There’s no denying that the Chicago Bulls are in rebuilding mode once again but they are fast-tracking the development of their young players at the same time. In a report from the Chicago Tribune’s K.C. Johnson, the mandate from the front office is to allot games in which the youngsters are given the chance to play more minutes.

The coaching staff will have to decide which games are the best ones to give more minutes to players such as sensational rookie Lauri Markkanen, Kris Dunn, Zach LaVine, Bobby Portis, Denzel Valentine, David Nwaba, Cristiano Felicio, and Cameron Payne.

Expect Robin Lopez to be the odd man out in this youth movement from the Bulls as the team looks to tank their remaining games to get the best chance to land one of the top 3 picks in the 2018 NBA Draft. Additionally, they want to be able to see which of their players are worth investing their future in.

The Bulls are currently occupying the 12th spot in the Eastern Conference standings with a 20-37 record. John Paxson saw the Bulls lose nine of their last 11 games heading into the All-Star break.

John Paxson

As announced by the Bulls earlier, Lopez, Justin Holiday, and Jerian Grant will be sitting out their next game which is scheduled for Thursday at home against the Philadelphia 76ers. Holiday leads the team in minutes with 34.1 per game.

“You can’t play 12 guys in our game,” Paxson said. “Nine or 10 is the most. And it’s just the position we’re in as a young team, 20-37, with a lot of young guys and several who we haven’t really had the chance to see play much this year. For us to make the proper evaluation in terms of who fits us moving forward, this is something we have to do.”

With this pronouncement from Paxson, expect to see Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg frequently tinker with his lineup going forward.