The Chicago Bulls have been stuck in the no-man's land of teams that haven’t bottomed out but aren’t good enough to really compete for anything meaningful.
They’ve shown signs of a possible rebuild but a quick look at their payroll shows it was a half-measure that may not have the desired results, as the Bulls might again be just good enough to deny themselves a top-10 draft pick.
HoopsHype recently ranked the top-100 players currently in the NBA and the Bulls were well represented, with four players making the cut. But their placement on the list shows a continued theme for the Bulls, one that might lead to the familiar land of mediocrity.
Chicago Bulls on the top-100 players list
The Bulls had four players ranked in the top-100:
#89: Nikola Vucevic
#72: Josh Giddey
#70: Coby White
#62: Zach LaVine
While it’s nice to have four players on the list, it does show some of the problems the Bulls are facing, as two guys are young players they are hoping will make big leaps and two are guys they are actively trying to trade.
I’d argue that Vucevic is wildly overrated given his defensive liabilities and LaVine is coming off a season-ending surgery and is a complete unknown at this point. Giddey is in the first year with a new team and White is trying to make the leap from role player to star.
The Bulls’ representatives are all on the back half of the list, which shows a continued theme for Chicago, one they will have to end if they ever want to climb back into the elite of the NBA.