With the Milwaukee Bucks finishing off the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Finals, another NBA season is (almost) officially in the books. It’s time to take a look forward at the Chicago Bulls offseason, which will be a pivotal moment for the future of the franchise.
How will Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley continue building around Zach Lavine? How will Nikola Vucevic do in his first full season under Billy Donovan? Who will stay? Who will go?
Watch:
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKxWtLSsMT4[/embedyt]Key Dates For The Chicago Bulls 2021-22 NBA Offseason
July 29th – NBA Draft
The Chicago Bulls will have the 38th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. As we all know, the Bulls sent their first rounder to the Magic in the Nikola Vucevic trade. The disappointment of not retaining that pick during the NBA Draft Lottery still stings a bit, but the Bulls are fortunate that this draft class is considerably deep.
The Bulls could potentially make a trade up by flipping Tomas Satoransky for a late first or an additional second round pick, which kills two birds, as the Bulls are already looking to shed his salary this offseason.
Here are some names to watch for the Bulls with their 38th overall pick:
- Quentin Grimes
- Josh Primo
- Rokas Jokubaitis
Aug 2nd – Free agency negotiations can begin at 5 PM CT
The Chicago Bulls need for a point guard is well-documented at this point. The team will be looking to clear cap space to make a run at a point guard – getting Sato off the books, waiving/stretching Aminu or including him in a trade, and making a decision on Thaddeus Young.
Here are some names to watch in free agency for the Bulls to make a run at, should they clear up some cap space:
- Lonzo Ball
- Spencer Dinwiddie
- Dennis Schroder (eek)
- Kyle Lowry
The team will also need to take a look at wing/front court depth, especially if Daniel Theis walks in free agency or they move on from Thaddeus Young. Here are some other names to look out for:
- Torrey Craig
- Nerlens Noel
- Bring back Theis?
- Robin Lopez
- Enes Kanter
Aug 3rd – Official start of the 2021-2022 league year
With the 2020-2021 NBA Season officially ending, unrestricted free agents (Denzel Valentine, Cristiano Felicio, etc) will officially be off the books. This also begins the moratorium period, in which trades and contracts can be agreed to, but cannot be officially signed.
Chicago Bulls Trade Options
The Bulls have the ability to sign and trade restricted free agent Lauri Markkanen, and the team has already been implicated in trade rumors surrounding Dejounte Murray.
Here are some names to watch on the trade market for the Bulls:
- Dejounte Murray
- Myles Turner
- DAMIAN LILLARD??????? (probably not)
August 6th – Moratorium ends
Free agents can officially sign contracts and trades can be processed by the league. This is when things get *really real*.
August 8th – 17th – Summer League
The Chicago Bulls will go into Summer League this offseason with a number of things to watch. Patrick William’s development is top of mind, especially after spending time with Team USA as part of the Select Team.
On top of that, Marko Simonovic will be playing in the United States for the first time. It will be a great opportunity to see how NBA-ready he is. Just as well, Devon Dotson should be getting an opportunity to compete after not having a Summer League last offseason.
Whoever the 38th pick ends up being, and whoever Arturas and Marc pick up on the UDFA market, will also be on display. This will be a chance for Bulls fans to get first-hand experience watching the hidden gems that Arturas is known for finding.
September 28th – Training Camp begins
Training camp will be extremely important for the Chicago Bulls this offseason after a weird, COVID-restricted offseason last year. Not to mention this will be the first full offseason as Chicago Bulls for Nikola Vucevic, Troy Brown Jr, and potentially Daniel Theis and Javonte Green.
This will be a key moment for Billy Donovan, who is going into his second season as Bulls head coach. He will have adequate time to install schemes, develop chemistry with his players, and coach the roster to play under his vision. No more excuses. No more trade deadline fatigue. No more COVID absences (please, God, please).
October 19th – The Regular Season begins
All of the hard work pays off. We’re yet to find out what the Chicago Bulls preseason/regular season schedules will look like, but when we do, you can be sure to find the best coverage on it right here at the Arturas Fan Club Bulls blog.
Zach Lavine will have the opportunity to make a case for himself in the MVP race. Nikola Vucevic will be vying for another All-Star appearance. Whoever the Bulls new point guard is will be looking to make a name for himself in Chicago.
The future is bright. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves; there’s much work to still be done.