Many NBA fans, and specifically fans of the Chicago Bulls, had a lot of questions about the prospects and future of the team by the middle of the current season. This is the second season where we see a big trio that includes Demar DeRozan, Zach Lavigne and Nikola Vucevic. If the beginning of last season, before the injury of point guard Lonzo Ball, the Bulls even led the conference, then after that, there is no need to talk about the success of the Bulls. The team lost miserably to Milwaukee in the Playoffs, and this season is teetering on the verge of reaching the Play-in to compete for a chance to be among the 16 best teams in the National Basketball Association.
Parimach APK still believes that Chicago can become one of the teams in the Playoffs, however, we have some concerns and doubts about this. Consider the prospects of the Bulls for the second part of the current season.
Will the Chicago roster change before the trade deadline?
By and large, right now, the Bulls already have a roster that can get the job done. Another thing is that these mechanisms do not work and it seems that Billy Donovan’s team is playing at the limit of its capabilities. However, not everything is so bad, considering that the Bulls regularly beat teams from the TOP-4 of the conference and lose by outsiders. They take points from the rich and give them to the poor.
What can you expect from team exchanges? There are multiple players on the Chicago roster that could be traded before the Feb. 9 trade deadline, sources say. These players could be Chicago point guard Alex Caruso and center Andre Drummond. There is a lot of interest in Caruso’s person from many NBA teams, so the possibility of his departure cannot be ruled out. However, what will the team be left with after such a trade? Lonzo Ball is injured and only Kobe White and Goran Dragic remain on point guard. With such a selection of players, you definitely can’t count on the playoffs.
However, the trade of these players is not the biggest pain that Chicago fans can experience. Rumors have long circulated that the Bulls may be listening to offers for Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan, which many clubs in the League are showing interest in. In particular, LaVine is even associated with the Los Angeles Lakers. It is reported that for the Chicago forward, the Los Angeles team can offer two first-round draft picks (2027 and 2029), as well as Russell Westbrook. If the Bulls have plans to go into perestroika, then this is a very generous offer for them. However, if the Lakers give up draft picks, then in the coming years, they will not be able to receive absolutely no dividends from the draft. By the way, in the off-season, the Lakers were also interested in Demar DeRozan, therefore, this trade cannot be considered unrealistic either.
However, if we consider gain trades, then the team could use a quality point guard, as Lonzo Ball’s prospects remain rather vague. Some experts even link the Bulls to Atlanta point guard Trey Young, but the situation has not progressed to any real action other than rumors.
Chicago Bulls outlook for 2022-2023 season
Given their current roster, the Bulls are in a bad spot. This is one of the underperforming teams in the Eastern Conference, in the summer the strong players did not come to the team to strengthen the composition, therefore, Chicago simply cannot improve the state of affairs that the team faced last season.
After 48 matches in the League, Chicago is only 10th in the Eastern Conference standings. Of course, if the season ends like this for the Bulls, then the team will get the right to play in the Play-in and fight against the New York Knicks, Atlanta Hawks or Indiana Pacers. However, can this result be considered as satisfactory from the point of view of the club’s management or the average Chicago fan? Of course not!
To save the season and at least somehow rehabilitate in the eyes of the fans, the Bulls need to at least take 6th place in the standings, which will allow them to play in the Playoffs directly. At the moment, the Miami Heat is in the 6th position with a 28-22 win-loss difference, while the Bulls have a 22-26 statistic. Even despite the fact that the Bulls played 2 games less, there is practically no chance that Chicago will have a better record than Miami at the end of the season.
In view of this, at least the regular season for Chicago 2022-2023 can already be considered unsuccessful. Only the playoffs can save him. However, there is another scenario related to the exchange of leaders and further restructuring. To get an answer to at least one of these questions, we need to wait until February 9, when the exchange market closes.
