The catch to the Chicago Bulls being able to go into the luxury tax

The biggest takeaway from the press conference that Chicago Bulls lead basketball executive Arturas Karnisovas had with reporters after the 2023 NBA Draft was that the team would be able to go into the luxury tax during the NBA Free Agency period this summer.

"“It all depends in free agency, how that goes,” Karnisovas said. “Jerry and Michael (Reinsdorf) have been always open with me to go into the luxury tax if our team is competitive – top four, top six in the East. If there are players in free agency that we can improve our team and we’re competitive, we’ll retain our free agents.”-670 The Score"

Naturally, Bulls fans and local media alike saw the quote of the Bulls’ front office being able to go into the luxury tax and ran with it. Let’s dissect the two caveats that Karnisovas placed on his declaration.

The first caveat is “…if our team is competitive — top four, top six in the East”. During the 2021-2022 NBA Season, the Bulls just met the qualifier as they finished the season in sixth place in the Eastern Conference. Last season, the Bulls did not meet that qualifier as the team finished in ninth place in the Eastern Conference.

What does this mean?

This means that entering the off-season, the Bulls are a fringe contender for the play-in tournament but leaning toward being a lottery selection. Next, we need to evaluate if there is a path in free agency to where the Bulls are able to firmly place themselves in one of the top six spots in the Eastern Conference.

Realistically, the only targets for the Bulls this summer in terms of being a fit for what they need are Fred VanVleet, Max Strus, and the recently made available Khris Middleton. Middleton likely isn’t even a true target given that it seems that he will rework a new deal with the Milwaukee Bucks.

So it comes to VanVleet or Strus and no, the Bulls are not going to sign both. So the next question is does either player get them close to being in the Top 6 in the East? There is no question that VanVleet likely would get them at the doorstep but that doesn’t mean the team would be a clear contender.

It’s settled, the Bulls don’t meet the first caveat.

But what was the second caveat?

“If there are players in free agency that we can improve our team and we’re competitive, we’ll retain our free agents”

Spoiler alert, he is talking about the re-signing of Nikola Vucevic.

Now, I ask, are the Bulls truly intent on going into the luxury tax? The answer to that question is no.