Head coach Billy Donovan and the Chicago Bulls are currently in the midst of what figures to be a crossroads of an offseason as for the future direction of the franchise following yet another disappointing season in 2023-24. The Bulls were unable to make it any further in the Play-In than they did in the previous year, once again losing to the Miami Heat in the second round of the tournament, and Donovan's seat might be getting just the slightest bit warm, especially considering the ruthless firings of coaches that we've already seen this offseason.
One potential beacon of hope for the Bulls this year is the NBA Draft, where they were recently awarded the 11th overall pick in the lottery. While the Bulls essentially have a “need” pretty much at every position of their roster, recently, some new intel suggested that the Chicago brass could be interested in a young defensive minded point guard out of Providence.
“League sources say that Devin Carter has received a promise somewhere in the lottery,” reported Kevin O'Connor of The Ringer. “Could that team be the Bulls? Carter would be a great fit next to Coby White as a lockdown defender who can thrive with or without the ball on offense. Plus, DeMar DeRozan could leave in free agency, where he would fit with the Clippers if Paul George were to sign elsewhere, so there’d be an immediate minutes void that Carter could fill.”
What does the Bulls' future hold?
As O'Connor mentioned in his report, DeMar DeRozan can opt to leave the Bulls this offseason if he wants to. While his skillset might not necessarily be ideal for the modern NBA (along with his age), DeRozan is still one of the best pure scorers of his generation and would figure to have plenty of suitors on the market this year if he enters, it one of which would be the Los Angeles Clippers, should Paul George choose to leave, as O'Connor insinuated.
While Coby White improved immensely this year, finishing as a candidate for Most Improved Player and scoring 40 points in the Bulls' first Play In game win over the Atlanta Hawks, the shooting guard doesn't bring a whole lot of defense to the floor, meaning that the Bulls would be inclined to pair him next to another guard whose more savvy on that end of the floor.
Of course, in a perfect world, the answer to that question would be Lonzo Ball. However, various leg injuries have kept Ball out of the lineup for an incomprehensible amount of time now, and the Bulls are likely not banking their future on him potentially making a comeback, or even if he does, returning to the same state he once was athletically.
In any case, the pressure is on the Bulls' front office this season to pick a direction for a team that has teetered in mediocrity for the past few years. The NBA Draft is slated to get underway in late June, shortly after the NBA Finals are concluded.
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