Last Seasons Record – 27-55 (13th)
This Seasons Record – 40-42
The baby Bulls are back! Well, they were kind of back last year, but somehow they managed to get a little bit younger, and I’m super excited to watch this team play basketball this upcoming season. Listen, everyone knows that they traded Jimmy Butler, but in return, they got Kris Dunn (underrated and under-appreciated), Zach LaVine and a draft pick that ended up being Lauri Markkanen, who is a young stud. The Wolves got 59 games out of Jimmy Buckets and now he wants out. I really like this roster and if a certain someone can stay healthy, I think this Bulls team could turn a lot of heads this year. As I was writing this, Lauri Markkanen went down, he is going to be out about 6 weeks. So the Bulls could get off to a slow start, but I still like them to be competitive and win some games early on.
Key Additions and Subtractions.
It’s pretty simple, they didn’t lose anyone of significance off their roster. Yes during the middle of last season Nikola Mirotic got traded away, but they didn’t really get anything of value back, it was more a salary dump, and well Bobby Portis broke his face earlier in the season. They added someone pretty awesome in the offseason getting Jabari Parker. I am really excited about this. He’s on essentially a one year contract, it’s 20 million dollars and he’s a Chicago native. Everyone wants Jabari to be the player we all want him to be. He was the 2nd pick in the draft for a reason, but injuries have derailed his career thus far. I want to see him get 75 games out this year. They also added Duke standout Wendell Carter Jr. in the draft, and I have insanely high expectations for him. Lauri is going into his second year in the league, Kris Dunn is healthy and so is Zach LaVine, I’m telling you, the curse of the Bulls might finally be over.
Year Long Question – Can Jabari Parker stay healthy?
Jabari has been in the league for 4 years, that means he has had the opportunity to play in 328 total games. He has appeared in only 133 of those said games. Yikes. That is really the only way to describe it. We all know the kid can play, in his second year, he played 76 games and average 14 points. The following year he was averaging 20 in 51 games before he got hurt again. The Bulls need him on the court, and I think this could end up being a fantastic marriage.
Fan Mindset.
This pretty much sums it up. This is the best the Bulls have looked going into a season in about 5 years. They have a ton of young talent and a potential all-star in Lauri Markkanen. They ought to be excited about this upcoming year, but they should also be scared. Jabari Parker should scare the shit out of any fan who is hoping he can stay on the court, and with young talent, there are always growing pains. They might get addicted to the fact that everything is fine and dandy right now until Bobby Portis decides it’s time to spice things up again and punch a poor soul in the face.
Bold Predictions, Sponsored By Nate – Wendell Carter Jr is going to win ROY
Hear me out now. I know this was a pretty decent draft class. A ton of upside and Doncic could be the real deal. But if the Bulls are a solid team, and he is playing a decent amount of minutes and potentially starting by the season’s end. I think he has a real shot. Critics think he is better than his fellow drafted teammate Marvin Bagley. I think it’s going to come down between Bagley or Doncic and I’m just going with what my gut tells me right now.
