A Conflicting Offseason, Midseason Splash? Micic Stays Overseas, and Other Bulls Bullets

Ok. It’s official. I’m ready for the fall.

Bring me football. Bring me basketball. Bring me apple cider.

  • I’m still developing my thoughts on the Chicago Bulls’ offseason. On the one hand, I remain optimistic that this group can build on the success they had last season. The first half of the year gave us a real reason to believe this existing core could be one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference. Evaluating that a bit further (and knocking on every piece of wood in the United Center for full health) isn’t a particularly bad idea.
  • On the other hand, the NBA is an ever-improving league. Just because the Bulls were in the mix last season when healthy doesn’t mean it will happen again. And this feels especially true when we consider several Eastern Conference teams have made more significant improvements to their roster. So while I remain high on what this current version of the Bulls can do, I also remain worried they haven’t done enough to maintain their aggressive win-now mentality. UGH. MY EMOTIONS.
  • As I shared in yesterday’s bullets, Zach Lowe of ESPN had a great discussion with Sports Illustrated’s Chris Herring about the Bulls on the latest episode of The Lowe Post. While the two had some optimistic things to say about the direction of the franchise, they also expressed plenty of concern about their lack of high-profile activity this summer. Meanwhile, the Front Office Show’s Keith Smith and Trevor Lane had their own individual talk about the Bulls’ summer, and they offered an overall more hopeful response to the recent moves:
  • I share both those podcasts because I think they reflect the indecisiveness I expressed above. The national media also doesn’t quite know where to land on this Bulls team right now, as the idea of just “running it back” comes with a variety of pros and cons.
  • One thing Smith and Lane agreed upon is that the Bulls could become a candidate for a big mid-season move. To be sure, this wasn’t any kind of direct report, but it’s not hard to see where they’re coming from when we consider the organization’s trade chips and win-now position. They specifically mention how a possible package of White and Vucevic could be used to take on a big salary. And it’s true that we never know which big names might get antsy as the season drags on.
  • The last thing I’ll say on this for now (and it’s probably pretty obvious): White is the far more likely player to be on the move over the next couple of months. In fact, I don’t think we can yet rule out the idea of him finding a new home before the season starts. The fact of the matter is that he’ll be up for a payday next offseason, and the Bulls have already been open to trading him in the past. If a team finds themselves with a sudden shooting/bench scoring hole, he could be an easy name to call for. As for Vucevic, who is headed toward unrestricted free agency next summer, the Bulls could be compelled to move him simply so they don’t lose him for nothing. But they’d have to get a suitable starting big man in return, right?
  • Once again … the Vasilije Micic rumors lead nowhere.
  • I really did think the former EuroLeague MVP would finally make his way to the NBA, but I guess there were too many obstacles when it came to finding him the right home. Not only would an organization need to give up assets to acquire his rights from OKC, but he was reportedly seeking the full mid-level exception from a win-ready squad. For someone who has never played in the NBA before, that could be a concerning gamble for a contending team.
  • Former Bulls legend lands with the NBA champs:
  • Former Bulls legend lands with the Hawks’ front office …
  • Looks like Stacey King will scope out the new competition during the next episode of his podcast:
  • All right, who wants to link up?
  • That’s a lot!
  • You have my attention.
  • written by

    Elias Schuster is the Lead Chicago Bulls writer at Bleacher Nation. He started with BN full-time in 2019 immediately after graduating from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign with a degree in Journalism (yes, he started with the Jim Boylen Era). Since joining, Elias has been the driving force behind Bulls and NBA content for both the site and social accounts. You can follow him on Twitter/X @Schuster_Elias.

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