Sources have said that this offseason for the Chicago Bulls focused on bringing back All-Star Zach LaVine, which was successful.
Though the Bulls also added some more depth to their bench by signing experienced Andre Drummond and Goran Dragic. However, after losing to the Milwaukee Bucks in five games in the first round of the playoffs, the move has Bulls fans wanting more, which ESPN’s Kevin Pelton discussed in his NBA offseason rating. The Pelton gave the Chicago Bulls a C+ rating in the offseason, referring to the “minor additions” of Drummond and Dragic, but leaving more to be desired.
Why does Pelton give Grade of C+ To the Chicago Bulls?
Now that the dust has settled, opinions on the Bulls’ relatively cool summer have been appropriately mixed. Most fans would love to see the team chase big shots in free agency and watch other teams make big trades while the Bulls missed out on the draft day, a hard thing to watch at times.
However, ESPN’s Kevin Pelton doesn’t feel the same about Chicago’s offseason, as he assigned the Bulls a “C+” (based on having a “B” average), the third-worst grade among all teams in the league. Eastern Conference.
The Pelton only gave poor marks to the Brooklyn Nets and Charlotte Hornets, which seems a bit outrageous considering their disastrous situation with each of those organizations. The Nets are in disarray and look set to lose the talent of their two superstars by the end of the year, while Charlotte has rehired a failed former coach, trading away its most promising draft prospect.
Also, he has refused to sign any veterans and expects his second-best player to stand trial on domestic violence charges. Even being in the same stratosphere as these two teams seem humbling. The Chicago Bulls have again come under heavy fire from ESPN for their off-season decision-making.
What do we know so far?
Although the Bulls were heavily criticized for their aggressive decision to retire and sign DeMar DeRozan last summer, it ultimately worked out in their favour as they made an NBA appearance in their first season with Chicago. That’s why seeing the main office team change here seems so upsetting.
However, instead of taking the risk and working to fix the very obvious holes in this team, it seemed that the front office was instructed to prioritize reducing the luxury tax at all costs. This led to the Bulls making only a few under-the-radar signings after re-signing Zach LaVine.
Additionally, the Bulls re-signed forward Derrick Jones Jr. and drafted Dylan Terry. The moves should improve Chicago’s second unit, let alone the form quality last season. Still, the Bulls stayed strong. They haven’t fully addressed the obvious weaknesses in their second-half slide from the start.”
Pelton acknowledged that there is still work to be done here in Chicago, but at the same time, he doesn’t know exactly what needs to be done.
While it’s disappointing to see the Bulls prioritize financial gains over everything else, we think it’s ridiculous that Chicago had a terrible offseason when the team improved this summer, albeit only marginally. If you think the Bulls are treading water and had an uneven offseason, that’s fine. We hope this article was helpful; if you have any queries, just share with us through a comment below.