via stadiumjourney.com

Rookie Class:

The Chicago Bulls have 3 rookies on the roster this season, two of which they acquired through the NBA draft. Coby White, Daniel Gafford, and Adam Mokoka will be playing the role. Adam Mokoka was signed to a two-way contract in July. He will be one of many guards on the roster this season, but I don’t imagine there being too large of a role for him this year. Daniel Gafford is the big man out of Arkansas, a trend that the Chicago Bulls organization seems to really enjoy. I’ll admit that at this point in the draft I was hoping the Bulls would take a flier on someone like Bol Bol. With the 38th pick drafting, Bol Bol would have been incredibly easy to justify. That is the time to take a shot on someone with the potential to be one of the best players in the draft class, but at the same time to be a flop. Of course, I do not work for the Bulls front office and didn’t have a say. At the end of the day, I think they actually made a great pick with him. He showed some good physicality during Summer League and should look to really improve upon that during the season this year. He won’t be getting starter minutes but he still should get plenty of run. Coby White is as exciting of a draft prospect as the Bulls have had in a while. When I see the arc of his NCAA season at UNC, it reminds me a little bit of how Shai Gilgeous-Alexander came into the 2018 NBA draft. Coby White really took off during the NCAA Tournament and put his stamp on March Madness. Coming into the 2019–20 season the Bulls are really only looking to fill one last position, and that is a starting point guard. It likely won’t happen right at the beginning of the season, but I fully expect Coby White to eventually take the steps necessary to be a starting-caliber point guard in the NBA with his athleticism and improving court vision.

Most Exciting Player:

This doesn’t fall exactly with the definition of “Most Exciting Player”, but I’m going to cheat a little bit on this one. For the Chicago Bulls, the thing I am most excited to see is who wins out in the point guard race. The obvious assumption is that Coby White will become the starting point guard, but I don’t think it’s going to be quite that simple. This is a four-person race: Kris Dunn, Coby White, Tomas Satoransky, and Ryan Arcidiacano. Everyone has given up on Kris Dunn, and while I don’t expect him to make a magical leap this season I just wouldn’t count him out. He still has the basketball IQ and defensive toughness necessary to play the role well. A long-shot for sure, but he’s still in the mix for the time being. Ryan Arcidiacono is in the discussion as well, but he just has the makeup of an excellent backup point guard. He can run the second team well and just will not make dumb decisions. I already stated all of the reasons why I think Coby White has what it takes to make it in the NBA, and only time will tell how his game translates. Very much a slept on acquisition this summer, the Chicago Bulls went out and got Tomas Satoransky, previously of the Washington Wizards. This man has shown excellent athleticism, great playmaking abilities, and fairly stout defense as well. This summer during the FIBA World Cup he played extremely well. I imagine that he will start off the season as the starting point guard, and he is really going to push Coby White to take his spot over.

Westgate Over/Under: 33.5

The Chicago Bulls were an abysmal 22–60 last season. Coming off of a season like that, there is only one way for them to go. The real question is, are these off-season acquisitions worth an extra 12 wins. I feel fairly confident in saying yes. 33.5 wins seems low for a team that is now finally going to have Otto Porter Jr. for the entire season, hopes to get Wendell Carter Jr. back and healthy, and added Coby White through the draft. Not to mention the addition of Thaddeus Young and further development of Zach Lavine and Lauri Markkanen. It’s been quite a while since the roster had this much depth to show for it, and boy oh boy is it an exciting time. I think they’ll be able to easily surpass the 33.5 win mark set by Westgate and end up closer to 40 wins.

Happiness is a Function of Expectations:

Setting proper expectations will be very tricky for this team. There is a lot of youth, as well as some other new pieces that they will be trying to fully incorporate this season. The best starting lineup will likely be Coby White, Zach Lavine, Otto Porter Jr., Lauri Markkanen, and Wendell Carter Jr. and this is looking like a very solid lineup. Not to mention, coming off the bench the Bulls will have Tomas Satoransky and Thaddeus Young commanding the second unit. With a solid top 7 players, the Bulls should be able to remain competitive in most games. If a couple of things break right or a couple of the young players take positive steps in their development they should be able to push for a playoff spot. The most realistic expectation and a truly pleasant change will be for the Bulls season to still mean something in March. Even if they just barely miss the playoffs, I would consider this a successful developmental season. If they do sneak into the playoffs for their inevitably quick first-round series, this will be a great success. Either way, Chicago Bulls can rejoice in knowing that years of frustration may finally be coming to fruition with a core group that can be good for years to come.