The Bulls have had just one winning season since 2016, and even that season - 2021/22 - was really all about an outstanding first half. The team opened the year by winning 27 of its first 38 games with Lonzo Ball leading the charge as a two-way dynamo at the point, Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Nikola Vucevic providing the scoring, and Alex Caruso wreaking havoc on the defensive end.
Management in Chicago spent two-and-a-half years dreaming on that version of the Bulls, which never looked quite the same without Ball on the court. The former No. 2 overall pick spent those same two-and-a-half years trying to work his way back from knee problems that ended his '21/22 season early and threatened to halt his playing career for good.
Ball ultimately made his return to the court in the fall of 2024, but the Bulls had thrown in the towel on the previous iteration of their roster a few months earlier, having traded away key veterans like DeRozan and Caruso while acquiring a new point guard of the future in Josh Giddey.
The Bulls continued to tear down the 2021-24 version of their roster prior to February's trade deadline by sending LaVine to Sacramento in a three-team blockbuster, signaling that they finally appeared ready to launch a full-fledged rebuild. The club reacquired complete control of its 2025 first-round pick in the LaVine deal and took back Tre Jones, Kevin Huerter, and Zach Collins, three veterans who had been having disappointing years with their previous teams and looked poised to lead a second-half tank job.
That's not how the final couple months of the season played out, though. The Bulls improbably went 15-5 to close out the year, earning a spot in the play-in tournament for a third straight spring. It was a cause for grumbling among many fans in Chicago, who had watched their team win 40 games in 2022/23 and 39 in '23/24 while ostensibly trying to contend. Those fans were excited about the possibility of leaning into the rebuild and securing a high draft pick in '24/25. Instead, the end result - a 39-43 record, a quick play-in exit, and a draft pick outside the top 10 - felt like more of the same.
But it wasn't quite the same. There were several promising developments during that unexpected hot streak late in the season.
Coby White looked like one of the NBA's best scorers, averaging 26.0 points per game on .505/.383/.902 shooting in March and April. Giddey showed why the Bulls were willing to give up Caruso for him, nearly averaging a triple-double (21.2 PPG, 10.7 RPG, 9.3 APG) while making 45.7% of his three-pointers after the All-Star break. Lottery pick Matas Buzelis earned a spot on the All-Rookie Second Team by putting up 13.3 PPG and 4.4 RPG on .491/.367/.806 shooting from February 1 onward.
Although the Bulls spent another year stuck in the middle, the fact that the front office has been willing to make major roster changes in the past year - and seems primed to continue making more - is a positive development for a team that was going nowhere fast at this time last spring. There's still a lot of work to be done, but the organization now appears focused on building a roster capable of contending in the future, rather than stubbornly sticking with one not equipped to contend in the present.
The Bulls' Offseason Plan
The No. 1 item on Chicago's offseason to-do list is figuring out what a new contract for Giddey looks like. The two sides reportedly engaged in rookie scale extension talks last fall, with the former Thunder guard said to be looking for a deal salary in the range of $30MM per year. Jalen Johnson and Jalen Suggs were seeking similar commitments at the same time and received five-year, $150MM extensions, but the Bulls weren't willing to put that offer on the table for Giddey, opting to postpone negotiations until this summer.
Unlock Subscriber-Exclusive Articles Like This One With a Trade Rumors Front Office Subscription
Access weekly subscriber-only articles by Luke Adams
Join exclusive weekly live chats with Arthur Hill
Remove ads and support our writers.