Chicago Bulls: 3 biggest concerns heading into next season

Defense could be a huge liability

As I alluded to earlier, the Bulls made a much larger splash in free agency this offseason than I originally anticipated. They resigned restricted free agent Zach LaVine, which didn’t necessarily come as a huge surprise — though the price they paid was a little puzzling.

However, the Bulls also paid a pretty considerable price for free agent and Chicago native Jabari Parker. While it’s really a one-year “show me” deal with a team option for year two, Parker will obviously play a huge role in the Bulls’ plans this season as they evaluate whether he is a part of the long-term plan.

While both are very talented, neither LaVine nor Parker plays anything that even resembles defense. In fact, outside of defensive stud Kris Dunn, there isn’t another player left from last year’s team that would be considered an above average defender.

Perhaps the second best defender on the team is the rookie, Carter. During the Summer League, Carter demonstrated he can be an effective, if not, dominating low post defender even in year one.

However, there is no doubt that defense will be a huge liability for this team. They may be fun to watch offensively, but it will be equally maddening to watch them score 115 points and still lose by a dozen.