The Chicago Bulls had been striving for mediocrity as they entered the 2023-2024 season. Chicago’s entrance workplace was inspired sufficient by final season’s 40-42 marketing campaign and shut loss to the Miami Warmth within the play-in event that it determined to double-down on its core as soon as once more. The Bulls signed two function gamers in free company (Jevon Carter and Torrey Craig) to modest contracts, however the majority of the workforce stayed the identical.
The Bulls had been by no means attempting to construct a championship workforce within the first place — not this yr and never anytime to quickly. To Chicago’s possession and entrance workplace, success was grabbing a low-end playoff seed, gathering the gate income from internet hosting a pair postseason video games, and avoiding paying the luxurious tax. Whereas being a good-not-great workforce can produce some moderately enjoyable basketball for followers, the Bulls additionally knew they’d a skinny margin for error to even attain their lowly ceiling.
By means of one recreation, it’s already all falling aside.
The Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder beat the Bulls, 124-104, at residence to open the 2023-2024 season. Chicago broke within the second half, with the offense failing to generate any semblance of a very good luck, the protection getting torched by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (31 factors within the win), and beginning heart Nikola Vucevic getting heated with head coach Billy Donovan on the sidelines.
After the sport, Donovan entered the locker room to a bunch of gamers “hashing out their points.” They requested him to go away, and he did. Sure, that qualifies as a players-only assembly after the very first recreation of the season.
Billy Donovan says when he walked into the Bulls locker room tonight, gamers had been already in heated conversations.
He requested in the event that they needed him to go away to deal with battle. Gamers stated sure, so he did.
Donovan emphasised that embracing battle is vital for this yr’s roster.
— Julia Poe (@byjuliapoe) October 26, 2023
“Embracing battle” is a positive concept for a workforce as they navigate the slog of an 82-game common season, however it definitely shouldn’t be one thing to come across within the first recreation of the yr. Donovan instantly tried to spin what occurred within the locker room as a constructive after the sport.
“That will’ve by no means occurred final yr. It could’ve been a quiet group,” Donovan stated. “So the confrontation piece is an indication that it’s necessary to them. They usually know we’ve acquired to be higher.”
The quotes from the gamers are much less encouraging. Zach LaVine — who shot 4-of-16 from the sector on the night time — stated the Bulls didn’t play with sufficient coronary heart. Looks as if a foul signal for the season opener!
Zach LaVine: “I do not really feel like we performed with sufficient coronary heart. And that is on us. It’s unacceptable. I don’t assume it’s a factor individuals do on function both. However we gotta come collectively throughout these (opponent) runs.”
— Okay.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) October 26, 2023
Deep down, the Bulls needed to know this season might go off the rails. The trio of LaVine, Vucevic, and DeMar DeRozan has been constantly outscored when on the ground collectively during the last two seasons. Chicago thought it might add a pair shooters for reasonable to scrub up the low hanging fruit for his or her mediocre play, however it merely wasn’t sufficient. The fact is this workforce simply isn’t adequate with out Lonzo Ball, and he’s out for the yr as soon as once more.
The Bulls’ actual situation, it appears, is that the gamers don’t essentially like enjoying with one another. Vucevic spent the offseason saying he solely re-signed as a result of the workforce promised him an even bigger function. In recreation one, he was already upset about his lack of touches, and misplaced his cool over it at one level within the second half to attract a technical foul. The Bulls put LaVine on the commerce market this summer season, too, in keeping with stories, however nobody provided them a adequate bundle for a participant of his skills.
This quote from the top of the offseason by assistant GM Marc Eversley is simply damning. He stated the Bulls didn’t really feel like a workforce final yr … but the entrance workplace nonetheless selected to convey the whole roster again.
Bulls GM Marc Eversley:
“What we realized from our workforce was – after we had exit interviews – they had been a workforce, however they actually did not really feel like a workforce…It is virtually such as you simply present up, you go to work, you go residence. You present up the subsequent day, you come to work.”
-via @670TheScore
— CHGO Bulls (@CHGO_Bulls) September 27, 2023
Issues might get dangerous in a short time for the Bulls. The younger gamers aren’t creating the way in which the workforce hopes. The veteran stars don’t work properly collectively. The workforce additionally nonetheless owes a primary spherical draft decide to the Spurs in 2025 (protected 1-8) for the DeRozan commerce.
DeRozan is on an expiring contract this season, and he’s reportedly unsold on the long-term route of the workforce:
The Bulls’ solely purpose was to not be embarrassing this yr. It’s not off to a very good begin.
There are 81 extra Bulls video games this season. Jerry Reinsdorf’s basketball workforce is already wanting as embarrassing as his baseball workforce, the White Sox. No less than Chicago has the Bears … oh wait. By some means, issues preserve getting worse for Chicago sports activities.
