The report lists the Chicago Bulls as one of the teams that "blew it" this offseason

Have the Chicago Bulls missed out on their big chance to turn things around this offseason?

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While it wasn’t an unmitigated disaster, it’s safe to say the 2022-2023 campaign of the Chicago Bulls fell short of expectations. With Lonzo Ball out for the year due to a knee injury he suffered in January 2022, the Bulls just couldn’t get anything going and failed to advance to the postseason despite having its “Big 3” of DeMar DeRozan, Nikola Vucevic, and Zach LaVine play a substantial number of minutes together.

The offseason brought renewed hope for a possible reset. However, the Bulls doubled down on its core, adding a few pieces to complement its existing "Big 3." With a roster that boasts of a low ceiling and little wiggle room to make improvements, Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz calls out the Bulls for blowing their chance to upgrade its roster this offseason.

The evidence was there

The numbers were there to support a decision to hit the reset button and set a clearer vision for the franchise. Without Lonzo to spearhead the attack, the Bulls’ "Big 3" just couldn't live up to its potential. But the Bulls’ decision-makers saw otherwise and re-signed Vucevic to a new three-year pact, bringing the trio from last season back together. This could be a fatal flaw for the Bulls in the long run.

"Despite two years of evidence, the Bulls front office still decided to re-sign Vucevic to a three-year, $60 million contract and keep LaVine and DeRozan. The trio will earn a combined $86.5 million this season, yet had a net rating of plus-0.7 last year in 3,334 total possessions. If mediocrity is what this franchise wanted, then mission accomplished," Swartz wrote.

Lots of questions

Though the team has addressed some questions, there remains plenty that need answers. Who will play the role of starting point guard, is one. Jevon Carter is a high-quality signing, but he doesn’t move the Bulls up the hierarchy of the Eastern Conference.

"Finding a pass-first point guard who can defend to take Ball's place as the new starting floor general should have been a must, yet a Jevon Carter signing was the best Chicago could do. Carter is a fine rotation player, but he's not going to push this team into the playoffs," Swartz asserted.

In addition, there’s the future of DeRozan in Chicago, given this is the final year of his contract. Patrick Williams has also yet to become the player the Bulls envisioned in the draft, and Chicago must find a way to get more out of him. The best this Bulls team could achieve is the Play-In Tournament, said Swartz.

"The Bulls are headed towards the play-in tournament once again, with no real hope of internal improvements to be made," Swartz added.