Bulls free-agent addition Thaddeus Young has been saying all the right things.

The veteran forward was wise enough to hype up his new teammates earlier this week, but at the same time, he let everyone know that there was a certain unknown quality because of all the injury problems the last few seasons.

“Just from playing against [the Bulls] in Indiana, they played us hard as hell,’’ Young said. “Every time we’ve seen those guys, they play so hard. And those are the kinds of guys you want to play with. You want to play with guys that come to work every day. The only thing that kind of hurt them this past season is they had a lot of guys that were injured. Guys missed 20, 30, 40 games.

“You never know what a team can do when they have so many guys, especially key guys, injured. That’s something that you want to see. You want to see what their potential growth is. And me being a veteran, being a leader, I can bring that presence to this team and help this team potentially get back to the playoffs.’’

The key word is “potentially.’’

The Bulls should be significantly better than a 22-win team, but it isn’t like the rest of the Eastern Conference decided to take the summer off in the improvement department.

Of the eight teams that made the postseason last April, only the Raptors seem to have suffered a major blow with NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard bolting for the Clippers.

Even with his departure, however, the NBA champions have enough talent to finish with a better record than the up-and-coming Bulls . . . healthy roster or not.

1. Milwaukee Bucks

The top seed won 60 games last season but lost Malcolm Brogdon to the Pacers. A talent hit? Yes, but MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo will still be doing Greeky Freaky things. They also retained Khris Middleton and added former Bull Robin Lopez, so the Bucks will still be a problem the rest of the East will have to deal with.

2. Toronto Raptors

Are they still a 58-win team? Maybe. After all, they played 22 games without Leonard last season, so they’re well-versed in covering up his absence. There’s not a lot of star power up north anymore, but there is a ton of depth and an up-and-coming force in Pascal Siakam.

3. Philadelphia 76ers

No team in the East had a better summer. The Sixers lost Jimmy Butler but kept Tobias Harris and added Al Horford and Josh Richardson. They have the best starting five in the East — and possibly the NBA — making them the clear favorite to leapfrog the Raptors and Bucks.

4. Boston Celtics

Horford, Kyrie Irving and Terry Rozier are gone, but they added Kemba Walker in free agency to go along with wings Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Gordon Hayward, which is still a handful for opposing teams. Are they a No. 4 seed again? Maybe not, but they’re definitely a playoff team.

5. Indiana Pacers

Brogdon was a great get for them, and a healthy Victor Oladipo could be in the MVP discussion. Nate McMillan has this team grinding the opposition on a nightly basis. Don’t expect that to change.

6. Brooklyn Nets

Having Irving this season, then Kevin Durant (Achilles tear) and Irving next season will make Barclays Center the new “Mecca of basketball’’ in the Big Apple.

7. Orlando Magic

Coach Steve Clifford employed smoke and mirrors with this roster, and this is the one group that the Bulls should overtake from a talent standpoint. But so could the Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks.

8. Detroit Pistons

Is this a .500 team again? If everyone stays healthy, maybe. But when is the last time Derrick Rose and Blake Griffin stayed healthy?