While the actual halfway point of the season happened over a month ago, the All-Star break gave us a chance to step back and review how the NBA season has unfolded so far, and predict what might happen moving forward.
Despite all of the negativity surrounding the Bulls coming into the season, negativity driven primarily by the fanbase’s lack of trust in VP John Paxson and GM Gar Forman, things have gone surprisingly well for the 20-37 Bulls.
The hope for the Bulls this season was that, just maybe, they could be bad enough to land the #1 pick of the 2018 draft, giving the organization a chance to add a franchise-altering talent.
The Bulls currently have the 8th worst record in the NBA, and getting that #1 pick, or even a top 3 pick, seems pretty unlikely at this point. However, three things have happened over the last four months that have changed the Bulls reality, making their current situation a fairly appealing one.
1- There Is No Sure Thing/No-Brainer At The Top Of This Draft Class
The draft’s top prospect, Missouri forward Michael Porter Jr., suffered a serious back injury that has kept him out the entire season, and will likely affect him again at some point down the road. That makes the #1 pick a lot less desirable.
Experts and scouts still see a good amount of depth in this draft, which improves the Bulls chances of drafting an impact player no matter where they pick. The idea that game-changing talent can only be found in the top 3-5 picks is a semi-fallacy. The Warriors won a title pre-Durant with four out of their five starters being homegrown, and none of them were drafted higher than seventh. The driving force behind the Spurs fifth title was a third-year player that was drafted 15th overall. Milwaukee is arguably the best up-and-coming team in the East, their franchise cornerstone was drafted 15th overall and their 3rd and 4th best players were both second-round picks. This season’s runaway favorite for rookie of the year was the 13th pick.
Whether the Bulls draft 1st or 8th, they’ll have a chance to add immediate impact, it’s up to GarPax to find the right fit.
All 3 Assets Acquired In The Jimmy Butler Trade Have Met Or Exceeded Expectations
In 14 games since his return from a torn ACL, Zach Lavine has shown that he is still every bit the athlete he was before the injury when he was a 2-time slam dunk champion. He’s still working out some kinks in his game, but he’s making three’s at over a 37 percent clip and scoring 17 a game in just 25 minutes. It’s only been a month and the return of Lavine has already gone better than any one of DRose’s returns.
Lauri Markkanen, drafted with the #7 pick, was feared to be nothing more than a spot-up shooter. Through 51 games, he’s already shown us that he’s much more than that.
While his game is certainly centered around his shot, that’s not a bad thing considering he’s the fastest player to reach 100 made 3-pointers to start his career. He’s demonstrated a combination of skill, toughness and athleticism that allows him to be so much more than just a catch and shoot weapon, and he’s only going to get better.
Kris Dunn was probably the player fans were least excited about, given that he had a massive dud of a rookie season and is already 24 years old. He still struggles to shoot the ball, but his FG% has improved from 37.7% last season to 43.1% this season. He’s become more efficient with a much higher usage rate which is a sign of great things to come.
All in all, the Bulls nailed the Jimmy Butler trade, which they absolutely needed to do.
Nikola Mirotic Netted The Bulls a Valuable Pick
There were high hopes for Mirotic when he came to the NBA from overseas, and while he showed signs of promise, he was mostly mediocre over his first three seasons.
When his free agency dragged out into training camp, the Bulls felt the opportunity to re-sign him was too good to pass up, not wanting to let him go for nothing after spending so much time trying to develop him.
All signs pointed to Mirotic being nothing more than an aide to the team’s tanking efforts, especially after Bobby Portis broke his face with a punch in practice, sidelining him for 23 games. But upon his return to the lineup, Mirotic broke out, averaging 16.8 points with a 58.8 eFG% in just 25 minutes a game over 25 games.
The Bulls were able to take advantage of Mirotic’s strong start, trading him and a 2nd round pick to New Orleans for Jameer Nelson(since traded), Tony Allen(since waived), Omer Asik and a 1st round pick.
As mentioned earlier, that top 3 pick for the Bulls is looking bleak, but they now have an extra top 20 pick (or better) thanks to Mirotic.
Through 57 games, Dunn, Lavine and Markkanen have made this season worth watching. The final 25 games might not be the most competitive, but with the core intact and healthy, two 2018 1st-round picks in hand, and a deep draft class to choose from, the future of Chicago Bulls basketball looks better now than it did in October.
