Bulls' Free Agency Outlook and Top Contract Decisions Following Trade Deadline
Whenever the 2024 NBA offseason arrives for the Chicago Bulls, the ticking clock that has so often hung above this franchise will reappear.
The question, of course, is whether the Bulls will actually pay it any mind.
External calls to blow up this roster have swirled around the Windy City's finest for a while, yet the Bulls keep committing—and recommitting—to this core. They haven't made a single deal at any of the last three deadlines, and just last summer they handed out new deals to Nikola Vučević, Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu.
Will they show that same commitment to this year's batch of free agents? Or will the organization finally accept that this team isn't on the championship track and start plotting ways to eventually get there?
Let's look ahead at where things will stand in free agency for the Bulls before dissecting their top two decisions to make in-house.
Salary Outlook
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As things stand, the Bulls have the sixth-highest total cap figure for next season at $214.8 million, per Spotrac.
They have the payroll of an inner circle championship contender. The fact they don't occupy anything close to that status is the reason everyone keeps waiting for this front office to pull the plug.
Chicago has shown no indications of ushering in a rebuild, though, so it could be more of the same talent retention this summer. DeMar DeRozan is set to enter unrestricted free agency. Patrick Williams has restricted free agency in front of him. Both need new deals, as does Andre Drummond.
The Bulls have options this offseason, but considering they held onto this core at the deadline—in a seller's market—it seems reasonable to assume they won't deviate from that strategy.
DeMar DeRozan's Unrestricted Free Agency
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DeRozan will turn 35 over the offseason. That shrinks his pool of potential suitors to teams built to win right now, but if Chicago believes it's one of those teams, it could absolutely pay whatever is needed to bring him back.
If the Bulls are willing to do that, DeRozan could be in for a drama-free free agency, as The Athletic's Sam Amick reported DeRozan is "happy" in Chicago and "would like to return" to the team "if the money is right."
What exactly is the right amount of money for an aging, offense-first contributor with limited shooting rate? Let's just say we're glad we don't have to figure that out.
It's probably higher than most would think, though, as his age and shooting limitations haven't done any noticeable damage to his output. He's still one of the more productive wings you'll find with his current contributions including 22.9 points, 5.2 assists and 4.2 rebounds.
Patrick Williams' Restricted Free Agency
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When the Bulls made Williams the No. 4 pick of the 2020 draft, they bought into seemingly limitless possibilities for his future.
Nearly four years later, they're still waiting to see more glimpses of that high-end potential. There hasn't been much discernible growth in his game, and the longer he takes to put it all together, the less likely that outcome becomes.
It doesn't help that he's had a few nasty encounters with the injury bug. He has now had two campaigns cut short by injury, first a broken wrist that limited him to 17 appearances as a sophomore and now a foot problem that required surgical attention and stopped his 2023-24 games count at 43.
With injuries and inconsistency both hovering over him, his contract value feels impossible to pin down. Before the season, the Bulls offered an extension "in the neighborhood of four years for $64 million with a team option," but he may have been seeking something closer to a four-year, $90 million pact, per NBC Sports Chicago's K.C. Johnson.
Given Williams' lack of progress and ongoing injury issues, it's possible the Bulls aren't willing to pay as much as they were initially. It seems feasible (though maybe not likely) he could play his next game for someone else.
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