The Chicago Bulls Tried to Fast-Track Their Rebuild. It Failed.

By AUSTIN ZEGLIS | Senior Sports Reporter

There are no two ways about it—the Chicago Bulls’ 2022–23 season was not good.

From the devastating news in March about the seriousness of Lonzo Ball’s injury to a mediocre 42–40 finish to a loss against the Miami Heat in the play-in tournament, this year for Bulls fans felt like disappointment after disappointment all the way to the end. How did this come to be?

The year was 2021. Bulls fans across the world had been suffering ever since the Derrick Rose trade. But then a new front office took over, and instead of growing the team through the development of young talent, they took quick action and gave fans some hope in the form of instant gratification. Chicago signed Lonzo Ball and DeMar DeRozan, who, along with the newly acquired Nikola Vučević and fan-favorite Zach LaVine, made up a Bulls squad that looked like it could be of the Eastern Conference’s better teams.

But since then, the team has underperformed heavily for reasons both inside and outside of their control.

Lonzo Ball injured his knee and missed half of the 2021–22 season and all of the 2022–23 season, and he is set to miss most, if not all, of the 2023–24 season according to The Athletic ’s Shams

Charania and Darnell Mayberry. LaVine and DeRozan have been fun to watch at times but have never been able to string together enough wins to make the team competitive. And Nikola Vučević has been a rollercoaster throughout his entire tenure in Chicago.

What Happened?

Put simply, the Bulls were at the bottom of the league on the offensive side of the ball throughout the season: Their offensive rating of 112.8 was the sixth-worst in the league.

Some of this disparity can be chalked up to a lack of good passing and on-ball playmaking, as Chicago averaged 24.5 assists per game as a team, the 10th-worst such mark in the NBA. But Lonzo Ball’s eventual yet ever-distant return won’t automatically fix these offensive woes that this team experienced all year.

Despite the disappointing season, I do want to give credit where credit is due— team defense was a bright spot throughout the whole year. The Bulls’ defensive rating of 111.5 was fifth-best in the NBA, only behind the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Boston Celtics, the Memphis Grizzlies, and the Milwaukee Bucks, all of whom made the playoffs as top four seeds in their respective conferences.

But a good defense won’t get you anywhere with one of the worst offenses in the league. The Bulls failed to close out close games throughout the season, and they played mediocre basketball that didn’t deserve the league-best home attendance that the Chicago faithful provided them.

Offseason Outlook

This offseason should be a busy one for General Manager Marc Eversly and Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Arturas Karnisovas, as starting center Vučević will become an unrestrictCONTINUED ON PG. 15