Ceiling, floor for Chicago Bulls: Make or break year amid trade rumors
Despite trade speculation surrounding Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan for much of the summer, the Chicago Bulls remain committed to their core as they gear up for a make-or-break season.
Ceiling: 48-34, finishing as a top-six seed
The Bulls are entering their third season built around LaVine, DeRozan and center Nikola Vucevic. The All-Star trio logged more minutes together (1,642) last season than any other three-man lineup in basketball.
With Lonzo Ball out indefinitely, Chicago's offense will continue to run through their three All-Stars in 2023-24.
Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu, Alex Caruso and free-agent signee Jevon Carter should be enough to alleviate point guard concerns in Chicago. The former, who garnered the start in the Bulls preseason opener, has shot 37.9% from three over the past two seasons.
Fellow former first-round pick Patrick Williams enjoyed a career year in 2022-23, averaging 10.2 PPG while shooting 41.5% from deep. Entering a contract year, Williams evolving beyond a 3-and-D forward to an above-average starting four would do wonders for Chicago's rotation.
While the Bulls have a losing record since Ball initially sustained his knee injury in 2022, the team found their footing after last year's All-Star break, going 14-9 over the final 23 regular season games.
Should they keep that momentum, Chicago has the talent to challenge for a top-six seed in the East.
Floor: 40-42 and fighting for a play-in spot
While the Bulls are overly reliant on their big three, it doesn't always lead to positive returns. With LaVine, DeRozan and Vucevic sharing the floor for 1,642 minutes last season, the Bulls were outscored by 13 points, posting a net rating of -0.4.
Williams and White are big "what-if" components to Chicago's season. While the talent is there, neither player has lived up to their top-seven draft status thus far.
Carter brings quality two-way playmaking traits to the Bulls lineup, but relying too heavily on the six-year veteran could prove detrimental. Carter has started just 48 of his 304 games over his career, averaging north of 16.3 MPG in a season just once.
With no Ball at their disposal and questionable depth beyond a three-player core producing a net-negative, the Bulls could quickly find themselves clawing for a play-in spot in a talent-rich Eastern Conference.
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