Additions: Jordan Crawford
This move baffles me. I guess his contract isn’t guaranteed, so there’s that. But why do the Bulls need this guy? He didn’t even play in the NBA last year. Paul Steeno of DaWindyCity.com broke the signing down rather clearly. It’s almost like the Bulls are trying to bring Nate Robinson back. You don’t need him. Crawford will most likely play behind Jimmy Butler, Tony Snell, and E’Twaun Moore. If this is anything more than a training camp sign-and-release, it’s a bit of a headscratcher.
Subtractions: Nazr Mohammed
Nazr Mohammed had a nice career. He never scored 10 PPG over a season, nor did he average 8 RPG (his career-high was 7.9 RPG with Atlanta in 2001/02). But he did play 17 years and won a championship with San Antonio in 2005. I haven’t seen an official announcement but Mohammed admitted he was contemplating retirement earlier this summer and he hasn’t since signed with anybody.
Rookies: Christiano Felicio, Bobby Portis
After two years at Arkansas, Bobby Portis entered the 2015 NBA draft where he was selected 22nd by the Chicago Bulls. Looking to add another big body, the Bulls may have found themselves a solid low-risk/high-reward guy. First of all, there aren’t any glaring flaws in Portis’ game. He’s not an exceptional scorer but can certainly find his spots over the course of the game. He’s an above average shooter who will most likely develop into a long-range bomber. He’s always active on both ends of the floor and the offensive glass. At just 20, Portis already has impressive size and length (6’11”, 230 lbs., 7,0” wingspan). However, he’s not a great athlete and some have questioned how high his ceiling is. I don’t expect Portis to get a ton of time as he plays behind a solid rotation of bigs, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he shows some flashes in limited time.
Guards: Earlier this week, Derrick Rose openly admitted he was looking forward to the summer of 2017/18 in hopes of a big payday. I have no problem with Rose speaking openly about money (I encourage every player to do the same), but understandably it rubbed a few people the wrong way. Rose will make $20.1 million this year and he’s currently the ninth highest-paid player in the NBA. Jeff Feyerer of B-Ball Breakdown designed a table that argues Rose is highly-overcompensated right now. So the big question is: How good does Derrick Rose think he is? As a guy who’s had him on his fantasy team two of the last three seasons, I don’t think he’s that good. Is he still a Top-10 player? No way. Top-10 point guard? Probably not. Best player on the Bulls? Doubtful. Rose showed flashes of brilliance last season, but the bottom line is that he’s only played 100 games over the last four season. Even in his “comeback year” of 2014/15, Rose still missed 31 games. In comparison to the Bulls’ actual best player, Rose just doesn’t match up. While Rose averaged 17.7 PPG off 16.4 field goals a game shooting 40.5% from the field and 28% from three, Butler averaged 20 PPG while taking just 14 field goals per contest and shooting 46.2% from the field and 37.8% from three. Furthermore, Butler posted a 21.3 PER and an 11.2 win share (sixth in the NBA), while Rose had a 15.9 PER and a paltry 1.2 win share. Yet, Derrick Rose still has a usage rate of 31.7 (fifth in the NBA). But this is becoming Butler’s team—his shooting helps space the floor, he’s an excellent perimeter defender, and he even does the little things. If Rose wants a pay increase, he’s gonna have to go elsewhere to get it. Bulls’ mainstay Kirk Hinrich will back up Rose at the point. Despite a career low in minutes (24.4 MPG) and consequently points (5.7 PPG) and assists (2.2 APG), Hinrich is reliable. He’s played 10 seasons with the Bulls and will have no problem fitting Coach Hoiberg’s system. Aaron Brooks will provide the depth that will prove necessary once Derrick Rose is inevitably out 4-6 weeks. Tony Snell continues to improve—he shot much better from the field and three last season, and should develop even further defensively.
Forwards: Although he didn’t do much of anything last season (3 PPG in 36 games), with Mike Dunleavy on the shelf for the first month of the season, Doug McDermott may get the opportunity to start opening day. As Jeremy Karll of Pippen Ain’t Easy noted, McDermott shot the ball much better last season when he actually got some playing time as opposed to garbage time. McDermott doesn’t do anything well enough to justify his presence in ANY line-up if he’s not shooting the ball effectively, so he’s going to prove his worth in his first glimpse of extended minutes in the NBA. Nevertheless, once Dunleavy returns, McDermott will certainly return to the bench. Speaking of returns, after a couple of down years production-wise in LAL, Pau Gasol came to Chicago and returned to All-star form last season. His 18.5 PPG was his highest mark since 2010/11; his 11.8 RPG was the best of his 15-year career; and his 1.9 BPG was his highest mark since 2006/07. Furthermore, Gasol posted a 22.7 PER and 10.4 win shares. The question is, however, with Gasol putting up these type of numbers, can Joakim Noah still contribute? Taj Gibson joins Gasol in the frontcourt and brings a lot of toughness to the team. Although he won’t start, it’s quite possible he plays just a shade under 30 minutes and closes out games. He’s an excellent defender, strong rebounder, and has a nose for the ball. Rookie Bobby Portis will see what contributions he can make in limited minutes.
Centers: Joakim Noah took a remarkable step backwards last season. After being a 12 and 10 guy the prior two seasons, Noah posted 7.2 PPG and 9.6 RPG last season. Furthermore, his 44.5 FG% and his 60.3 FT% were also career lows. After two seasons as an All-Star, Gasol only showed rare glimpses of that talent in 2014/15. Although he most likely won’t make another All-Star team, it doesn’t mean that Noah necessarily fell off—perhaps he was just accommodating the newly acquired Pau Gasol, the often-injured Derrick Rose, and the emerging face of the franchise Jimmy Butler. Would I like to see Noah score more and block more shots? Of course. But consider that in Noah’s “breakout” seasons, the Bulls were tied for last (28th) in scoring (93.2) in 2013/14 and dead last (93.7) in 2014/15. Do you really wanna bring back the days when the Bulls relied on Luol Deng for the majority of their scoring? Last season, the new-look Bulls were able to score 100.8 PPG and ranked 15th in scoring… So I don’t think whether Noah scores an additional four points every game is gonna matter. What they need from Noah is a strong defensive presence down low, and an aggressive rebounder on offense. Noah has consistently proved to be one of the best passing centers in the league but it’s doubtful the offense will run through him they way it did two years ago. Still, I expect him to be a much bigger contributor to the Bulls offense this season. Noah will be backed up by Cameron Bairstow at times, but you could also expect to see Gasol slide over to the middle when Noah sits.
Final thoughts: This is my favorite recent incarnation of the Bulls for several reasons… First, Tom Thibodeau had to go. I love the way he coaches but it became apparent that there was a lot of internal strife between him and the front office. Also, it was alleged that more than a few players weren’t happy with him either. Second, no more Carlos Boozer. In all fairness, he wasn’t there last year either but I still feel like it could take a few years to wash away the stink from his minutes. Three, a healthy Derrick Rose. Although I’m not quite a believer in Rose returning to MVP form, he needs to be healthy for a prolonged stretch of time for the Bulls to make a serious run at a chip. Without him they just don’t have the scoring. Four, Jimmy Butler’s emergence. He’s the real franchise player and his skillset is basically unmatched in the NBA (save for Kawhi Leonard). He’s only gonna get better and the Bulls know it. Lastly, good riddance to the super-defensive Chicago Bulls. I know they were a top-3 defense for four seasons (2010-2014) but those teams never had a chance—they couldn’t score! Unless they planned on holding some of the best teams in the league under 85 points every night, they were never gonna win. I’m far more impressed with their current “balanced attack.”… I like Doug McDermott and want him to be good. With Dunleavy out, he’ll get his chance… You have to love the Bulls front line of Noah, Gasol, and Gibson. With so many teams biting the Warriors and going small, perhaps the Bulls can combat them with size ala Memphis.
4 Quarters Radio Show 