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In

^{Isaac Okoro (SG)
Yuki Nakamura (PG)}

Rookies

• Noa Essengue (PF) – Pick #12
• Lachlan Olbrich (PF) – Pick #55

Out

^{Lonzo Ball (PG)
Talen Horton-Tucker (SG)}

Depth Chart

PG – Josh Giddey
SG – Coby White
SF – Isaac Okoro
F – Matas Buzelis
C – Nikola Vucevic
6th Man – Tre Jones
Rotation players – Kevin Huerter / Ayo Dosunmu / Jalen Smith / Patrick Williams / Zach Collins

^{Chicago Bulls Profile}

Team Ceiling

Play-in – Another team whose main goal is reaching a play-in spot. They extended Giddey’s contract because he earned it during the second half of the season. There are many other teams in their same situation in the East, so giving them 1st round access seems too much, but never impossible.

Team Floor

Nothing – Out of the playoffs is their worst-case scenario. Any injury involving Josh Giddey, Vucevic or Coby White can end any expectations they might have during the season.

X-Factor

Josh Giddey – After the busy summer for Giddey, he got what he wanted. 4 years and $100 million. Now he has to prove he deserves it. After the All-Star break last year, he averaged 21.2 points, 10.7 rebounds and 9.3 assists, with 50% FG and 46% 3P. This last stat will help him a ton in terms of how they defend him. He started his career shooting 26% and last year he averaged 38%. It seems that the 2025-26 season will be his breakout season.

Bust

Patrick Williams – The 4th pick in the 2020 draft seems to have reached his peak form. He’s been averaging the same numbers for some years now. ~10 points, similar percentages and now decreasing in minutes per game. Hopefully he has something else to offer, but as we say here: “all the fish is sold”, which means he can’t give more. The Bulls clearly overestimated his capabilities, paying him $90 million over 5 years until 2028. They will remember this one.

Dark Horse

Matas Buzelis – Without a clear superstar on this team now, he will probably be a starter this year – as he was during the last 20 games last year. It’s his time to improve and earn a fixed spot in the starting five for the years to come for the Bulls. We trust in Lil Buzi Vert.

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The bright side for the Bulls is that they are building brick by brick towards what could be their future. Now that they have finally ended the DeRozan + LaVine project, most of their players are young – the only one with over 10 years in the league is Vucevic. Giddey is a great playmaker and we have seen Coby White being a consistent scorer, though still struggling with consistency.

Let’s see if this year some other players steps up, such as Patrick Williams – difficult, but never impossible – Tre Jones, Buzelis… That way they could become either key players for the team or trade material for the future of the Bulls.

Buzelis should take a huge leap this year now that he will have as much space as he needs. It’s time for new stars to shine.

I perceive another irrelevant year for the Bulls, but I think everyone wants to see them again as a great team in the league.