Plenty of candidates, but do Bulls have point guard who can lead them to victories?
An inconvenient reality of the Bulls is they went 35-22 with Lonzo Ball starting at point guard and 13-9 with Patrick Beverley.
With anyone else running the point, the record was 51-56 over the past two seasons. Ball won't play this year as he recovers from a third knee surgery and the Bulls did not re-sign Beverley, who is now in Philadelphia.
So one significant question heading into 2023-24 is whether there's a winning point guard on the roster. The success with Ball and Beverley suggests this group needs a floor general who can guide the offense.
There are two incumbents, Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu. Since neither player generated a ton of team success, former Bucks guard Jevon Carter might have an edge, just because he's new and different.
Coach Billy Donovan threw in Alex Caruso as another candidate and Carlik Jones, last year's G-League MVP, is also on the NBA roster.
"They are a bunch of dogs, I know that for sure," Zach LaVine said this week. "We've been here the last couple of weeks and these guys are battling and playing high-level basketball. Whoever can run the team the best is the one who comes out the winner of the point guard spot, but I think we're in a good spot either way."
One issue with Carter is a limited sample size. The Maywood native was a lightly used backup with a reputation for defense during four seasons with Memphis, Phoenix and Brooklyn. He finally took on a lead role last year with Milwaukee, starting 39 games while Jrue Holiday was out with an injury.
The Bucks went 29-10 in games Carter started, but he'll have a very different set of teammates this season. One stat that stands out is Carter's 42.1% shooting from 3-point range, a skill the Bulls could put to use.
"How do I approach it?" Carter said of the point-guard competition. "I just come in and do me. Coaches got to coach. My job is to come in here and be the best I can be and his job is to coach and put us in the best position to go out there and win. We do our job, we should have the best chance to win."
Asked what observations he made about the Bulls while playing for Milwaukee, Carter said, "reluctant to shoot." That might help explain why the Bulls were last in the NBA in 3-point baskets per game.
"I feel like they think about it too much instead of just taking what's there," Carter said. "Just playing free, not thinking about it too much, taking the shot when it's there, not hesitating and just everybody being aggressive."
White and Dosunmu both got new contacts over the summer, so the Bulls showed some faith in their future. Both players have logged plenty of minutes at point guard but grew up as the lead scorers on their teams.
Given a choice of White becoming a better floor general or an elite 3-point shooter, the Bulls would take the second option. It wasn't like Dosunmu played poorly as the starting point guard, but he wasn't ready for that type of role in the NBA. Now in Year 3, we'll find out if the former Illini star is up to the task.
It's also realistic for the starting point guard job to change hands during the course of the season. Or maybe the Bulls start games with one player and use a different combination in the fourth quarter.
"I think competition is always good and I think competition in terms of making each other better is important, but over an 82-game schedule a lot can change," Donovan said. "The way you potentially start at the point guard position on opening night maybe totally different by Game 35 or Game 20."
The Bulls didn't have much spending power, so Carter was the main acquisition of the off-season. He'll also be paid less than White and Dosunmu, so there's no clear pecking order with the point guard contenders. For Carter, 27, joining the Bulls was a dream come true and he's ready to accept any role.
"Sometimes I would go on 2K and create a player and put him on the Bulls and have him No. 5, starting at the point guard position," he said. "I can't even really describe how I feel, honestly. I just want to get out there."
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