2014-15 Finish: 27-55

 

Season Highlight

There really wasn’t too much to be excited about in Chi-town. There hasn’t been for many years in the NLL as GM Dazman constantly rebuilds. Constantly. However, this is the first season in a long time when the Bulls had a star player on its roster. Stephen Curry, in his first full season, put up the type of numbers we expect from a star. He is the first piece in what could be the end of the rebuilding era. But we’ll see.

 

Season Lowlight

Does anyone go to Bulls games anymore? In a recent op-ed, the Chicago Sun-Times basketball writer Dan Cahill said that the team needs to make the playoffs soon or GM Dazman should lose his job. It makes sense. When was the last time the Bulls made the playoffs? Answer: the 2009-2010 season! Toy Story 3 was in theatres then. We only knew Nicki Minaj for her guest on Kanye West’s “Monster.” You get the point. The Bulls have sucked for a long, long time.

 

Best Trade

 

The Chicago Bulls send Hedo Turkoglu and CJ Miles to the Miami Heat. The Miami Heat send Paul Pierce and Joe Ingles to the Chicago Bulls.


The Chicago Bulls trade -3 GM points.The Miami Heat receive 3 GM points.

 

The Bulls made some howlers last season, but this one is pretty decent. They moved a guy at the end of his NLL career and a middling swing man for a strong veteran and a younger player (who really isn’t that young) with potential. Of course, they moved Pierce soon after, but this one looked pretty good on paper for the Bulls.

 

Worst Trade

 

The Atlanta Hawks send Al Jefferson to the Chicago Bulls. The Atlanta Hawks send Robert Covington to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Chicago Bulls send JJ Redick and Taj Gibson to the Atlanta Hawks. The Oklahoma City Thunder send Devyn Marble to the Atlanta Hawks.


The Atlanta Hawks receive 6 GM points. The Chicago Bulls receive 1 GM points. The Oklahoma City Thunder trade -7 GM points.

Not sure what the hell the thinking was here. JJ Redick is a strong shooting guard and Taj Gibson is good too. They already had Andrew Bogut. So why not? Let’s get another center, one that might even opt out of his deal (he didn’t). Is this part of the “rebuild”? Doesn’t really make too much sense.  

Other Notable Trades

 

The Chicago Bulls send J.J. Hickson to the Washington Wizards. The Washington Wizards send Andrew Bogut to the Chicago Bulls.


The Chicago Bulls trade -10 GM points.The Washington Wizards receive 10 GM points. 

Someone had to take a chance on the always hurt Bogut, so why not Chicago?

Also, a bunch of first rounders got traded in other deals, but it hurt my head too much to figure out who went where and how and why.

 

Best Free Agent Signing

 

CJ Miles picked the Bulls because he would have loads of playing time. The Bulls signed him. But if you read the above, he’s gone.

 

Worst Free Agent Signing

 

Joel Freeland – this guy finally gave up on the NLL it seems. He was awful for Chicago and now he’s going back overseas. You know what they say, “If you can’t make it in Chicago, you can’t make it anywhere!”

 

The Star

 

Stephen Curry- Do I even need to write anymore? Curry is a top 10 player. Even on a lower tier team, he worked his magic, scoring 28.3 points per game, coming in 8^th league wide. He also came in 5^th in field goals made, shooting a miraculous 47%. DO NOT TRADE CURRY, Daz. He is the start of something good. But you know this!

 

Surprise

 

Andrew Bogut- He ended up playing 57 games for the Bulls! That’s the most he’s played for anyone team since 2009-10 when he appeared in 61 for the Bucks. Hey! That’s the last year the Bulls made the playoffs.

 

The Goat

 

GM Daz- Sorry, buddy. Daz is easily one of the most affable and likable GMs in the league. He’s easy to deal with, kind and thoughtful. Maybe those attributes don’t make a good steward. Be the shark, Daz. Get out from under the rebuild and make the Bulls something special.

 

Draft Report Card

The Bulls somewhere traded their pick away and ended up with a late first and late second. They drafted Chris McCullogh who will be lucky if he plays this season because of injury issues. They also drafted J.P. Tokoto who will be lucky to make the team. I also hear they might have Kevon Looney coming their way too!

Looking to the Future

The Bulls come into the season with an intriguing roster. If Bogut can stay healthy, he will lock down the five spot. Patrick Patterson is slated to start at PF, but he’s a tweener and might have trouble with bigger PFs. Brandon Rush at small forward is a real stretch, but Daz did trade the superfluous Al Jefferson for the volatile Lance Stephenson. If he can stay mentally healthy, he could be a good addition to the backcourt with Curry.

The bench is an absolute mess, loaded with guys who would barely crack the rotation on most teams, led by an aging Boris Diaw. Daz may be able to sneak in and snag a quality free agent or two while the rest of the league are snarling over the cream of the crop.

Upcoming Free Agents

Joe Ingles- I don’t know if he’s worth $2.1 million or not. That’s for Daz to determine with this RFA.

Ognjen Kuzmic- Once upon a time, the Sixers traded Rudy Gobert for this guy. Now he’s going back to Europe.

Toney Douglas- Never lived up to his potential.

Austin Daye- The perennial FA. Remember when there was a bidding war over this guy?

Joel Freeland- See above. Adios.

Christapher Johnson- Meh.

Derrick Williams- He’s going to be nearly $5mil. Is he worth it? He is dying to escape Chicago. Just let him go. Use that money to find someone who wants to play, Daz.