The line of doubters has been growing.
The Bulls didn’t add enough this offseason. Continuity was a questionable plan. The Eastern Conference is a minefield.
Pick a criticism, and the Bulls have heard it in the last few months.
So while NBA media day usually offers some good feelings, it was a bit different for the Bulls on Monday at the United Center.
It started with veteran DeMar DeRozan.
At 33 and coming off one of his best seasons in the NBA, DeRozan spent the last few months listening to critics dissecting his game and predicting the inevitable downturn in his 14th season.
He fired back on social media recently.
‘‘I mean, at this point, I always find humor in it,’’ DeRozan said. ‘‘You always try to find reasons to be motivated. At this point, I have so many other motivational factors that it becomes laughable. I always use whatever I can take. It’s kind of like free energy. I indulge in it and just let them eat their words whenever they eat it.’’
Then why reply and get caught up in it?
‘‘Because it’s like, ‘Damn, what did I do to you all?’ ’’ DeRozan replied. ‘‘Because I know nobody understands and knows the amount of work that I put in. I know for a fact that most of the guys in our league don’t work like I do. Just me knowing that part of it, I already know what you’re putting up is b.s.’’
DeRozan wasn’t the only one with a chip on his shoulder, either. Guard Zach LaVine found himself being asked again about being a max-contract player and the pressure that will come with that. He responded with the usual company line.
‘‘I put the highest expectations on myself more than anybody and I keep developing my game, like I have the last nine years of my career,’’ LaVine said. ‘‘I don’t think a contract is going to give me any extra motivation for it because I already have enough myself.’’
That’s easy to say on the eve of training-camp practices. Let’s check back with LaVine in February and March, especially if the Bulls are trying to find a foothold in the playoff picture and his five-year, $215 million extension has an even brighter spotlight on it. That’s when LaVine’s West Coast cool really will be tested.
But there is a desk where passing the buck stops. Since executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas took over the Bulls before the 2020-21 season, he has been showered in praise for the turnaround he has engineered. But that has an expiration date in the NBA.
Karnisovas isn’t even close to reaching that, but there are now reasonable questions about his plan in building this roster, starting with the decision to stay the course with the core group this offseason. After all, the Bulls were 3-25 against teams with .600-or-better winning percentages last season and were bounced from the playoffs in the first round.
Even with the East getting better, however, Karnisovas wasn’t about to start second-guessing his plan.
‘‘I think we need time to see this group play together longer to have any type of conclusion because we liked what we saw in the first 20 games [last season],’’ Karnisovas said. ‘‘I think this group needs a lot more time.
‘‘The things we are going to focus on — because it’s a lot of talent on this team — are chemistry and team cohesion and relationships because we all understand talent wins games and relationships win championships. Everything we do in our building is thinking about winning.’’
