What's next for Bulls? Here are answers to pressing questions
The Bulls' season ended in a disappointing 101-92 loss the to the Miami Heat in the play-in game a week ago.
Naturally, fans want answers, so here's a Q&A to prepare for a long summer.
Q: What will the roster look like next year?
A: The best guess here is Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan stay together for at least another year. The return of center Nikola Vucevic is much more uncertain since he'll be a free agent and the Bulls need to make changes somehow.
Q: What means will the Bulls have to add players?
A: For starters, they can petition the league for a disabled player exception for Lonzo Ball, which would allow them to sign or trade for a player for one year at 50% of Ball's salary, roughly $10.2 million.
Since he's already missed a year and a half with no return in sight, this should be automatic. The new player is limited to a one-year deal, so one option would be to use this to bring back point guard Patrick Beverley. If Ball does play next season, that doesn't affect the player signed using the exception.
Otherwise, the Bulls won't have cap space, so they could also use the non-taxpayer midlevel exception, which is expected to be worth around $12.5 million this summer. It can be split between multiple players.
Q: Can the Bulls win the draft lottery?
A: Yes, we're saying there's a chance, a 1.8% chance of landing the No. 1 overall pick. If the Bulls are lucky enough the snag a spot in the top four, they get to keep the protected pick. If not, it goes to Orlando to complete the Vucevic trade. The lottery will once again be held in Chicago on May 16.
Q: What's the market going to be like for Vucevic?
A: Probably zero, when it comes to a market-price free agent signing. The only teams with any significant cap room are Houston and Utah. A team could offer the full midlevel, in theory.
So the Bulls can feel free to toss out a lowball offer or work with him on a sign-and-trade, if they do decide to break up the core.
Q: If Vucevic leaves, who plays center next season?
A: That's an excellent question. Get somebody back in a trade or chase some younger players in free-agency. It's conceivable Andre Drummond returns.
Q: Will Coby White be back next season?
A: White's return is probably close to 100%. He had a solid finish and the Bulls are still smarting from Lauri Markkanen blossoming into an all-star after he left the Bulls. Expect the Bulls to offer around $15 million per season and if his agent wants more, they'll tell him to bring back an offer sheet.
Next season will be a good time to figure out if White can organize the offense well enough to transition to a starting role.
Q: Can the Bulls add more 3-point shooters?
A: Maybe. The best 3-point shooters that are unrestricted free agents are probably Brooklyn's Seth Curry and Milwaukee's Joe Ingles. Cleveland's Caris Levert shot a career-best 39.2% from 3 this season, 46.6% after the all-star break.
But keep in mind, after the break, Patrick Williams shot 46.5% from 3, White 41.3% and LaVine 39.4%. The Bulls have decent shooters on the roster, but need to use them. After the break, the Bulls ranked 16th in the league in 3-point percentage and 26th in 3-pointers made.
Q: Can Alex Caruso make the Miami game a normality?
A: That would help. Caruso is so valuable as a defender and against the Heat in the play-in, he hit 4 of 8 shots from 3-point range for 16 points, a season-high. The loss to the Heat made it clear it's tough to have both Caruso and Beverley in the closing lineup due to the lack of floor-spacing.
Q: Do the Bulls want to have cap space in 2024?
A: They could create some cap space when DeRozan's contract expires next year. But that likely means not trading Vucevic or DeRozan since the Bulls would have to take back salaries in return. With White and Williams both due for new contracts by next summer, creating space will be a challenge.
Q: There's no way the Bulls are paying the luxury tax, right?
A: They probably won't for a team that doesn't appear to be a championship contender. With NBA revenues rising, the tax threshold keeps getting higher, though. So there's a chance the Bulls could re-sign White and Vucevic, use the full midlevel and still avoid paying the tax. Using the disabled player exception on top of that would likely push them into tax territory.
Q: Should we believe Arturas Karnisovas when he said there were no deals available to improve the team at the trade deadline?
A: Well, yeah. The problem is the Bulls have no draft picks left. They can't trade a first-rounder until 2027 and have no second-rounders at all until '26. They went all-in to escape the rebuild, Ball's injury derailed the early momentum and now they're stuck.
As mentioned before, though, the Bulls have gone 36-23 when either Ball or Beverley starts. That's a 50-win pace. This nucleus may not challenge for the Finals, but it does have room to improve.
Twitter: @McGrawDHSports