Six Reasons Why The Chicago Bulls Will Be A Good Team This Season

The Chicago Bulls will have a good season. Of course, there are several reasons to subscribe to the opposite feeling that the Bulls will struggle, prepare to be surprised. If you are one of the people who believe the Bulls will have a tough time, it is okay to be skeptical. Many of those reasons for skepticism happens to do with preference. An observer’s presence is just as much of a reason for doubt as basketball reasons.

Do not buy into the idea that Bulls will suffer from a long and terrible season. Do not buy into the idea that many of the Bulls’ pieces do not fit. There are six reasons to believe otherwise. Again, the Chicago Bulls will be good this year.

The Power Of NBA Free Agency Brings A Star

The Chicago Bulls had a summer where the team’s offseason grade must be an incomplete.

Normally, if an NBA team were to have an offseason that included the additions of Dwyane Wade, Rajon Rondo, and Isaiah Canaan, it would be considered great. Depending on the team and how that team is perceived, it is a bad thing. For the Bulls, each signing is considered questionable.

When it became apparent that Dwyane Wade was serious about testing free agency, according to the Miami Herald, many people romanticized about the idea of him joining LeBron James in Cleveland. What those people failed to see was why Wade was testing free agency in the first place.

Never being the highest-paid player on the Miami Heat was bothersome for him, especially given what he had done for the franchise. Signing with the Cleveland Cavaliers, who only had a veteran’s exception, would have been an oxymoron. Once Wade signed a two-year deal with the Bulls, courtesy of ESPN, the deal raised eyebrows, even receiving criticism across the NBA. Never mind that Wade is from the Chicago area — his homecoming has mostly been panned.

Again, it is about the perception. As far as basketball is concerned, expect Dwyane Wade to be motivated. Part of Wade’s desire will be to prove to the Heat that they should have paid him. The other part is to put on a show for his hometown crowd while wearing a Bulls jersey.

Having A Pass-First Point Guard Will Help

Much is made about Rajon Rondo’s penchant for rubbing coaches the wrong way. The same people who said that Rondo could be a potential problem gushed over his ability to get his teammates the basketball where they wanted it. He will have that same opportunity with the Bulls.

No disrespect to Derrick Rose, whom the Bulls will miss, but Rajon Rondo is the type of pass-first point guard the team needs.

When to get the ball into spots on the floor, when to find the open man, and when to feed the hot player are usually determined by the point guard. At times, Rose thought about getting his own offense going sacrificing the team aspect.

There was a time when the Bulls needed Rose to save the day. Once he got injured those days were few and far between. In the wake those seasons, Rose was on the mend, Jimmy Butler stepped in. Once a dynamic is changed, it is up to the point guard to facilitate it. Rose never fully adjusted.

With Rose gone, the onus is now on Rajon Rondo to take over. He has a pedigree, and when a coach leaves him to do his thing, he flourishes. Luckily, the Bulls have Fred Hoiberg as the coach, and he is as laid back as they come. Expect few Rondo clashes on the Bulls, and that equals a productive season.

The Shooting Could Be There

The Bulls’ free agency additions of Wade, Rondo, and Canaan only provides one shooter. Wade and Rondo are historically below-average shooters. Isaiah Canaan will bring the Bulls some long-distance firepower, but he is inexperienced.

How the Bulls are constructed Canaan will be glued to the bench with the exception of getting a few spot minutes here and there. Because of the Jerian Grant’s status as a first-round pick, the Bulls backup lead guard duties are his barring injury or ineffectiveness.

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Can Jerian Grant shoot? How much he plays will depend on that. Grant has a chance to make Rondo expendable if he has a breakout season.

Because there is a lack of shooting in the Bulls’ proposed starters, look for Doug McDermott to play often. The Bulls should start McDermott against smaller lineups, and his ability to be a volume shooter will help. Rebounding may be a concern, although the backcourt trio of Butler, Rondo, and Wade are arguably the best rebounding group amongst perimeter trios. If either of them grabs a rebound and runs, they are capable of getting the outlet pass up the court fast, thus creating open three-point looks.

The X-factor is Tony Snell. He is looking at free agency next season and he has been working on his game with Jimmy Butler’s training staff. Confidence and consistency are all Snell needs to erase every doubt people have about the Bulls.

Lineup Versatility Is A Strength

Aside from center, where the Bulls could use some help, there are plenty of interchangeable parts. From the backcourt combinations to the fact that the majority of the roster is filled with players who can do various things, the Bulls are built well.

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Compare the Bulls to the Golden State Warriors. There is a clear difference in talent, but if you swap out the names and just look at the measurables, you will notice that they are eerily similar. The difference is that the Warriors are flanked with shooters, while the Bulls are filled with slashers.

A lack of players who can create their own shots was the Bulls Achilles heel for years. While the Bulls have an older group at the top with Rondo and Wade, the decline is not expected from them for another two or three years. If one shooter emerges and one rebounder is added, watch out.

In the meantime, the Bulls will rotate hordes of players who are between 6-3 and 6-8 at the opposition. If that sounds familiar it was the Warriors do. The Bulls are not the Warriors, but no team is. Golden State is the exception, not the rule.

The Bulls Will Add A Reinforcement Or Two

The NBA rumors involving Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins coming to the Bulls in a deal are alive and well. A trade for the All-Star center would be the perfect way for the Bulls to place a bow on their transactions.

Cousins is a good fit for the Bulls. The problem with this is that it is all fantasy basketball at this point. It takes two teams to consummate a trade. As of now, the Kings may not be in a big hurry to move Cousins. This will force the Bulls to look at other options for now.

The two most glaring needs on the Bulls is rebounding and shooting, in that order.

For those who have made a fuss about the Bulls not having enough outside scoring, the fear is that the Bulls will get pounded on the glass. It is likely that they will have a crash the boards mentality in an effort to aid center Robin Lopez. Look for the Bulls to keep tinkering with their roster for some help also.

Either Stephen Jackson or Kevin Martin will receive an invitation to join the Bulls in training camp, and it is possible that both of them gets a call. If so, and either of them makes the team, the shooting aspect will be covered. That leaves the rebounding concerns to be addressed.

The Bulls acquiring a frontcourt player is not out of the question. The ideal scenario is for DeMarcus Cousins to be added in a trade. For now, the Bulls have to work with what they already have.

Jimmy Butler Will Be A Better Player

Expect Jimmy Butler to be better than he has ever been. The Bulls’ two-time All-Star is working hard towards becoming a great player. Butler is not the typical try hard Chicago Bull.

Luol Deng comes to mind when thinking about how the Bulls were built over the last decade. Deng fits the description of a try hard guy who played hard every night. Few people confused Deng for a top-15 NBA player.

That is where Jimmy Butler is right now. He is not a system player who falters playing for another coach. Butler proved otherwise last season under Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg. Some of the rumored trade offers the Bulls received for him should suggest his place in the league. Now that the gold medal won during the Olympics is under his belt, playing with great players is rubbing off on him.

What has always gone missing for Butler is teaming with future Hall of Fame talent. He experienced that on a team with Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, and Klay Thompson. Now Jimmy Butler will team with Dwyane Wade. That is invaluable.

How to prepare during the season, how to pace the game, and how to win is what Butler is learning. It should fuel his desire to be great himself. What also helps is the addition by subtraction. There is no longer a question if the Bulls are Jimmy Butler’s team or Derrick Rose’s team. It is easy to defer to a player of Wade’s status than it is to stand back and watch a player try to rediscover his magic. Bulls fans will notice an immediate difference once the season starts.

Lastly, Butler will be playing with a guard who will get him the ball in his spots. That is an easier proposition than wondering if the basketball is coming that way at all.

With these factors working in the Chicago Bulls’ favor, a 50-win season is not out of the question.

[Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images]