Chicago Bulls: Closing the books on year one of the rebuild
The Chicago Bulls ended the season on a high note and head into the second year of their rebuild with some momentum.
No, that’s not a typo. Dropping their season finale to the Detroit Pistons turned out to be a solid loss for the Chicago Bulls. Given the nature of their lottery positioning going into tonight, it would’ve been wise to go quietly. The Sacramento Kings defeating the Houston Rockets puts the Bulls in a tie for sixth overall.
The intrigue that surrounds the sixth slot in the lottery order would strike most as unconventional. The NBA will flip a coin to determine who will be sixth and seventh in this case. It’s possible that Chicago still winds up at seven, but leapfrogging Sacramento would be a luxury. Having some much-needed momentum going into the offseason doesn’t hurt either.
Not With a Bang, But With a Whimper
For the most part, it was a pretty routine defeat at the hands of the Pistons, 119-87, who really had nothing to play for except pride. Detroit was missing several key players in Andre Drummond and Blake Griffin, and but picked up solid contributions from Henry Ellenson, Anthony Tolliver, and Eric Moreland.
Chicago was paced by Lauri Markannen’s 20 points, eight-rebound effort in what was a historical night for the rookie from Finland; he broke the Bulls rookie record for most three-point baskets in a season (145). As most of the Bulls’ games have been the last month and a half, they shot themselves in the foot with18 turnovers to go with porous overall defense.
For the most part, it was what any Bulls fan would expect: rough. But we should all be familiar it at this point.
Conditioned to it, even.
Putting a Bow on Things
In year one of the rebuild, there was a bevy of struggles, but all of which were necessary for the team to grow. As Denzel Washington once said, “Don’t be afraid to fail.”
Take a look at the Philidelphia 76ers: they repeatedly cratered and tanked over and over again. Sure they collected some solid NBA prospects, but the players who were there for the entire “Trust the Process” ride are now reaping the benefits as they look to go for a deep playoff run.
Brett Brown had to fail with these guys in order to grow as their leader and as their coach. This is something that Fred Hoiberg must do if he wants to take this team back to the playoffs.
Whoever on the Bulls roster winds up sticking around for the future as they continue the rebuilding process, they too must continue to grow and fail. Then, grow and fail once more.
‘GarPax’ have both received their fair share of flack for a litany of organizational decisions, but they have done an alright job of drafting (Markannen, Taj Gibson, Bobby Portis, Jimmy Butler, acquiring the rights to Nikola Mirotic, etc).
Conversely, they’ve had their fair share of mistakes (Acquiring Doug McDermott in exchange for Gary Harris and Jusuf Nurkić).
That said, they absolutely need to hit on wherever they pick in the lottery. Championship-caliber teams are made when you draft well and bring in established free agents to get you over the hump. Since the Bulls aren’t competing anytime soon, we’ll ignore the latter part of that statement.
Because Chicago is still a long way away from competing anytime soon.
Drafting More Important than Ever Before
Despite the positive returns, it’s conceivable that the Jimmy Butler trade will ultimately decide whether or not GarPax keep their jobs in the future. However, this draft will certainly play into that conversation should the Jerry Reinsdorf decide that it’s time to move on.
It’s also a foregone conclusion that the Bulls will hold open auditions at both the center and small forward spots. Luckily for Chicago, there should be willing applicants when they pick at seven.
Both Michael Porter Jr. and Mikal Bridges will be options at the three, with Bridges more likely to be available. Meanwhile, the management could opt to find Markkanen a playmate. They could go with defensive stalwarts Jaren Jackson Jr. or Mo Bamba. This would allow for some complimentary paint defense.
Whoever the management goes with, let’s just hope that we as Chicago Bulls fans don’t have to subject ourselves to many more losing seasons.
The shorter the rebuild, all the sweeter.