The Bulls front office made bold promises back in 2020 when they took over, but very little has been delivered. Monday’s thumping by the Mavs was a reminder of that.
Chicago Bulls
There are a handful of schedule losses.
Whether it’s a back-to-back on the road or three games in four nights, over the course of filling out an 82-game season the NBA deals bad hands to every team.
Monday wasn’t that for the Bulls.
No, that was a flat-out “butt kicking,” as veteran DeMar DeRozan called Monday’s 127-92 loss to the Mavericks. A Dallas team coming into town and reminding the Bulls just what mediocrity looks like when it collides with a focused squad from the Western Conference that is actually trying to make noise beyond the play-in tournament.
Also, yet another reminder for Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley just how poor a decision it was to stay the course with this roster at the Feb. 8 trade deadline.
The Bulls have 17 games left and couldn’t have asked for a better set-up. It’s the second-easiest remaining schedule in the entire league, and a quick glance at it screams 10-7 allowing the Bulls to finish .500 — a game better than last season.
Progress in this front office’s world.
They’ll still likely be in the No. 9 spot barring complete meltdowns from Miami, Indiana, or Philadelphia, who are each treading water lately. Which means probably hosting Atlanta in a first-round play-in game, beating the heartless Hawks, and then looking to pull the upset over the loser of the No. 7 vs. No. 8 game.
As this Bulls team has shown throughout this season, very doable.
It’s not like there aren’t signature wins on this team’s resume, beating Milwaukee, Minnesota, Cleveland, Sacramento, and an impressive victory at Golden State last week. So a must-win game against the Pacers or the Heat isn’t out of the realm of impossibility.
And then what?
A sweep at the hands of the top-seeded Celtics and a season-ending press conference about “competitiveness” and how the season was somehow better than last year, despite all of the injuries?
Not what was sold back in 2020.
Go back to when Karnisovas was hired and then nabbed Eversley to take over Gar Forman’s office.
They both gushed about watching the “Last Dance,” and how it motivated them to want to restore the Bulls to the dynasty days.
“Everything starts and ends with winning,” Eversley said in his first presser. “We need to focus our culture and mindset to be about excellence day in and day out. I’m so excited to start this chapter. For Bulls fans, hear me when I say it: Our ultimate goal is to bring an NBA championship back to the city of Chicago.”
He was heard.
Problem these days is when it comes to being even close to an NBA title contender there’s nothing but silence.
And the gut-punch in all of this is there’s not a lot of maneuverability to get out.
The fact that guard Zach LaVine admitted last week in Los Angeles that he was ahead of schedule from season-ending foot surgery was positive, but still might not move the trade needle on the two-time All-Star this summer.
He would not only have to pass the physical from an interested team, but the Bulls would also have to be OK with the idea of giving LaVine away for nothing but a bad expiring contract. They will try and do just that, but don’t hold your breath.
Instead, expect a spirited negotiation with veteran DeMar DeRozan on an extension, and then running this all back with the Hail Mary of Lonzo Ball being available in some capacity.
But bringing an “NBA championship back to the city of Chicago?” Not even close.
The Mavericks game was just the latest reminder of that.