Chicago Bulls TBT- Season Review

2023-24 Record: 28-54

A season characterised by injuries, misfortune and a sigh of relief when it ended, 2023-24 was one to forget for the Bulls and their fan base. GM Jonathon continued to put his best foot forward remaining busy, active and positive amidst his most challenging season since assuming ownership in the post-Beal era. The Bulls continued to add to their young core throughout the season adding versatile young players via the draft and trade. The salt to the wound for their season was landing the number one pick in the lottery while not owning the rights to their pick. “Thank god we can put that season behind us.”

 

Season Highlight:

The Draft

Heading into the draft already hurting with the loss of the number one pick, the Bulls desperately needed to add depth, star power and potential to their roster. Holding pick 8, 25 and 42 would give GM Jonathon a chance to blanket the draft from the mid lottery onwards. Being known as a shallow draft for top end talent, the loss of pick 1 might end up not being a big deal for the Bulls and their picks have a great chance to provide what they were searching for in return for a lost season.

Pick 8- Mastas Buzelis – being drafted to the NBA Bulls from the G-League Ignite, Buzelis had a fair amount of hype behind him as one of the top prospects in the class. The 6”10 skilled forward averaged 14 points with 6.6 rebounds, after missing the first 3 months of the season and looks to a frame of versatile NBA forward. Landing in NBA Chicago should bode well for his long-term outlook and he will see plenty of opportunity in a team that will likely rebuild over the coming years. When asked about Buzelis, GM Jonathon said, ‘Matas Buzelis offers an exciting blend of size, versatility, and defensive potential, with a clear path to becoming an all-star-caliber player if he can continue to develop his offensive game.’ 

Pick 25- Tyler Kolek- the 6”1 pass first point guard out of Marquette was regarded by many as one of the sleepers in this year’s draft. Landing in NBA New York will limit his ceiling in his first year, however he has already shown plenty of promise in the NBA preseason scoring 11 points in his debut and looking ready to cement a backup role behind Jalen Brunson. When asked about Kolek the Bulls GM was Bullish, ‘Tyler Kolek is one of the best passers and three-point shooters in the draft. He has the potential to become a reliable second-string point guard who elevates the Bulls' bench unit.’ 

Pick 42- Nikola Djurisic- Whenever you see a European prospect by the name of Nikola drafted in the second round, it’s cause for excitement. Nikola Djurisic was 3^rd and final selection for the Bulls and followed the trend of white-guy sleeper. The 6”8 forward has great size for a wing and shooting ability to space the floor at NBA level. GM Jonathon’s excitement was evident when asked about his second round pick, ‘(he’s) a creative scoring and passing draft-and-stash prospect, has the potential to be a valuable long-term contributor if he can develop his physicality.’

 

Trading:

GM Jonathon had a clear direction they wanted to take the franchise in his tenure and the Bulls new era. With Beal lost in free agency by decorated former GM Merencio, a fresh coat of paint was required in Chicago. AD was on the roster at the start of the off-season but his lack of running mates left GM Jonathon with only one option- rebuild and retool.

His performance in the trade office has been consistent and his ability to find value in either win-now types and future stars. His biggest trade was the AD move, however a number of quality players such as Sexton and Brook Lopez were brought across in favourable moves.

 

Best Trade:

Bulls send: Anthony Davis, Bryce McGowens, Portland 24 second, Cle 25 second
Bulls receive: Mikal Bridges, LaMelo Ball, GG Jackson, Larry Nance Jr, James Nnaji, Isaiah Wong

The blockbuster 11 team trade saw a number of stars change hands. Some of the big names that moved include- Jrue Holiday, Anthony Davis, Mikal Bridges, LaMelo Ball, Zach Lavine, Scottie Barnes, C.J. McCollum, Al Horford and Jordan Poole. Incredible! Honing in on the Bulls return for AD, it’s a package that looks right. Losing one of the best players in the game and a positional glitch like Davis requires a big return. Bulls at one stage in the trade talks had Ball and Scottie Barnes which I personally liked more than Bridges and Barnes. However, GM Jonathon wanted Bridges and went and got his man. An underrated piece in this deal is GG Jackson who had a terrific season for the injury ravaged NBA Grizzlies. Overall a fair deal for all parties and a deal that puts the Bulls in the fast lane for their rebuild with a genuine young star/ 2k glitch in LaMelo and a quality two-way wing in Bridges.

 

Honourable Mention:

Bulls send: Malik Monk and Maxi Kleber
Bulls receive: Colin Sexton

From memory, this deal happened just before Sexton had a breakout run for the Utah Jazz in the NBA, going from a 6^th man type to a reliable 2^nd option. Last year’s engine was built for scoring guards and in his 66 games for the Bulls, Sexton averaged 20 points, 4 assists and 3 rebounds in just 25 mins per game. A terrific find for the price of Maxi Kleber (a 2k potato) and Malik Monk.

 

Star:

LaMelo Ball

Labelling Ball as the star for the Bulls explains their season. He was dominant when on the court averaging 24 points and nearly 8 assists, however Ball only played 28 games for the season. Losing your 1A for the majority of the season is a recipe for disaster and serves as the main reason the Bulls had a forgettable 2023-24. They will look for a huge bounce back year from their star in another engine that appears favourable to big skilled point guards.

 

Flop:

Health and bad luck

LaMelo Ball could almost be labelled as the flop as well as the Star for the Bulls with his unlucky run of health and finding a true under achiever is hard when looking through the Bulls season statistics.

Mikal Bridges bucked the trend of bad health playing all 82 games but only averaged 17 points for a season where he could’ve and should’ve been the focal point of the offense. He underachieved but wasn’t a flop. Many of the other key players were only in town for 30 or so games so finding the under achiever is hard here.

The clear factor that let the bulls down was bad luck with availability.

Draft Grade- A

Pick 8- Mastas Buzelis
Pick 25- Tyler Kolek
Pick 42- Nikola Djurisic

As discussed in detail earlier in the piece, the Bulls added size, shooting and skill through their 3 draft picks. All of their picks were high upside selections with Buzelis and Kolek being labelled as sleepers in a number of articles online. GM Jonathon bounced back incredibly well from the early disappointment of losing the first selection to ultimately end up with a stable of good-fit prospects to fill roles around their stars Ball and Bridges.

The Future:

Chicago have been building for the last year to have a competitive 2k team that will compete for the long term. Their approach to the game is admirable, GM Jonathon never wants to tank or go backwards and aims to compete while adding assets at a good price point via trade. He is one of the under-the-radar savvy GMs of the league who has gained a great deal of respect in the way he goes about his business.

Free Agency will be big for the Bulls who will look to bring back Claxton and extend Ball. With any extra GMs, they might look to buy seconds or bring in some more complimentary players with their full MLE. The will be a team to watch with their roster flexibility.

There’s no doubt the Bulls will improve on their unlucky 2023-24 and many neutral fans will be looking on hoping for a play-in or playoff performance in the coming season.