The Chicago Bulls, at least according to one NBA insider, have had a near-disastrous offseason so far. The selection of Noa Essengue and their middling other acquisitions have apparently not moved the needle very much, and they were graded as having one of the worst offseasons in the entire league.
Chicago Bulls given awful grade for offseason
Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes graded all 30 NBA teams on their overall offseasons. While there are a few moves left to be made, including probably by the Chicago Bulls, the offseason is mostly over across the board, so teams are almost complete.
Among all grades, only the New Orleans Pelicans, Indiana Pacers, Phoenix Suns, and Sacramento Kings (often called the Bulls of the West) graded worse than Chicago’s D grade. Hughes was particularly harsh in his assessment, too.
“Unambitious as ever, the Chicago Bulls’ biggest offseason move was recommitting to the dogged pursuit of something between 38 and 44 wins. By agreeing to contract extensions with GM Arturas Karnisovas and head coach Billy Donovan, ownership effectively shouted ‘We are totally fine with this!’ into a megaphone,” he began brutally.
Hughes, of course, sympathized with fans who dream of better than a play-in berth and the 12th pick every single year, but he doesn’t expect things to change. “This could get worse if the Bulls bend on restricted free agent Josh Giddey like they did last summer with Patrick Williams, handing out five years and $90 million, despite a lack of competitive offers to drive the price that high,” he added.
The restricted free agent has yet to sign but is expected to, and he may even represent a value signing somewhere around $20 million annually if the Bulls maintain their hard-nosed effort and don’t cave to a market that is nonexistent.
“The straight-up swap sending Lonzo Ball to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Isaac Okoro underwhelms. The best thing you could say for the deal is that Okoro, who profiles as a ninth man on a good team, is more likely to hold up over a full season than Ball,” Hughes added.
All in all, the Bulls appear to be directionless, and the moves they’ve made seem to do very little for them. They appear to be content with where they are now, and any upward growth might be accidental.
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