The Chicago Bulls have had a baffling offseason that came a year and a half too late and has left them with a wonky roster.
After trading away Alex Caruso and DeMar DeRozan for Josh Giddey, Chris Duarte and some second-round picks, the Bulls have certainly gotten worse, which isn’t the worst thing considering they own a top-10 protected pick in next year’s loaded draft.
But they haven’t managed to trade Zach LaVine or Nikola Vucevic yet, so there is concern that the Bulls are just good enough to stay competitive in the Eastern Conference, but not good enough to make the playoffs, a familiar place to be in.
For those who are worried the Bulls may not be bad enough to tank, fear not, as their defense (as is stands right now) is going to be atrocious, so bad that it should ensure the Bulls keep their pick.
Ayo Dosunmu fills the Alex Caruso role, but then what?
The Bulls were 17th in points allowed last season, as mediocre as they were at everything else. They just lost their best defender in Caruso and a solid one in DeMar DeRozan and have replaced them with question marks.
The Bulls do have a couple of solid defensive players, including Ayo Dosunmu, who now takes the title of Chicago’s best perimeter defender.
He’s not going to replace Caruso, but he’s a versatile defender who can take on tough assignments and be a stopper at the point of attack.
The issues here are that Dosunmu may not start (though he could play starter’s minutes) and that he’s only one guy. They can slot him into the Caruso role as the all-purpose pesky defender who makes hustle plays, but beyond Dosunmu, it gets grim.
Chicago Bulls starting lineup could be horrible defensively
A lot could change between now and the regular season, but as it stands, Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic are still on the roster, and if they are, it’s hard to imagine them not in the starting lineup.
If you add Josh Giddey, Coby White and Patrick Williams, you have an interesting group offensively, but not one that is going to get stops.
Giddey, White and LaVine are not good point-of-attack defenders, so there are problems right away. Patrick Williams is probably the best defender of this group, but is pigeon-holed into playing power forward and defending bigger guys, so you lose some of what he offers on the perimeter.
Chicago will get help from the second unit, as Dosunmu is a plus defender and rookie Matas Buzelis should at least block some shots, though he may have a tough time staying in front of quicker wings. If Lonzo Ball is healthy, he’ll help, so Billy Donovan does have some options to plug the sieve on the perimeter.
But if the Bulls can’t stop players on the perimeter, it is going to be dunk city for the other team when they get to the rim.
The Bulls have no rim protection
The Bulls had better slow down dribble penetration on the perimeter, as there won’t be much resistance at the rim if teams are able to get into the paint.
Nikola Vucevic is not a good defender, has trouble switching on the perimeter and doesn’t block many shots at the rim.
Backup Jalen Smith is also not a shot blocker and the Bulls currently do not have a big man who averages even one block per game.
Smith is at least more versatile on the perimeter, but we are looking at a defense that will be lacking at both levels, especially in the possible starting five.
The flip side is that the Bulls could score a ton of points. If LaVine is back to form, he and White flanking Giddey should lead to a lot of buckets, but will it be enough to stop the onslaught on the other end?
This could all change with a big trade that drastically changes the Bulls roster, but as of right now, they are set up to have one of the worst defenses in the NBA next season.