Chicago Bulls need change more than most NBA teams, insider says

The Chicago Bulls seem to have been toiling in NBA purgatory for a few years now. Neither good enough to contend nor bad enough to get a really impactful spot in the draft every year, the Bulls have been stagnant. They’re better than the Charlotte Hornets, but they’re not as good as the Orlando Magic, which is not really a good place to be in.

Several NBA teams are in need of change this offseason. The Bulls are, according to one NBA insider, among the most needy. Will they get it? That remains to be seen, but the ever-present need for new direction is back once again.

NBA insider: Chicago Bulls need change badly

Bleacher Report analyst Dan Favale ranked Chicago as the team second-most in need of a change out of all NBA teams. Only the Phoenix Suns need to tear it all down and change things more than the Chicago Bulls. That’s not an ideal situation to be in.

“Virtually everyone outside the Chicago Bulls organization has spent the past decade or so calling for the franchise to embrace an overhaul,” Favale said. “The team has instead doubled down on its treadmill of sub-mediocrity, seemingly going out of its way to average just over 38 wins for the past 10 seasons (after adjusting for shortened schedules).”

He did credit the Bulls for ending the DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine eras. But he said that they still remain without a clear plan. “Nobody on the roster qualifies as a viable cornerstone, even if Chicago is about to pay Josh Giddey like one,” Favale added. “Matas Buzelis could perhaps turn into that North Star, but if that’s not a reach, it at least isn’t the case right now.”

The future should be Chicago’s focus, and that, in Favale’s eyes, means getting assets for the expiring contracts of Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu, and Nikola Vucevic. In fact, he implored them to consider moving on from everyone not named Matas Buzelis. “Letting [Josh] Giddey walk in restricted free agency would make for bad optics, but paying him in the ballpark of $30 million per year is potentially worse,” he added.

“If history is any indication, Chicago will pull out all the stops to continue treading water in the bottom of the middle. But its fans deserve—and are likely desperate—for better,” Favale concluded. Chicago is in need of change, but there’s not much confidence that they’ll actually go after it.