For the better part of the past five seasons, frustration has been the defining word for the Chicago Bulls. Not because they've been terrible, but because they've exhaustingly been stuck in the middle. Each season, the front office rolls out nearly the same roster, makes a few minor tweaks, and hopes for a different result. While the front office sells it as stability, the fanbase knows it as something entirely different: contentment.
For years, Bulls fans have recognized the shortcomings of ownership and the front office. But now, that criticism is gaining nationwide traction. Media members and analysts with no emotional stake in the franchise are now starting to speak up. The patience for mediocrity has run out, and the rest of the basketball world is beginning to notice.
Little Reason for Optimism
One NBA insider/journalist, Zach Lowe, dedicated a portion of his most recent podcast to the Bulls during a deep dive into several teams around the league. His main takeaway? There's not much to be excited about in Chicago.
"It's gotta be hard to be a Bulls fan," Lowe said. "I think their 39 wins would be a lot for this team this year. I'm actually lower on their ability to replicate a barely sub-.500 record this season than I was a year ago. Other than Buzelis, I don't really know how to engage with this team."
That final line says everything we need to know. When one of the NBA's most respected journalists admits he doesn't know how to "engage" with a team, it isn't because he's truly not interested; it's because he's tired of the same result year in and year out. And it mirrors exactly how Bulls fans have felt for years.
No identity, no direction
Since the 2020–21 season, the Bulls have a cumulative record of 195-205. There's no clear rebuild and no real push for contention, just a commitment to being "good enough." Lowe summed it up perfectly: "Average. That's all they are. That's all they've aspired to be. They have no pathway to be anything but that."
It sounds harsh, but it's accurate. Chicago's main goal seems to be avoiding the bottom of the standings rather than finding a way to reach the top. The organization looks for a level of respect as if being mediocre is something to be proud of. "They act like they don't even know the lottery exists, and this is the team that got lucky in the Derrick Rose lottery," Lowe added.
A toll on Bulls fans
For Bulls fans, the emotional weight is becoming unbearable. Every season feels like a rerun. Same roster, same issues, same result. It's not that fans are expecting championships every year, they just want to know if the front office even has a plan in place.
"Bulls fans hate their team, and I understand why... they are the most unhappy fanbase in the NBA, and I don't think it's even close," Lowe said.
It's relieving to know that people outside the Chicago Bulls fanbase are now becoming familiar with the struggle. The Bulls have become basketball purgatory personified. They're not bad enough to draft a top rookie and not good enough to matter. Fans are left clinging to nostalgia, waiting for the front office to finally wake up.
Looking ahead
Lowe's biggest takeaway pointed directly at the heart of the Bulls' problem: "The only way this amounts to anything in the next three to five years is a massive injection of talent, either through free agency or draft lottery luck. If neither of those two things happen, I just don't really know where this goes."
This statement from Lowe has an even deeper connotation. Chicago's issue isn't a lack of talent; it's a lack of direction. To attract top-tier free agents, you need a roster worth joining. To land a franchise-altering draft pick, you need to be bad enough to qualify for one. The Bulls are caught in between, and that's exactly where the front office seems satisfied to stay.
The bottom line
Zach Lowe didn't say anything Bulls fans didn't already know. He just said it out loud to a national audience. The organization has mastered the ability of staying average, almost to the point in which it feels intentional. Until the front office decides what it truly wants to be, the Bulls will remain in the NBA's most frustrating spot.