Part 11 of the Offseason guides brings us two teams that have done opposite things this offseason. The Chicago Bulls, who are deciding between rebuilding and trying to push for a play-in spot and The Philadelphia 76ers, whose gamble last offseason paid off this offseason.
The Chicago Bulls are in a really weird position currently. Management is trying to will a team to the postseason that is clearly not very good. The players on the team are good individually, but they’re currently past their better playing days and it seems like everyone has noticed except the important people in the front office. The Bulls traded for DeMar DeRozan in 2021 and signed both Alex Caruso and Lonzo Ball in free agency. The signings sparked some life into the team that already had Nikola Vucevic and Zach Lavine. There was finally excitement in Chicago. They had a good team and they raced to a top 4 seed in the Eastern Conference early on. However, an injury to Lonzo Ball and some defensive struggles saw them bow out of the playoffs in the first round and they never returned there. So where do the Bulls go now? The obvious experiment of Vucevic, DeRozan, and Lavine has not worked out. Neither of the three are good on defense and the Bulls have been a pretty terrible team collectively on defense over the last three years. After the Bulls lost in the first round of the 2022 playoffs and then failed to get out of the play-in tournament the following season, it was apparent they needed a fresh start. DeRozan was aging, Lavine was at the tail end of his prime, Vucevic began to decline on his offense and shooting, and Ball hadn't played a game in nearly three years due to constant knee injuries. The blame needs to be placed on the front office. It’s been apparent over the last couple of seasons this team isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. The Bulls started the offseason trading Alex Caruso to the Thunder for Josh Giddey. They then signed Pat Williams to a 5-year, $90 million contract and followed that up by trading DeRozan away to the Kings. So the current roster seems like a bunch of guys who are good, but I certainly hope they do not go into the regular season with the roster that’s currently assembled. Usually, I like giving credit for roster moves made, but the Bulls haven’t made any. The trade for Giddey was their first trade in nearly 2 and half years. Overall, a fresh start is needed in Chicago.
To start, the Bulls should try and get off the Zach Lavine contract. He’s owed roughly $43 million next season and has three years left on his current deal. The problem is his trade value is at an all time low. If the Bulls had decided to trade him two seasons ago, they could’ve received a much better trade package then they’re getting offered right now. Nikola Vucevic had a productive season this past year, but his shooting really struggled and his defense is horrible. The Bulls acquired Josh Giddey in a trade from the Thunder at the beginning of the offseason, but he doesn’t move the needle for them in terms of getting better. Overall, I think a total rebuild and blowing up the current team is something that needs to happen. They don’t have a lot of draft assets because of the Vucevic trade they made 4 years ago, but there’s still time for the Bulls to make the right moves. The Giddey trade is better than people think and here’s why. Giddey was moved off the ball when Gilgeous-Alexander took a leap forward in his play making. Giddey needs the ball in his hands and he’ll help the offense play fast and help get everyone in the right position. As a second year player, he averaged 17 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds. He’s a good player and I think a change in scenery for him will be good. The Bulls, I think, need a hard reset at a cost. I understand if you don’t get the best deals back in a trade for Lavine, but getting off his contract needs to happen. They already signaled they’re trying to get younger by trading DeRozan and picking up draft assets. The Bulls, along with evaluating the roster, need to develop some key young players.
The Bulls have Pat Williams, Josh Giddey, and draft pick Matas Buzelis. The three are a solid stepping stone for the franchise, but they still have a lot of work to do, mainly Williams and Giddey. Pat Williams was picked 4th overall in the 2020 draft and drew a lot of comparisons to Kawhi Leonard due to his size, length and defense. His offense was also very good as he showed a solid shot and finished well in the paint and at the basket. He was only 18 years old when he was drafted and showed a lot of promise in the first two seasons. However, he’s been disappointing since. He has not been healthy for long stretches in the previous two years. He’s flashed a lot of skill for his size, but he hasn’t been able to sustain it. He played just 17 games his second season and only played 43 games last year. For Williams, if he doesn’t show improvement in his overall game, especially on the offensive end, it’ll be hard for him to get another contract with the Bulls. It’s officially time for Williams to show Chicago what kind of player he can be. As for Giddey, he needs to develop some type of shot. His offensive game needs to become amazing if he’s to be a good player in this league because his defense is not good either. He’s a creative passer and it’s obvious he has a really good feel for the game, but traditionally players of his archetype don’t last very long in the NBA. They can be effective in the regular season, but making a playoff run typically doesn’t happen. Improving his shooting and becoming a better defender are at the top of the priority list this offseason. Buzelis is a good addition for the Bulls. He fell in the NBA draft a couple weeks ago and can become a really good offensive player for the Bulls.
Ultimately, the Bulls need to pick a direction. They trade Lavine for multiple players that add up to his 43 million dollar salary, or they can blow up everything and trade the aging players. The front office felt the moves they made three years ago would put them in a good spot amongst eastern conference teams, but they only have 1 playoff win to show for it. They still have some talent. Coby White showed he’s a capable scorer the last half of the season. Bulls fans have had a rough two seasons, but hopefully management will make the right decision necessary to start a rebuild.
The Philadelphia 76ers have had arguably the best offseason. Personally I don’t think it’s been quite as good as the Thunder, but compared to the rest of the league I think everyone else would want to trade spots with them. “The Process” has finally reached what I believe to be the endgame for the 76ers and Joel Embiid. It’s officially put up or shut up time in Philadelphia after the 76ers landed the prized jewel of the offseason in Paul George. George left the Clippers after what he detailed on his own podcast as a prolonged negotiation with Clippers management that ultimately saw him walk in free agency. On the first night of Free agency, George signed a 4-year, 212.5 million dollar deal with Philly to form a trio of superstars with Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. Philly now has a load of talent and is poised for a deep playoff run. Now the playoffs haven’t always been nice to 76ers fans; they've seen injuries to Joel Embiid derail historic regular seasons for the 7 footer. His playoff numbers historically have dipped compared to the regular season. I understand he has dealt with injuries a majority of his playoff runs, but Embiid has yet to be in the conference finals and it’s not for being an underdog in past series either. Notably in 2021 against the Hawks when the 76ers had a 3-2 lead and lost the next two games with game 7 being at home. It is known as the Ben Simmons game, because late in the 4th quarter he passed up a wide open layup with the nearest defender being Trae Young. It started a fiasco that saw him traded for James Harden the following year. In the 2022 playoffs, Embiid dealt with some injuries as they lost to the Heat in 6 games in the Eastern Conference semifinals. James Harden famously said the ball never got back to him as he disappeared in the 4th quarter of game 6. The following year, they lost to the Celtics as Embiid again was injured. This past season they lost in the first round to the Knicks. The question now is can Embiid, George, and Maxey take the 76ers to the Conference finals or farther?
I personally think they can. Paul George is one of the easier superstars to pair with teams. He’s a fantastic floor spacer that has above average shot creation compared to the rest of the league. His postseason history has been up and down at points in his career. In his Pacers days he was going head-to-head with Lebron in the Eastern Conference finals. In Oklahoma City, he really struggled. During the bubble, he put up arguably his worst postseason as he coined himself “Playoff P”, but the Clippers exited the postseason in fantastic fashion that was highlighted by him hitting the top of the backboard on a corner three. The following year he put up one of his best postseasons going to the Conference finals. Since 2021 he’s been pretty average and that’s not something his teams need if they want to go far. Next to Maxey and Embiid, he’ll be the third option. He’ll be a really good shooter on the wing and provide much needed defense for a depleted perimeter defense in Philadelphia. The hope is that improving the perimeter defense will help overusing Embiid and being able to rest the center a little more in games to keep him healthy for the postseason. I understand paying 212.5 million dollars for a 34 year old third option doesn’t sound great for a long run, but when the 34 year old is Paul George I think any team will take that risk. Philadelphia is now putting all its chips in for a deep postseason run.
Along with signing George, the 76ers had a productive offseason. They were able to re-sign Kelly Oubre to a team friendly deal for 2 years and 16 million dollars. Along with George, the 76ers brought in Eric Gordon and Caleb Martin. Martin will especially help with the perimeter defense and will most likely start alongside George, Embiid, and Maxey. The 5th starting spot will get sorted out in training camp, but Jared McCain is a strong candidate after being drafted this past NBA draft. After signing George, the 76ers then locked up Tyrese Maxey to a 5 year, 204 million dollar deal. The deal secures the trio through at least the next two seasons. During the regular season, I expect Paul George to largely fill in the playmaking when Embiid and Maxey defer to him. He’ll draw the second best perimeter defender from other teams and give them another shooter to space out around Embiid when teams double. The 76ers were able to address a lot of their needs of shooting and wing defense to put around Embiid and are a popular candidate to challenge the Celtics atop the Eastern Conference. Overall, The 76ers offseason is largely complete. They were able to take advantage of the cap space they saved up last season and were able to cash in on an All-Star talent to pair with Embiid and Maxey. Now the 76ers and Embiid have even less excuses than before to make a deep playoff run.
As always feel free to comment below and any news that occurs after the release of this article will be updated prior to the regular season.
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