2019-20 Chicago Bulls

2018-19: 22-60
Draft picks: 7,38

Signed for next season ($81m): Otto Porter, Zach LaVine, Cristiano Felicio, Kris Dunn, Lauri Markennen, Wendell Carter, Denzel Valentine, Chandler Hutchinson, Antonio Blakeney
They're paying Otto Porter $27m next season? (Read those words again...did you make a passing-a-kidney-stone sound?)
They're built around Porter-LaVine-Markennen-Carter for the foreseeable future, to go with Dunn, Valentine and Blakeney, each of whom have one more year to earn another deal.


This summer's free agents: Robin Lopez, Wayne Selden, Timothy Luwawu-Cabbarot, Ryan Arcidiacano, Shaq Harrison
I think Robin will be cashing in on Brook's excellent season and will be signing either for big big money or a nice contract for a playoff team (Lakers?), either way I don't see him back with the Bulls. Selden and TLC were trade throw-ins that never really found their footing with the Bulls, I don't anticipate either of them being back next year.
If I were the Bulls I'd keep both Harrison and Arcidiacano but perhaps they can be supersubs for a playoff team (I can see either of those guys coming off the bench for the Raptors) and may not be interested in sticking around.


Draft: If they wanted to get exotic at #7, they could take a flyer on foreign prospect Sekou Doumbouya (France), though if Darius Garland (Vaderbilt) or Coby White (North Carolina) were there, I'd expect them to go in that direction. I wouldn't be surprised to see them go with Cam Reddish (Duke) if he's there.

#38 could bring back Grant Williams (Tennessee), a nice player. I've watched a lot of SEC guys kinda turn into nothing in the pros and I can see that happening to Williams, but I thought he was a badass at Tennessee.


Next year's lineup:
PG Dunn, SG LaVine, SF Porter, PF, Markennen, C Carter with Blakeney, Valentine, Hutchinson, #7 and Felicio off the bench.

I don't see that making the playoffs in the East. They've got $20m to spend but I don't see that bringing in any free agents strong enough to make a difference. Remember a coupla years back when they emptied their roster for tank mode...than signed Rajon Rondo and Dwyane Wade? Yeah, they're still paying for that nonsense. They're in the worst possible place: not horrible enough to guarantee a worthwhile draft pick and not good enough to make moves to get better. They've got enough cap space to take on a bad deal for a draft pick but I don't even see that out there for them. I don't see a single free agent out there that really matches them or gives them direction for the future; nor is there the perfect trade chip or deal waiting for them. Another annoyingly mediocre year ahead for the Bulls, it looks like.