Over the past few days, the NBA world has been buzzing with free agency rumors, news and deals being agreed to. One of the teams involved in a lot of rumors and reports prior to the free agency period, the Chicago Bulls, have been one of the more active teams around the league.
Only the Milwaukee Bucks have made more moves than the Bulls, who have completed a total of four free agency transactions in the last week.
Going into this period of the offseason, the Bulls were a franchise that had a couple of clear needs. First, as noted by general manager Marc Eversley, the Bulls had to find another rim protector to compliment Nikola Vucevic.
Second, the Bulls needed to find another bench scorer — preferably someone who can shoot the three ball. Just how well have they done in accomplishing their goals?
NBA free agency has taught us a few things about these Chicago Bulls, but also left us with some questions.
Some of the moves made, whether in free agency or the 2022 NBA Draft, have left us wondering what’s going to happen with Coby White. Now, that’s a separate conversation altogether, but we’ll address that in a little bit.
The Bulls have made four signings to round out their roster, first bringing in veteran big man Andre Drummond. Second, Chicago re-signed wing Derrick Jones Jr.
Of course, the biggest move made was the re-signing of All Star guard Zach LaVine on a max deal. He’ll now be in Chicago for a while, which was the top priority for this ball club during the summer.
Lastly, Chicago brought in journeyman point guard Goran Dragic to complete the roster.
Where does this team stand after their free agency moves? Just how well do these signings grade out? Let’s go through each one with an objective lens.
Grading the Chicago Bulls’ signing of Andre Drummond
Some Bulls fans are split on the signing of Andre Drummond, but the reality is, he fits exactly what Eversley desired to add going into free agency. Although he has been around the block as of late, playing for a handful of teams since beginning his career with seven and a half years in Detroit, Drummond is still a fine player.
He’ll be only 29 years old in August and has plenty of basketball left in his future. The Bulls signed Drummond for two years and $6.6 million. That’s not too shabby for a guy who has been one of the most efficient rebounders in the league for the past nine years.
One of the things Chicago fans were tired of seeing last year is the second unit getting bullied on the glass. The Bulls became nauseating in that department, allowing opposing teams to pull down offensive rebounds with ease. That changes with the Drummond signing.
Last season, between Brooklyn and Philadelphia, Drummond played just over 19 minutes per game. He averaged 9.3 rebounds in that time frame, which would be good for a whopping 17.0 on a per-36-minute basis. Just for clarification, that’s Drummond’s third-most efficient rebounding season to date.
No longer do the Bulls have to see Tony Bradley out there for what seems to be zero added value. Drummond brings the Bulls precisely what they needed behind Vucevic.
Grade: A
Grading the Chicago Bulls’ signing of Derrick Jones Jr.
A pleasant surprise last season was the ascension of 25-year-old wing Derrick Jones Jr. After he fell out of favor with the Portland Trail Blazers, Jones’ career was in flux. He came to Chicago as more of an end-of-roster type of guy, but quickly proved to add value.
At times, Jones even stepped in and played small ball center for this Bulls team when they were short handed, and he played that position admirably. The stat sheets won’t tell you anything spectacular, as Jones only averaged 5.6 points and 3.3 rebounds per game, playing roughly 17 minutes each night.
However, the effort and energy level from Jones is what made him a valued rotational player. The Bulls didn’t have anybody else willing to step up at the four or five at times, behind Vucevic, and Jones willingly took on that role.
He also came up big at times from three-point range. Sure, he only shot 32.8 percent from long distance. But, there were some big shots made by Jones which helped extend leads late in games.
Jones is not the ideal signing for Chicago, as he doesn’t provide the big lift from beyond the arc. However, considering the Bulls’ cap situation and options after someone like Danilo Gallinari stiffed Chicago, he’s a capable player and not a bad decision to bring back.
Grade: B
Grading the Chicago Bulls’ signing of Zach LaVine
Going into this summer, it appeared the Bulls did not have a choice. Their best option at remaining competitive was to re-sign Zach LaVine to a max deal. Otherwise, this would be a no. 8 seed team at best without him.
Last season, LaVine finally earned his first All Star bid and he finished the year averaging 24.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.4 assists while shooting 39 percent from three.
The only reason this signing doesn’t earn an ‘A’ is due to the fact that LaVine is going to earn an average of $43 million per year, which is closer to salaries like Stephen Curry, James Harden and LeBron James than it is players of his caliber.
Make no mistake, LaVine is an excellent player and could still prove to be worthy of this type of cash. He’s only 27 years old and just now in his prime. From here, it’s time for LaVine to prove he’s capable of being the alpha in every facet of the game. He has to be the vocal leader willing to do whatever it takes to get this Bulls team over the hump.
If he can’t be that guy, then he’s not quite worth the money. But, today’s NBA contracts are what they are, and the Bulls can’t change that.
Grade: B+
Grading the Chicago Bulls’ signing of Goran Dragic
The most recent signing, Goran Dragic, was a bit of a head scratcher. Last season, the Bulls were one team who looked at adding him before the Brooklyn Nets scooped him up. At that time, he made sense. But, now? It’s a puzzling move.
Chicago just took point guard Dalen Terry in the first round of the 2022 NBA Draft. They have second-year point guard Ayo Dosunmu who is on the rise. Coby White is still around, and it appears nobody wants to trade for him. Then, of course, there’s starter Lonzo Ball.
While the latest reports on Ball are encouraging, the only logical reason behind signing Dragic is that the Bulls are actually not as optimistic about Ball’s health as they want us to think. Otherwise, if Ball is on track to play opening night, then Dragic doesn’t fit.
Maybe Billy Donovan opts to use Dragic as more of a two guard, but still, Dragic didn’t shoot well for the Nets last year. His three ball was down to 24.5 percent in Brooklyn last season, when he’s normally a career 36 percent shooter from that distance. Hopefully, he reverts to form from beyond the arc and Chicago at least gets a decent outside scorer off the bench.