thunder's playoff run last year because of his poor outside shot and individual defense.
Does he improve in either of those areas? Does he at least show he's the type of point guard Chicago wants moving forward as a 6-foot-8 facilitator who can stuff the stat sheet and use his rebounding ability to help the Bulls run their new up-tempo offense?
He will be a restricted free agent after the season and is reportedly looking for a new deal in the range of $30 million per year. On the one hand, Chicago would surely prefer not to trade for Giddey and let him walk after one season.
But if the alternative is overpaying for yet another player, do the Bulls want to do that either?
How Giddey plays this season will be the answer to that question.
2. Can Matas Buzelis prove he's a potential NBA star?
The Bulls' first-round selection in the 2024 draft flashed in Summer League, then in training camp and again in the preseason.
His athleticism and potential as a three-level scorer at his 6-foot-10 size, coupled with those flashes, point toward Buzelis possibly becoming Chicago's franchise centerpiece.
But can he carry that over to the regular season when he faces opposing teams' true rotations rather than their preseason lineups? If he doesn't begin the year as the Bulls' starting power forward, will he eventually take Patrick Williams' spot?
Only one thing matters more this season than the Illinois native proving he's a true building block for Chicago moving forward.
1. When will the Bulls trade Zach LaVine and/or Nikola Vucevic?
Chicago needs to finish with one of the sixth-worst records in the league this season to lock themselves into a top-10 pick and avoid sending its selection to the San Antonio Spurs.
LaVine has been on the trade block going back to last season, but the Bulls have had a difficult time trading an expensive, injury-prone shot chucker.
The franchise handed Vucevic a questionable-at-best contract extension, and he appears just as untradeable as a center who can't shoot threes or protect the rim.
On top of all that, playing the duo 30-plus minutes per night will cost the Bulls some critical losses.
There's no room on this team for veterans who will steal minutes from younger players and improve Chicago's record.
If or when the Bulls can trade one or both could define this season and the rebuild entirely.