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Rebuilding the Bulls won't be easy

There has been a perception for a few decades that Chicago is a desirable destination for NBA free agents.

But the Bulls have never really hit the jackpot in free-agency, missing out on LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Tracy McGrady, among others. They've gotten some decent consolation prizes, such as Pau Gasol, Carlos Boozer and Brad Miller. Signing Ron Harper worked out well in the '90s.

Needless to say, the Bulls have also had some free-agent additions that could be categorized as regrettable.

This summer will be interesting in the NBA. Thanks to a generous new television deal, the salary cap is expected to take a giant leap from $70 to $90 million. That means pretty much every team will have enough money to offer a maximum contract to any free agent.

There will be unprecedented demand. A bunch of guys are about to become extremely overpaid.

Given this environment, will the Bulls be able to find a path to improving the roster this summer? It's a good question, especially with some obstacles standing in the way.

At the moment, the Bulls do not appear to be a championship contender, coming off a 42-40 season. If winning is most important to Free Agent X, the Bulls are not likely to top his list.

The Bulls also have to sort out the decision-making structure. Free-agent candidates will be wondering why the team fired a successful head coach last year. Someone will have to do a good job of selling the vision of a high-scoring, fast-moving offense, the sort of Midwest Warriors the Bulls have in mind.

Along those lines, will general manager Gar Forman continue to take the lead in personnel decisions, or is vice president of basketball operations John Paxson going to get more involved? Paxson did most of the talking during the pair's end-of-season analysis session with reporters. Maybe that's a sign of what's to come.

When the regular season ended, Paxson stated the obvious, that the Bulls lacked toughness this season. Fixing that issue may not be simple.

When looking at positions of needs, the Bulls could use an athletic wing who can take some defensive pressure off Jimmy Butler, some fresh legs on the inside and a more consistent backup point guard.

If they're interested in making a deal, the trade bait meter looks something like this: 1. Butler, 2. Taj Gibson, 3. Nikola Mirotic, 4. Doug McDermott. Derrick Rose probably wouldn't bring much of a return considering his injury history and $21 million salary next season.

Trading any of those guys comes with a risk. Butler is a two-time all-star who may still have room to improve. If the Bulls trade him, they'd better get a top-15 player in return.

Gibson has been a model teammate with his work ethic and team-first attitude, so losing him wouldn't be a popular move. Mirotic and McDermott were designed to be scorers for the future, who would fit into the new style. Is it too soon to give up on either one?

The Bulls tried hard to trade for Sacramento's Rudy Gay before and during last season as a third scorer to go with Rose and Butler, but couldn't pull it off. Do they have the resources to try again or will they move on?

When it comes to free-agency, the first order of business will be figuring out a plan for the team's two centers. Joakim Noah's contract is up and Pau Gasol is expected to opt out of the final year of his deal. The right move is to tell both guys they are wanted back. It probably won't work out that way, but the Bulls may not be able to afford to lose both. And keep in mind, most every team in the league will be able to break the bank with an offer to either one of those guys.

Noah is expected to be the Bulls' higher priority. He's younger, a better defender and the Bulls clearly missed his fire during the second half of the season after he was knocked out with a left shoulder injury. They shouldn't rule out Gasol, though. He continued to put up impressive numbers in points, rebounds and blocks, even with his defensive liabilities.

The Bulls aren't expected to be in the mix for the summer's top free agent, Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant. Their best chance to make a big splash would probably be Atlanta center Al Horford, who won two national championships at Florida with Noah. Maybe Horford is craving a bigger city and brighter stage, but Noah would likely be their biggest asset in that quest and he's not a lock to return.

Without Noah and Gasol, the Bulls will have about $24 million to spend on free agents, which could disappear quickly at this summer's inflated prices.

There are some interesting players out there. In the wing category, they figure to look at Charlotte's Nicholas Batum, Atlanta's Kent Bazemore, New Orleans' Ryan Anderson, Dallas' Chandler Parsons, Portland's Gerald Henderson, Memphis' Lance Stephenson and the Clippers' Jeff Green.

Golden State's Harrison Barnes, a restricted free agent, is a graduate of Ames (Iowa) High School, same as Fred Hoiberg and former teammate McDermott. The Warriors would likely match an offer unless they can land Durant.

For backup point guards, former starters like Jeremy Lin, Brandon Jennings and Raymond Felton might be good value signings in a normal free-agent year. This summer, who knows what kind of offers they'll get? Other guards to consider are Milwaukee's Greivis Vasquez, Memphis' Mario Chalmers, New Orleans' Norris Cole, Brooklyn's Jarret Jack, Denver's D.J. Augustin, Washington's Garrett Temple and Ramon Sessions.

Among big men, Miami's Hassan Whiteside is likely to get a huge deal. Other possibilities are Charlotte's Al Jefferson, Dallas' Zaza Pachulia, Indiana's Ian Mahinmi, Cleveland's Timofey Mozgov, Golden State's Marreese Speights and Washington's Nene. The big man list is relatively short, which makes it even more important for the Bulls to stay on good terms with Noah and Gasol.

• Get the latest Bulls news on Twitter at @McGrawDHBulls.

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Butler's future with the Bulls has little to do with Rose

Position change may help Rose stay on the rise

Bulls looking to bring back free agent Noah

Gasol may choose between culture and title contention

NBA money matters

Here's a glance at the growth of the NBA's salary cap, which is expected to give teams much more flexibility this summer to pursue free agents.

2011-12: $58.044 million

2012-13: $58.044 million

2013-14: $58.679 million

2014-15: $63.065 million

2015-16: $70.0 million

2016-17: $90 million (projected)

<b>Top-of-the-line free agents: </b>Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City

LeBron James, Cleveland (P)

Al Horford, Atlanta

DeMar DeRozan, Toronto (P)

Mike Conley, Memphis

Dwyane Wade, Miami

<b>Notable wings: </b>Nicholas Batum, Charlotte

Ryan Anderson, New Orleans

Gerald Henderson, Portland

Chandler Parson, Dallas (P)

Kent Bazemore, Atlanta

<b>Notable bigs: </b>Hassan Whiteside, Miami

Al Jefferson, Charlotte

Zaza Pachulia, Dallas

Ian Mahinmi, Indiana

Timofey Mozgov, Cleveland

<b>Backup point guards: </b>Greivis Vasquez, Milwaukee

Mario Chalmers, Memphis

Jeremy Lin, Charlotte (P)

Brandon Jennings, Orlando

Garrett Temple, Washington

<b>Restricted free agents: </b>Andre Drumond, Detroit

Harrison Barnes, Golden State

Bradley Beal, Washington

Evan Fournier, Orlando

Terrence Ross, Toronto

(P)-player option

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