Offseason Moves
The Bulls amnestied Carlos Boozer to make cap space for hopefully a big name free agent like Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James, Pau Gasol, Kevin Love, and others. They didn’t hit the jackpot with a superstar talent, but they replaced Boozer with Pau Gasol who had a decent year last season with the floundering Lakers. They resigned Kirk Hinrich, a mentor to Derrick Rose and a veteran point guard who can provide great minutes off the bench. They drafted a guy by the name of Doug McDermott, a pure scorer with a basketball IQ through the roof. McDermott stayed all four years at Creighton allowing his game to improve and learn necessary fundamentals. The Bulls had one of the worst ranked offenses last year so Doug should be a great pickup for them. They also signed Nikola Mirotic from Spain, a 6’10 stretch PF who can score as well.
Improvements
Well, the USA Men’s National Team Intrasquad scrimmage was yesterday night, and that guy Derrick Rose looked pretty good if I do say so myself. He has been saying throughout the training camp that he feels “11/10” “100%” and “back to his old self.” After seeing what he accomplished in his minutes during the scrimmage, it seems apparent to me and others that Derrick will make the team. If that’s so, he will get more practice with some of the best athletes the world has to offer which allows him to work out the kinks in his game. Other than DRose, the Bulls still have other improving talents on their roster: think Jimmy Buckets, think Jokaim Noah. Both of those guys will come back better than they were last year and have more open shots this year because of the attention Derrick Rose will draw on offense. Tony Snell also looked very confident and impressive during the Las Vegas Summer League. I’d love to see what he can provide off the bench this year. Taj Gibson also always seems to get better every year as well. He’s a great spark off the bench for the Bulls.
Realistic Predictions
Well, even with all the improvements and adjustments the Bulls have made over this offseason, there are still some very strong teams in the East. The Cavs look like they are going to get Kevin Love which makes them a solid contender as well. (Don’t get me wrong, they are a contender w/o Kevin Love because of that LeBron dude, but they are much scarier with someone like Love.) The Heat lost LeBron, but signed some good pieces in Luol Deng, Danny Granger, and McRoberts. They also have Wade and Bosh, which will be weird to watch w/o LeBron. The Nets and the Raptors are pretty evenly matched in my eyes; the Nets will get Brook Lopez back which will be great for them and the Raptors seem to get better every day that passes since the Rudy Gay trade. I hate to say this, but the Pacers aren’t too big of a deal w/o PG24. I wish him a speedy, full recovery, but the Pacers will struggle to score without him AND Lance Stephenson.
All this being said, I think the Bulls will be the one or two seed in the Eastern Conference. The Cavs will be a big problem if Kevin Love goes there, which he has made very public that that is what he wants to happen.
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