Last year, despite having every reason to, the Chicago Bulls refused to tank. This cost them a shot at Victor Wembanyama.
This season, despite once again having every reason to, they once again refused to tank. Fortunately, their timing this time around was far better given that there is no Wembanyama on the draft board this year.
However, with the 2025 draft coming up next year, the Bulls need to actually put themselves in a position to compete for the services of a possible superstar. Because what’s the point of just making the play-in year after year and ultimately getting nowhere?
Cooper Flagg represents the next big name, and the next big chance of securing your franchise a player you can lean on for 15 years.
Flagg, who is 6-foot-9 and athletic as heck, is already one of the most intriguing young defenders in the world, with an offensive game that’s growing by the season. While raw counts of blocks and steals can be a misleading, Flagg picks up both to such an extent where they become decent evidence of his activity level.
His motor never stops running, and during next season at Duke, odds are good Flagg will spend more time developing his game on the other side of the floor, as to his the ground running after his name is picked.
While the Bulls are in no way secured a proper crack at Flagg (the best they can manage is a 14% chance via the lottery, and that’s assuming they become one of the three worst teams in the league), the franchise needs to go for it all the same.
There’s not much to look forward to with this franchise. Zach LaVine is probably moved by next year’s deadline. DeMar DeRozan, if he’s kept around, will be 35. Nikola Vučević is regressing by the month. Patrick Williams has been underwhelming.
Only Coby White offers a real glimmer of intrigue, but he’s hardly good enough to lead a team.
Essentially, the Bulls don’t have a franchise player. They’re not going to get one in free agency, because those players rarely hit free agency anymore to begin with, and even if they did… why should they sign with the Bulls?
The draft, then, it is. And you have to be in it to win it. There’s no other alternative, regardless of how much Bulls management hope they get rewarded for staying competitive, if you can even call it that.
To become that type of team that’s looking at a potential top selection, they need to become bad. And not just regular bad. They need to become absolutely horrible.
That starts with not re-signing DeRozan, handing Vučević more shots, pivoting off LaVine for whatever they can get, and even become open to moving off White, who will be difficult to retain anyway when his contract is up in 2026.
Is it a losing mentality? Not if it works. At the end of the day, teams that build through the draft will need to make initial sacrifices for the betterment of the long-term process. The Bulls would be no different in that regard.
And, to be fair, this might be Chicago’s best chance to become relevant again. By standing still, and never do anything that’s remotely proactive, the organization has handcuffed themselves to the pole of mediocrity, which is a place where fan interest goes to die.
At least swinging big for Flagg is understandable, and can be respected by a fan base that just wants to see the end of the status quo.
Unless noted otherwise, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball-Reference. All salary information via Spotrac. All odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.
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