The Bulls seemed to enter the season filled with expectations and promise; they more or less retained their core group of players, their possible PG of the future in Coby White, and two lowkey free agency acquisitions of Thomas Satoransky and Thad Young who could provide solid contributions. With all these positives, the only problem was that Jim Boylen was still their coach, and nothing good will EVER happen with Jim Boylen as your head coach.
It seemed the Bulls were doomed before the season began and it only got worse with each idiotic and questionable decision Boylen ever made. However, if I was to write out every iconic moment or quote during Boylen’s tenure then this would be a novel so to save myself the work ---------> https://www.radio.com/670thescore/most-bizarre-moments-quotes-jim-boylen-bulls-coaching-tenure
Enjoy!
Boylen aside, this was a season total disaster. Lauri Markkanen regressed heavily in Boylen’s system, multiple injuries throughout their roster and besides Zach LaVine nobody seemed to be able to score the basketball. After Zach (25.5 points per game), this entire team seemed to struggle to do anything offensively.
The Bulls were in the bottom ten in almost every offensive statistical category: FG% (26th), 3P% (22nd), Total Rebounds (29th), Assists (23rd), and Points per game (27th). But hey, at least they were 1st in steals (10 per game), that’s good, and they were also 4th in the league in turnovers (15.5 per game), that’s……. less good.
On top of a horrible offense, the Bulls also came down with a serious case of the injury bug this season. Only four players played 60 games or more out of a possible 65. Their entire roster missed a total of 297 games in a shortened season which caused a serious lack of chemistry with any of their starting lineups.
The combination of the piss-poor coaching, player regression, and wasting of young talent drove fans over the edge. I’m sure they will be trying to erase all the scars and trauma that this season inflicted on them as soon as possible. Let’s do a quick recap of everything that went down during the Chicago Bulls “gas leak year.” (shout out to Community.)
June 20th - NBA Draft & Rookies
The Bulls had the 7th and 38th pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. They obtained the 38th pick from Memphis in a trade at the beginning of the year. With their two draft picks the Bulls selected Coby White (PG) and Daniel Gafford (C) respectively.
Preseason
Trades:
July 7th - The Bulls acquired Tomas Satoransky from the Wizards in a sign and trade deal for a 2020 and 2022 2nd round pick. Wizards have the right to swap their Lakers’ 2022 2nd round pick for either the Bulls’ or Pistons’ 2022 2nd round pick, whichever one is more favorable.
As a part of the sign-and-trade Satoransky signed a 3 year $30 million deal but that was Washington so that’s why it doesn’t go into the Signings section. I know I’m getting technical just bare with me.
July 6th - The Bulls signed the veteran PF Thaddeus Young to a 3 year $43.63 million contract with a partial guarantee on the 3rd year (2021-22).
July 11th - The Bulls signed Ryan Arcidiacono (PG) to a 3 year $9 million contract with a team option on the 3rd year (2021-22).
July 17th - The Bulls signed the giant sniper Luke Kornet (C) to a 2 year $4.5 million contract.
July 18th - The Bulls signed Shaquille Harrison to a 1 year $0.89 million contract.
October 22nd - The 2019-20 NBA season begins
Oh, you didn’t know? - The highlight of the Bulls season came on November 23rd with a victory over the Hornets. Zach LaVine* hit a 3-pointer with 0.8 seconds left on route to a career-high 49 points. Both teams scored a combined 88 points in the 4th quarter alone as the game turned into a shootout in the final few minutes. I’ll leave a link to it in case somehow you haven’t it already ----> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJ9pnTcGwxs&ab_channel=BleacherReport
*Sad Fact: The 2020 All-star game was in Chicago and yet still Zach LaVine wasn’t an all-star. As a Zach LaVine stan, I found that wack.*
Mid-season:
Trades & Signings - Nothing to report here
March 11th - The league is suspended.
Overtime Notes:
April 13th - The Bulls fired long-time general manager Gar Forman. With his best years behind him, this was the right move as Forman has spearheaded numerously questionable (at best) decisions, signings, and draft selections. He won NBA Executive of the year in 2011, which is ironically the last time they drafted somebody good in the 1st round (jury is still out on White and Carter Jr). Let’s not forget the time he drafted both Juseuf Nurkic (14th) and Gary Harris (16th) in 2014 and then traded them both to the Nuggets for Doug McDermott and Anthony Randolph. Good times, good times.
May 1st - The Bulls hired Marc Eversley to be their new GM. Don’t know much about him but let’s hope he’s good.
August 14th - The Bulls fired head coach Jim Boylen. YESSSSSSSS SIIRRRRRRR LETSSSSSSS GOOOOOO!!!!!!!
September 22nd - The Bulls hired Billy Donovan to be their new head coach. Donovan previously spent 5 years coaching the Thunder where he accumulated a regular-season record of 243-157. He led the Thunder to the playoffs in all five years and went to the finals in his first year (2015-16). He was named NBCA Coach of the year in 2020.
I don’t think this was a mediocre signing. Donovan has proved to be a good coach however it always seemed to me that his success came more from guys like Westbrook and Paul George than his coaching. Even with superstars on his team, he has failed to lead the Thunder past the first round since his lone finals appearance. They got bounced by the Rockets twice, rookie Donovan Mitchell and Damien Lillard waved both Westbrook and Paul George out of OKC.
So am I confident that Donovan is the man for the job in Chicago? Not really. Am I confident that he’ll do a better job than Boylen? Hell yeah.
Preview
This picture was taken from Basketball-Reference and if you want more information you can check it out by clicking the link ---> https://www.basketball-reference.com/contracts/CHI.html
The Bulls hold the 4th overall pick, moving up from their projected 7th pick. This would be their highest spot in the lottery since 2008 where they took Derrick Rose 1st overall. They’re in a good spot player-wise because they already have four of their five positions figured out. All that is truly left to figure out is the SF position. So they have two options here:
Draft Deni Avdija. He may not be the best shooter or defender but his playmaking and ball-handling make him an intriguing player. Maybe “Point Forward” is a stretch as of right now but he can certainly make plays for his teammates which will take the shot-creating responsibilities off of White, LaVine, and Satoransky. Assuming that Porter picks up his player option (he would be stupid not to) Deni can certainly benefit from learning from him for a year.
Draft the best player available. Take a chance on somebody, whoever it may be, and just hope they pan out and don’t end up being a bust.
Looking at their contract situation it’s obvious that they’re leaving cap space for the 2021 free agency class so I think it’s safe to assume that they won’t try to lock themselves into big contracts this offseason. They shouldn’t resign Valentine, it’s time to give up on him. But they should try to re-sign Dunn at the right price because he’s the only reason why the Bulls aren’t complete garbage on defense. He’s a great-to-elite defender but his lack of growth on the offensive end can make him expendable.
Now that brings me to Coby White, he needs to take a big step next season. Not only does his playmaking need to improve but so does his shooting. He shot poorly pre all-star break but in the 10 games after the break, he looked like a completely different player. Take a look at his stats both pre and post All-star break right here --------> https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/w/whiteco01/splits/2020
The extra minutes and shot attempts helped him show Bulls fans the player he could be. Will he shine in a bigger role next season or will he revert to being inefficient like he was before the All-star break? I say you should let him start over Satoransky so we can get a bigger sample size of his performance with more shot attempts and minutes.
With that being said I believe that the Bulls are set up nicely for the future and can be a real player in 2021 free agency if next season goes well. I trust that Donovan can establish a proper culture system with a good ball movement that will help get the most out of his players. Hot Take Alert!: The Bulls are going to make the playoffs next season as an 8th seed. They have enough talent to compete in a top-heavy Eastern Conference. With Jim Boylen out of the picture, the only way to go is up, right? (you can go sideways but let’s think positive.)
Hey Bulls fans, want to celebrate the firing of both Boylen and Forman? What better way to do it than with sweet merch from Fanatics, the global leader for licensed sports merchandise. Check out my link below to see their wide range of Chicago Bulls’ gear or merch from any other player or team you may fancy. Right now they’re offering 60% off selected items storewide so what are you waiting for? Now is as good a time as any to, in the words of Tom Haverford and Donna Meagle, “treat yo self.”
Link - https://fanatics.ncw6.net/LjZv3
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