The Chicago Bulls are trying to position themselves in the right spot to get a top-ten pick in the draft this offseason.
Up to this point, the Bulls have not realized that losing is their best path to getting back to their winning ways, with VP of Basketball Operations Artūras Karnišovas having the delusion that they can make a playoff push.
The Bulls swung and missed during this season’s trade deadline when they only traded away one player, Zach LaVine, for a package of three players and their pick from the San Antonio Spurs.
Since the deadline, it has been a mixed bag worth of the performances from Kevin Huerter, Tre Jones, and big-man Zach Collins.
The only player from that deal showing any promise and signs that the Bulls should build around is the latter-mentioned Zach Collins.
Chicago Bulls big man showing promise
Collins is a 27-year-old big man out of Gonzaga University who has shined since coming over from the Spurs and is looking to be someone the Bulls can build around. In Collins’s last ten games with the Bulls, he’s averaged 26.0 minutes, 13.3 points, 8.5 rebounds, with 2.6 assists per game. Even more impressive is that Collins has shot 87% from the free-throw line.
In his last five games, the Las Vegas native has scored double-digit points, with three coming as double-doubles. The best game in that span came against the Los Angeles Clippers, where Collins scored 21.0 points, a whopping 17.0 rebounds, and 6.0 assists on 5-10 shooting from the field.
Collins’s best month this season came in Feb where he played seven games, averaging 22.7 minutes, scoring 10.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 2.6 assists while shooting 51.0% from the field and 85.7% from the free throw line. When used as a starter (nine games), Collins has shown he can handle the duties by scoring 15.9 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists, almost a block a game, and one steal in 27.3 minutes.
Someone worth building around
Even though the Bull’s front office won’t admit out loud that they’re in a rebuild, their record and how they have been losing shows they are. Sitting at the 10th spot in the Eastern Conference with a 24-38 record and 2-8 in their last ten games, the Bulls are slowly winding down the season and looking towards the offseason.
The Bulls have a few players outside of Collins they can build around in their rookie sensation Matas Buzelis and their 22-year-old point guard from Australia, Josh Giddey. Both have had outstanding seasons, with Buzelis becoming a mainstay in the Bull’s starting lineup and Giddey emerging as their premier facilitator.
A solid foundation to start
Building around all three of these players should be the way to go for the Bulls, with having the ability this offseason to add more role players via free agency and through the draft.
With three guys on the roster who can fill in the starting lineup for next season gives the Bulls a solid foundation.
Nikola Vucevic is only under contract for next season and could be traded this offseason, with Collins replacing him is looking like a suitable internal option.
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