Team Name: Chicago Bulls
Last Years: Record: 33-49
Key Losses: Chris Duhon, Scott Skiles
Key Additions: Derrick Rose, Vinny Del Negro, Del Harris, Bernie Bickerstaff
1.What significant moves were made during the offseason? The fortunes of the franchise were changed May 20th, 2008 in the quiet town of Secaucus, New Jersey. That night, amid the Bulls blundering coaching search, the team sent VP of Business Operations Steve Schanwald to attend the draft lottery. The long shot Bulls, with just a 1.9% chance of winning the lottery did just that.
With a renewed sense of hope, the coaching search plodded forward. The Bulls slow danced with retreads Mike D'Antoni and Doug Collins, before finally settling on a bright eyed rookie coach from the Phoenix organization named Vinny Del Negro. Del Negro brings the Bulls an optimistic voice in a locker room that marred by dissension last season. Although a rookie coach, he has surrounded himself with veteran assistants Del Harris and Bernie Bickerstaff.
With the coaching staff in place, the team looked to cash its lottery ticket. The Bulls only worked out two players...Michael Beasley and Derrick Rose. We know how this story turns out, with the first pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, The Chicago Bulls select Derrick Rose.
2.What are the team's biggest strenghts? On first glance, depth would appear to the Bulls greatest strength. With 10 players who could be in the rotation, the Bulls will be able to match up with any set an opponent throws out there. The new coaching is preaching an uptempo offense tailored to the young legs of this team. While this new flashy offense is a work in progress, the Bulls have the young guns to pull this off. The other strength will be the improved play of the point guard position. The Bulls now have a bonafide leader in Derrick Rose, while this is a lot to put on the shoulders of a rookie, I am confident Rose will easily meet this challenge.
3.What are the team's biggest weaknesses? The same depth that contributes to our greatest strength is also the catalyst for our greatest weakness. There is no pecking order on this team. There are 7 players of similar skill level trying to earn minutes on this young roster. No player has established himself as a go to guy nor as a leader of the team. While I expect Derrick Rose to grow into that role as the season progresses, there will be some growing pains initially. The Bulls are also learning a new system from coach Del Negro, so the chemistry will take some time to develop. Lastly, the Bulls are the youngest team in the NBA. They will make some mistakes along the way. While the team is not necessarily rebuilding, they are certainly retooling.
4.What are the goals for this team? The Bulls goals should be simple, come out and compete every night. To a man, everyone in the locker room feels that last season was an anomaly and hopes to prove it this season. The Bulls should have some struggles early in the season, both with a tough schedule and the growing pains of a new coaching staff. Ultimately, the goal will be improvement from one month to the next. This team will not be the same in March as it is in November.
5.So what is this team? The 49-win team of '06-'07, or the team that won 16 fewer games the season afterwards? While there are still players on this roster from '06-'07, this team is decidedly different. The coaching staff has changed and malcontents in the locker room have been traded. This Bulls team is better than last season's disappointment, but will not have the pressure and expectations of from two years ago. The best answer to this question is this Bulls team is neither of its predecessors. Too many of the variables have changed. The Bulls improve upon last season, but will not be close to the success of the year before.
T-Cobb's Predicted Record 40-42.
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