You will want to watch the Bulls this season. The whys may vary: there’s the sheer novelty of Dwyane Wade in a Chicago Bulls jersey, the highly combustible #ThreeAlphas dynamic, plus the addition of a new Benny the Bull and noted mascot terrorizer Robin Lopez in the same offseason. But anyone hoping for a parade in Grant Park in June will have to settle for the Summer League championship and the Olympic gold medal Jimmy Butler is undoubtedly storing in his boombox fish tank. But you’ll want to watch them, which is more than anyone could say six months ago.



Last year’s Bulls were the worst kind of mediocre. On the court, they were listless and joyless, just good enough to stay in the playoff race until the last week — and to stay out of the part of the lottery that might have gotten them a prospect that moved the needle — but not good enough to inspire much confidence from their fans, or themselves. In the locker room, they weren’t...