NBA season tipoff is almost here, and that means Chicago Bulls basketball is back for the 2024-25 season.
After finishing 39-43 last season, the Bulls needed a new start. This offseason saw many changes in the roster makeup, and the Bulls are going with a younger and much newer look to their team this season.
Out with the old, in with the new
It was expected that after a bad season, general manager Marc Eversley and vice president of basketball operations Artūras Karnišovas would make some big moves. It all started with the Bulls’ veteran players.
The Bulls started by trading defensive lockdown point guard Alex Caruso to the Oklahoma City Thunder. In return, they received a young and promising Australian point guard, Josh Giddey, who is a strong facilitator.
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Next on the list was trading the team’s leading scorer, small forward DeMar DeRozan, to the Sacramento Kings. This was a three-team trade between the Kings, Bulls and the San Antonio Spurs. Chicago in return received shooting guard Chris Duarte and two second-round picks. Duarte was named to the NBA All-Rookie 2nd Team in 2022.
Along with those trades, the Bulls let go of the energetic Javonte Green, who signed with the New Orleans Pelicans. Along with Green, center Andre Drummond agreed to a deal with the Philadelphia 76ers.
After these moves took place, the Chicago front office’s message to fans was that they wanted to move forward with a younger core. The average age of the outgoing players was 32. The youngest player out of the four is Caruso at age 30.
With the 11th pick in the 2024 NBA draft, the Chicago Bulls select…
After getting assigned the 11th pick in the draft, it was expected that the Bulls were going to trade that pick away. So it was a surprise to see the Bulls decide to send their pick in. With their selection, they picked a potential future star piece in forward Matas Buzelis from the G-League Ignite team.
Buzelis is a lengthy player who can move around the court with ease. He is built to play the modern-day NBA style of basketball and was in conversations about being a potential No. 1 pick in this draft class. In his only season with G-League Ignite, he had a lot of ups and downs, only averaging 13 points a game and five rebounds. He also struggled shooting the ball, connecting on less than 25% of his three point attempts. However, he showed flashes of great potential, especially at NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.
Buzelis, if all goes well, could be a potential Rookie of the Year candidate. He has the talent and the team where he can showcase why he is the future of the Bulls, but he will need to put in a lot of work, especially in terms of getting stronger and shooting the ball at a higher clip.
“I want to win championships,” Buzelis told Chicago Sports Network. “For this rookie season, I want to win Rookie of the Year, and it’s gonna be on me if I don’t.”
Buzelis is able to bring size, athleticism and great versatility to the roster. The wing position for this team is very weak, and Buzelis can help bring in more size and rim protection, which is an area that the front office wants to fix.
Fans can expect big things from Buzelis as he figures out what kind of player he is on the team and in the league. Once he establishes his identity, he will be a big piece in Chicago’s future.
Expectations for the season
It is a new-look roster for the Bulls going into this season, so there will likely be a lot of ups and downs. Unfortunately, there may be more downs when it comes to their win-loss record. This season will give a good look into how the new players step up but may not be the most successful season overall.
All-star shooting guard Zach LaVine will be wearing a Bulls jersey after not finding a trade in the off-season. Nevertheless, LaVine looks to continue to be Chicago’s number one option, but only time will tell if he will end the season in the city.
Point guards Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu are looking like they will be the new go-to guys outside of LaVine to carry the load. After a breakout season from White, expectations are high for him to continue his upward trajectory.
Along with them, point guard Lonzo Ball is expected to make his return from injury this season. Ball hasn’t played a game in the NBA since January 2022 due to a complicated knee injury. The Bulls were the No. 1 team in the East before Ball went out. It will be great to have Ball back on the court to make plays being the versatile player he is, however, he will likely be on a heavy minutes restriction.
Although there is talent on the team, there are some raising questions about how it will all play out. They will most likely be starting White and Giddey at the guard position and have LaVine play the wing position. This lineup will create size disadvantages for the team and could lead to the Bulls being down early as they figure out how to play together.
Losing Caruso was a big hit to the defensive side for the Bulls, and it will be one of the main areas of concern at the start of the season. Dosunmu can step into Caruso’s role and be a great vocal leader that he was to the team, and once Ball has time to come back into his own, he can help guard high-threat guards as well.
It is expected that Ball will start the season off the bench with very limited playing time, which will give Dosumnu more time on the court. This long rotation list of guards will be a problem for the Bulls in terms of playing time, but they also have to focus on their wing position.
Now that DeRozan is gone, it is time for power forward Patrick Williams to step up. Williams played half the season last year only averaging ten points and just under four rebounds a game. Williams agreed to re-sign with the Bulls for five years and $90 million, being under contract until 2029. The fourth overall pick from the 2020 draft is entering his fifth season with something to prove. Williams took the time to learn behind DeRozan in the past three seasons, so if Williams does not step up and show progression, then the Bulls’ depth at the wing position will continue to be the problem.
Expect to see more substitutions from head coach Billy Donovan. This team will not be what we have been used to seeing the past three years. There will be a lot of experimenting going on, especially with the small ball guard lineups.
Issues that must be addressed and evaluated throughout the season are performance by the wing players, the guard rotation, perimeter defense and whether or not LaVine or Nikola Vucevic need to be traded.
This season will be one of those experimental years with a few positives and a lot to reflect on. It will be a test to see how Donovan and his coaching staff start to develop this roster.
Projected Record this season: 32–50
The Chicago Bulls tip off their season with a small road trip starting in New Orleans as they face the Pelicans to kick off the season on Oct. 23.
@Jon_Mathew23
