The Chicago Bulls have made a flurry of moves to begin the offseason. They brought back Nikola Vucevic on a three-year deal, and then they followed that up by doing the same for Coby White. Then, they signed two key free agents, Jevon Carter and Torrey Craig, solidifying their rotation.
That being said, two veteran pieces don’t change the entire outlook of the franchise. This is still a team that got bounced in the Play-In Tournament this past year and is far away from being a title contender. In fact, Will Gottlieb of CHGO pointed out that these additions came a year too late.
He ripped into Arturas Karnisovas, noting that these are moves that should have been made last season, not after a year of failure.
“The Bulls now have the caliber of role player they need to avoid a complete bottoming out,” Gottlieb wrote. “There is more shooting, more depth, more veteranship and more IQ. But to be clear, these signings were the bare minimum, because the plan is to continue on the course to the upper end of mediocre.
“This is the offseason the Bulls should have had last summer. That was the make or break moment.
“A year older. At risk to lose more games to injury. Facing a potential decline in their top-five defense. They’ve re-invested in Vucevic and are facing the same situation with DeRozan next summer.
“The ceiling of this group remains unchanged in the present and the medium-term plan is still a giant question mark.”
If Chicago had pushed forward last year, they would have been capitalizing on their success. Now, it feels like they are desperately trying to stay relevant.
