If the Chicago Bulls hope to make a push for the playoffs next season, they will need to take a long look in the mirror this summer. In all honestly, a rebuild may be the best course of action for Chicago, but since Arturas Karnisovas is determined to keep the core together, changes are needed.
The roster is alright, but the star trio of Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Nikola Vucevic clearly doesn’t have a championship-caliber ceiling. And in order to make the playoffs, the team around them will likely have to vastly improve. But that doesn’t necessarily just mean the roster.
Chicago’s coaching staff could use some tweaking, and it has already undergone some maintenance. According to KC Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago, the Bulls are bringing Peter Patton onto the coaching staff.
“Peter Patton is coming home,” Johnson tweeted. “The Bulls plan to hire the former Loyola Academy/DePaul star in player development, per sources. Patton has worked as shooting coach for the Timberwolves and Mavericks, where he worked closely with another local product, Jalen Brunson, among others.”
Peter Patton is coming home. The Bulls plan to hire the former Loyola Academy/DePaul star in player development, per sources. Patton has worked as shooting coach for the Timberwolves and Mavericks, where he worked closely with another local product, Jalen Brunson, among others
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) June 10, 2023
Patton was a four-year college player at DePaul who also spent a bit of time overseas playing in Europe. He has also worked with legendary San Antonio Spurs shooting coach Chip Engelland, as he was an elite shooter in college.
However, he is best known for his coaching, as he has been a member of the Dallas Mavericks coaching staff. For a Bulls team that was one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the NBA last season, this is a huge addition.
