The theme of the Chicago Bulls’ offseason so far has been confusion.
They traded DeMar DeRozan and Alex Caruso, indicating a youth movement was underway, but retained Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic, which would jeopardize an immediate rebuild.
The Bulls have been the epitome of NBA mediocrity in recent years, not good enough to be a real threat in the Eastern Conference, but not bad enough to take advantage of the high odds for a top draft pick.
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The Bulls are now reportedly content to start the season with LaVine on their roster, much to the delight of the San Antonio Spurs who are counting on the Bulls to continue their streak of mediocrity.
One team that will be cheering for the Bulls next season is the San Antonio Spurs, who Chicago’s Choice if it falls within the 11-30 range.
The Spurs are providing a masterful lesson in how to build a team, as they failed at the right time, gained a generational talent to build on, and still have a bunch of future picks to use to add more talent in the draft or trades.
That must be nice.
The Spurs not only have their own pick in 2025, but also have one from Atlanta, as well as a protected pick (15-30) from Charlotte and the Bulls’ top-10 protected pick.
Depending on their own improvement, the Spurs could have three lottery picks in a loaded 2025 draft to try to add elite talent around Victor Wembanyama.
If the Bulls keep this lukewarm team going throughout the season, there’s a good chance they’ll win just enough games to stay out of the top 10, the worst-case scenario for a team supposedly trying to rebuild.
The Bulls are stuck with a Problem with Zach LaVinebecause they need to play him to create some sort of trade value, but if they do they risk winning too many games to keep their pick and an ending like last season where the playoffs and a top-10 pick are out of reach.
Spurs sites are already celebrate the Bulls confusionwhich could lead them to be the best young team in the NBA while Chicago is still stuck in no man’s land.
