The Chicago Bulls barely snuck into the playoffs, earning the eighth seed to face off against the Boston Celtics. Chicago won the first two games against Boston and looked like they may have been able to pull an upset, but the series changed quickly once Rajon Rondo got injured. Losing four consecutive games, the Bulls were eliminated Friday night, getting blown out in front of their home crowd that was chanting “fire Fred Hoiberg” during the contest.
Their own free agents
Dwyane Wade is the most notable free agent this summer for the Bulls. He has a $23.8 million player option, which will be declined to enter unrestricted free agency.
For most of the season, it has been believed that Wade will leave the Bulls because the team has had way too much drama surrounding them. Earlier in the season, Wade called out his teammates and was expressing the desire to leave in free agency. The way the season ended for Chicago, it is likely that he will leave.
Where will he go? That’s a whole another story. The Cleveland Cavaliers have been deemed as Wade’s desired destination, but a return to Miami shouldn’t be ruled out. If Wade leaves, the Bulls have major decisions to make.
Other free agents on the roster include Joffrey Lauvergne, Anthony Morrow, and Cristian Felicio. Out of the three, Felicio was an essential part of the team’s rotation and should be retained as part of the future.
It’s unclear whether the Bulls will recover Lauvergne and Morrow. Michael Carter-Williams and Nikola Mirotic will become restricted free agents, which are highly doubtful to return to the roster.
Will Jimmy Butler leave?
The Bulls have attempted to trade Jimmy Butler before and will surely re-visit talks during the offseason.
Earlier during the season, it was reported that Chicago is prepared to trade Butler this summer, and it could actually happen. The Boston Celtics have shown extreme interest in acquiring the All-Star wing and could offer valuable assets.
Will the team breakup?
It looks like the Bulls are on the verge of breaking up the roster after a drama-filled, disappointing season.
Maintaining the same roster wouldn’t be ideal especially since they are going to underachieve again.
Firing Fred Hoiberg may be looming since he hasn’t found success in the two years he’s spent with the organization. The team has deteriorated since his arrival in 2015, which has been extremely upsetting because the Bulls have actually had plenty of talent on the roster.
The Bulls were one of the most dissatisfying teams in the league. Despite making the post-season, they were dysfunctional throughout the year and had many off-court issues. Nonetheless, they have a very eventful offseason ahead of them.
