The Chicago Bulls haven't strayed much from their chosen path in recent years even though there is ample evidence that they should.
The Bulls have been stuck in a cycle: Not good enough to contend. Not bad enough to get a top draft pick. Rinse and repeat.
Arturas Karnisovas has said change is coming, but fans are firmly in wait-and-see mode after years marked by inaction.
The Bulls haven’t made a significant trade since 2021 and the flurry of moves Karnisovas made back then hurt the team more than they helped.
But their futility has stretched beyond AK and since 2018, the Bulls have found themselves in some lowly company.
Chicago Bulls record in the playoffs
Since 2018, the Chicago Bulls have only won one playoff game, which is the third worst in the NBA.
They are only behind the Hornets, who haven’t made the playoffs since 2016, and the lowly Pistons, who made it to the playoffs once in that time but got swept.
When you only have one more playoff win than Detroit, a team that has been bad since the Obama administration, you might want to reconsider your strategy. When the stinking Wizards have more playoff wins (3) than you, something isn’t going right.
It’s not just the playoffs, the Bulls are the 5th-worst team in the NBA in that span, barely ahead of the Magic, Hornets, Wizards and Pistons for fewest wins overall. The Pistons, Wizards and Hornets have mostly been tanking in that time and the Magic have only recently turned it around.
These were teams that were mostly losing on purpose while the Bulls were mostly trying to win, and Chicago just barely cleared them in that six-year stretch.
The Bulls are in one of the largest markets in the NBA and routinely lead the league in attendance yet find themselves at the bottom of the barrel with small and mid-market teams when it comes to wins.
The Bulls may be in Chicago, but they are far closer to being the Hornets than being among of the top big-market teams where they belong.
It’s an embarrassing run of regular season mediocrity with a splash of playoff futility that doesn’t befit an organization with the history and fans of the Chicago Bulls.
Whatever the Bulls think they are doing, it's not working, and it's time to make some changes.