When the Chicago Bulls finished up yet another mediocre season back in April, the front office made it clear that they knew changes needed to be made. There hasn’t been a ton that has happened so far in the offseason, but Chicago noted that they would make moves, and moves have been made. The fan base hasn’t agreed with all of them, but it is still a good sign to see that the front office is trying to change. Bulls fans have been wanting that for a while.
There will likely be more changes made to this Bulls team before the regular season rolls around, but so far, they have added some new faces to the squad. They have also lost some players. The Bulls have picked up Josh Giddey, Jalen Smith and Chris Duarte, but they lost Alex Caruso and DeMar DeRozan. The Bulls also re-signed Patrick Williams. Here are grades for the moves that Chicago has made this offseason:
Josh Giddey Alex Caruso trade
A lot of Bulls fans were unhappy about this. It wasn’t surprising that Chicago sent Alex Caruso away via a trade, but it’s surprising that they settled for just Josh Giddey in the trade. Giddey doesn’t really have any of the offensive attributes that the Bulls are looking for, but he is a lot younger than Caruso, and they are building a young team.
Grade: C
Signing Jalen Smith
Now this is a pickup that seems like it will really benefit the Bulls. Jalen Smith will fit right into the young core that the Bulls are building, and he should be a valuable member of that core. He is coming off of his best three-point shooting year as he shot 42% from deep, and that is something Chicago needs. He also has athleticism and size. Good pickup for the Bulls.
Grade: A
Re-signing Patrick Williams
This is another move that is a bit of a head-scratcher. The Bulls obviously still have hope that their former fourth overall pick will pan out, but so far, he hasn’t shown a lot of growth in Chicago, and injuries have held him back as well. This could go down as a bad move when we look back on it in five years.
Grade: C-
DeMar DeRozan Chris Duarte trade
The Bulls picked up Chris Duarte from the Sacramento Kings in exchange for DeMar DeRozan. The trade also included two second-round draft picks and cash. This one is tough. DeRozan was the best player on the Bulls last year and he was a great leader for the young core. He could’ve been a good mentor to keep around, but they did free up some space to add more young talent with this move. DeRozan is getting older and wouldn’t be around for much longer anyways, but it’s still tough for Bulls fans to see him go.
Grade: B
It’s going to be interesting to see how the Bulls navigate the rest of this offseason. There are still a lot of question marks surrounding the team, and two of the biggest involve Zach LaVine and Lonzo Ball. Everyone is wondering if those two guys will still be in Chicago when the regular season rolls around. There is still a lot of offseason left, and a lot of decisions for the Bulls to make.
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