The Chicago Bulls do surprisingly well in grading for their offseason

Fans were skeptical of the Bulls heading into this offseason, but there should be room for optimism for how things have been handled and what they can do in the months ahead. The Bulls’ solid start to the offseason didn’t go unnoticed, with Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz ranking all 30 of the NBA teams’ offseasons so far, with the Bulls getting a grade of “B.”

Swartz’s assessment of the Bulls via Bleacher Report:

“As we await the fate of Josh Giddey, the Chicago Bulls secure their backup point guard position by bringing Jones back on a three-year, $24 million deal.

This is a really good value for Chicago, as Jones is still only 25 years old and was very solid after being traded to the Bulls last season (14.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, 7.1 assists, 57.1 percent from three in nine starts).

Chicago has assembled a locker room full of big, long forwards in Matas Buzelis, Noa Essengue and Patrick Williams. They’ll need as much playmaking as possible to maximize these wings, with the return of Jones a big help.”

The Bulls still have a ways to go

There’s still a long way for the Bulls to go before they have a completed roster to start next season, but they have a solid foundation to start. Matas Buzelis, Giddey, Jones, and now Essengue are a nice young core, and even if they can’t trade away Vucevic, having him around gives them a nice veteran presence in the locker room.

The Bulls are one of the teams vying to sign restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga of the Golden State Warriors, but have some stiff competition to sign him, with Evan Sidery of Forbes reporting that the Washington Wizards are the latest team to enter the sweepstakes.

“The Wizards have entered the Jonathan Kuminga sign-and-trade sweepstakes in the past 24 hours, and his fit is gaining serious traction, per @anthonyVslater

The Warriors are seeking a promising prospect alongside a first-round pick in any Kuminga deal.”

If the Bulls can find a way to acquire Kuminga and re-sign Giddey, they will be in a good spot to be one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference, given the state of some of the top teams after injuries to their star players.