The Chicago Bulls have plenty of star talent. With Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Nikola Vucevic in place, they have three players who are multi-time All-Stars and have proven capable of leading a team to a playoff spot. And while they haven’t done much once they’ve gotten there, the star power is still evident.
However, the issue comes when pondering how the group fits together. In turn, Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report listed the Bulls as the “most confusing roster” in the entire league. They have stars, they have scorers, and they have defenders, but when added up, it hasn’t resulted in playoff success.
Buckley credited Chicago for their offseason efforts to improve the roster but questioned their sense of direction.
“You can’t blame them for a lack of trying, but what’s the end game? They don’t have a superstar, so championship contention is off the table. They don’t have a lot of shooting, so dominating with offense is a tall task. They have a lot of offense-leaning (or offense-only) players in prominent places, so repeating last season’s fifth-placed finish in defensive efficiency seems unlikely. (They ranked 23rd the year prior.)
“How is this supposed to work? Do they expect LaVine, DeRozan and Vučević to suddenly add new layers to their game? Are they waiting on a leap year from Patrick Williams despite not having any evidence that one is in the works? Are they holding out hopes of a healthy Lonzo Ball, even though he’s looking at missing a second consecutive season with a knee injury that first sidelined him in January 2021?
“I’m confused—more confused about Chicago than any other team in this league,” Buckley wrote.
Should the Bulls have blown things up this summer?
