If the Chicago Bulls were hoping to clean up their rotation this offseason, they’ve done the opposite.
Billy Donovan will have a challenging training camp ahead of him in a little over a week. Not only does the head coach have several new young players to 𒉰evaluate, but he will have to sift through quite the logjam in the backcourt. As has seemingly become an annual problem, the Bulls are drowning in guards. They failed to create any room this offseason despite a couple of roster moves, which included swapping out Alex Caruso for Josh Giddey.
The 21-year-old is one of the best young playmakers in the league, and th💞e Bulls are crossing their fingers that he can turn into the long-t🐓erm answer at point guard. To find that out, however, Giddey is going to need to take on lead ball-handling responsibilities from the jump. But can the Bulls afford to give him that long of a leash?
Zach LaVine and Lonzo Ball are both in line to return to the floor in October. While LaVine is a tremendous off-ball scorer, he’s also had a usage rating that sits in the 94th percentile or higher in six of his past seven seasons. He’ll need the ball in his hands plenty to perform at the All-Star level we’ve seen from him in the past. And, despite the organization’s seemingly new direction, empowering LaVine is arguably still in their best interest. The only way for them to find a trade partner is for LaVine to string together a strong start to the season. Heck, even if the Bulls decided not to focus on recuperating LaVine’s value, LaVine is surely going to be focused on it. He is likely as motivated as anyone to find a new home.
As for Ball, we can all agree he deserves a chance to see the floor. The 26-year-old has been through hell and back over the last two-plus years. The fact he’s been able to work himself up to the point where he’s playing 5-on-5 is pretty remarkable. Does he likely have much of a future in Chicago? No. But it’s only right for the Bulls to give him a chance to show what he can do. Not to mention, we all know what the old Ball could bring to the floor. He is a special transition playmaker and lethal 3-point shooter. If legitimately healthy – and that’s a big if – Ball is someone who simply has to play. It’s not out of the question that the Bulls could potentially create a trade market for him, too. That’s just another reason to gradually give him more and more playing time.
Of course, then there is Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu. Both players had their own version of a breakout season last year, showing that they are more than deserving of significant roles on this year’s team. White is someone who became a reliable go-to scoring option. While he was always able to outrun defenses in transition, he added impressive off-the-dribble halfcourt shotmaking to his arsenal. The good news for White is that he can play both on and off the ball thanks to his strong catch-and-shoot jumper. But the reason White took the next step last season was largely because of his ball-handling and ability to keep defenses on tꦫheir toes. We even saw him average a career-high 5.1 assists per game, using his ball penetration to create for others.
Dosunmu flashed somewhat similar growth. While he doesn’t own the same three-level scoring toolbox as White, he showed newfound confidence when it came to attacking opponents off the dribble. Dosunmu has a wicked first step and great length that allows him to finish strong from multiple different angles. He finished with a 58.2 effective field goal percentage last season that ranked inside the league’s 91st percentile, per . When someone is finishing that efficiently, you have to find a way to put the ball in his hands.
Not to mention, if this season is all about development and building for the future, how can you not uplift White and Dosunmu? They are two of the team’s most promising players. Speaking of which, what about Dalen Terry? While I consider him to be more of a forward at six-foot-seven, he is technically listed as a guard. He may not need nor deserve the ball as much as the other backcourt players on this roster. But he’s another player who makes the most sense in the lineup at either the two or the three.
I haven’t even mentioned Jevon Carter! The Bulls signed the veteran to a three-year, $19.5 million deal, which isn’t nothing. His first year in Chicago was all kind of ugly, but there is a world where this roster needs what he has to offer, particularly with Alex Caruso out of the picture. Carter is a pesky on-ball defender with a good pull-up 3-point shooter. If the Bulls are struggling defensively (which they will) and want to play more uptempo, Donovan may have a hard time resisting the urge to play Carter. And, again, who is to say he can’t become a potential trade chip if played enough?
Will every guard on this roster play meaningful minutes this season? No, and I recognize that. But the whole point is that you can make a decent argument for why the majority of them should play, which is going to make Billy Donovan’s rotation come October pretty fascinating. I’m sure we’ll see our fair share of three-guard lineups or even a 10-man rotation, but it’s hard to believe that nets the best results.
So … good luck, Billy!
