Heading into the summer, the Chicago Bulls have some tough choices to make. Arturas Karnisovas seems content with running back the same core, but that would only lead to the same middling results. At the team’s peak, they were a first-round exit, and this past season, they were bounced in the Play-In Tournament.
If they decide to bring back the same core and only make minimal changes, they won’t be much better than they were this past season. Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report recently released his “way-too-early” NBA power rankings for the 2023-24 season, and the Bulls ranked in the bottom half of the league.
Bailey placed the Bulls in 18th place, noting Lonzo Ball‘s absence as a primary reason why they won’t improve moving forward.
“The continued injury woes of Lonzo Ball is one of the league’s tougher current stories, mostly because of the effect on Ball and his career.
It’s also severely impacted the trajectory of the Chicago Bulls.
In 2021-22, the Bulls were plus-6.8 when Lonzo was on the floor with DeMar DeRozan, Nikola Vučević and Zach LaVine. But he only appeared in 35 games. Then, he missed all of 2022-23,” Bailey wrote.
With Ball sidelined, Bailey sees the Bulls having another mediocre season.
“If there was some confidence he’d be back and ready by training camp, it’d be easier to move this team a few spots up the standings,” Bailey wrote. “Without that table-setter, Chicago is likely in for another year in the middle.”
Barring major changes or Chicago shifting into a rebuild, it may be another boring season for the Bulls next year.
