As Bulls break for summer, most of the talk is about improving the current nucleus. Is that wise?
Summing up the state of the Bulls isn't difficult.
They finished 40-42 this season and couldn't make it out of the play-in tournament, so this campaign obviously leaves a stench.
They expected better results and need to spend the summer figuring out how to improve the roster.
At the same time, over the past two seasons, the Bulls went 36-23 in games either Patrick Beverley or Lonzo Ball started at point guard. That's roughly a 50-win pace, which would put them in range of a 4 or 5 seed in the East.
Considering those numbers, it's not a stretch to presume the Bulls could keep their basic nucleus and be better next season. That was the prevailing theme during exit interviews Saturday at the Advocate Center.
"The result is not what we wanted," Bulls vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas said. "And we look like a .500 team. But the way we finished the season, I think we're on the right path."
At the same time, Karnisovas made it clear he's not married to this core group of players. He also suggested he won't consider blowing things up and starting another rebuild.
The Bulls tried that path in 2017 with disastrous results. They still haven't gone farther than Jimmy Butler in the playoffs since letting him go.
"My responsibility is to look at everything," Karnisovas said. "At the end of the day, to be a .500 team is not good enough. It's not good enough for this organization, it's not good enough for the fan base. They deserve better, so I'm going to have to look at everything."
Zach LaVine, who brought his son Saint to the podium, made a strong plea for not letting go of the pairing with DeMar DeRozan. The reasoning is logical. LaVine struggled with a sore knee most of last season and spent the early part of this year recovering from surgery. DeRozan was bothered by a right quad strain the past few months. So in theory, the duo has yet to be at 100% effectiveness.
"We're really close to having one of those offenses that is unstoppable," LaVine said. "When we're both on, it shows. We're able to take over games. We just need to do a little bit more and figure out how to get a little bit more winning. I think that's the thing we were both a little bit frustrated about.
"But for me and DeMar as a duo, I haven't been more confident with anybody in my life. It's a confidence that you'd like to have when you know you have someone next to you that is going to be at battle with you."
LaVine also put in a plug for keeping center Nikola Vucevic. The Bulls paid a hefty price to pry the former all-star away from Orlando - Wendell Carter Jr. and two first-round picks. The first draft pick was Franz Wagner. The second will be this year's first-rounder, unless the Bulls get extremely lucky in the draft lottery and land a top-four selection.
Vucevic will be an unrestricted free agent. so he can leave if he wants. At the same time, how much money do the Bulls want to invest in this group, with large contracts already committed to LaVine and DeRozan?
"He's been awesome for us," Karnisovas said of Vucevic. "He's a double-double machine. So he's a huge part of this team. We hope to retain him."
Coby White, after a strong finish to the season, will be a restricted free agent, which means the Bulls can match any offer from another team. There's probably little chance White leaves, especially after the Bulls watched Lauri Markkanen blossom into an all-star with Utah this season.
Beyond that, it will be a challenge to change the roster. The Bulls will operate as a team with no cap room, so they'll be able to use the midlevel exception, worth roughly $10 million, to sign free agents. They could also apply for a disabled player exception for Lonzo Ball, who could miss another full season with knee issues.
Ayo Dosunmu is a restricted free agent. Javonte Green and Patrick Beverley are unrestricted. Andre Drummond and Derrick Jones Jr. have player options for next season.
There was plenty of talk Saturday about trying to get better at 3-point shooting and winning more close games. One positive is the Bulls had the league's best defensive rating from Jan. 1 to the end of the season.
But there was nothing to show for it beyond one exciting play-in victory at Toronto. As he headed home, DeRozan was asked who would be visiting him in Los Angeles this summer for 5 a.m. workouts.
"Anybody under 24," DeRozan said with a smile. "It's mandatory."
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