Heading into this offseason, the Chicago Bulls need to look to make serious changes. They’ve spent the better part of the last two years as a middle-of-the-pack team, and although injuries have definitely gotten in the way, they can’t use that as an excuse if they want to push forward and improve.
Free agency and the trade market will be Chicago’s best two pathways toward improvement as they don’t currently have a pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. However, there’s always a chance they trade up. And if they do, Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley believes their “biggest need” is a floor general.
Lonzo Ball should be the one leading Chicago’s offense, but his bad injury luck has kept him off the floor for over a year and a half, and it’s projected to sideline him indefinitely. In turn, Buckley thinks the Bulls need more playmaking.
“Nothing casts a darker cloud over this organization than Lonzo Ball’s ongoing injury issues,” Buckley wrote. “The Bulls haven’t been the same since losing him to a knee injury midway through the 2021-22 season. They were 27-13 at the time of his injury; they’ve gone 59-65 ever since.
“This is a tricky roster to navigate since it has three high-level scorers who need touches (Vučević, Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan) and very little shooting alongside them (dead last in three-point makes and attempts). Ball showed the vision and ability to bring this roster together. The Bulls desperately need someone who can do the same, though finding one at the draft might be impossible, since they don’t currently possess a pick.”
If they trade into the draft, adding a young point guard with some high-upside playmaking potential would be a great move for Chicago.
