Chicago Bulls: How Far Can the Current Core Take Them?

The Chicago Bulls' 2012-13 season was nothing extraordinary since their franchise superstar spent the year nursing a torn ACL and the Bulls were led by a surprising group of players during their playoff campaign, which saw them shockingly defeat the Brooklyn Nets in seven games and proceed to steal Game 1 against the Miami Heat.

At the end of the day, this season was basically a wash for the Bulls because they were never expected to compete for a title without Derrick Rose anyway. A Bulls team without Rose is still one of the elite teams in the NBA that could contend in the playoffs as well as anyone, but a championship was far out of reach.

With a healthy Rose next season, how far can a team built around Rose, Joakim Noah, Carlos Boozer and Luol Deng take them?

Recently, there have been reports that the Bulls were interested in trading for Portland Trail Blazers forward-center All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge, but the trade is impossible to make unless the Bulls deal away one of their core players (via K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune).

If the main group of players stick together and the Bulls don't engage in any major trades, how far could they lead the Bulls next season?

Can They Beat the Heat?

With a healthy Rose, the Bulls have a chance at being the second-best team in the Eastern Conference next season, but getting out of the East is whole different story.

During the 2010-11 and 2011-12 regular seasons when Rose played, the Bulls actually secured the top seed in the East. However, the team with the better regular season record does not mean that they're the better team in general, nor does it mean they matchup well against some of their conference opponents.

In the 2010-11 season, which was Rose's MVP season and best of his career, the Bulls finished with the best record in the league, but bowed out of the Eastern Conference Finals in five games against the Heat.

Most of the blame shouldn't go on Rose though, as the Heat defense could zone in on him because he was the only player on the team who could consistently score.

Boozer, who was the team's second-best scoring option, only managed to average 12.6 PPG on 43.3 percent shooting from the field during the playoffs (per Basketball Reference). He didn't step up when the pressure was at its highest. Boozer actually had his best playoff campaign in 2013, when Rose wasn't in the lineup at all.

It should also be noted that the 2010-11 Bulls squad featured a rotation of Keith Bogans and Kyle Korver at shooting guard, with Bogans starting in most of the games during the playoffs. To say that position was one of the weaker ones on the roster is an understatement.

After this season, the emergence of Jimmy Butler as a key contributor improves the Bulls on both ends of the floor. He took on the challenge of guarding LeBron James during the conference semifinals, and his offensive game is developing rapidly.

Lack of Capable Scorers

Boozer was signed in the 2010 offseason to bring some low-post offense and fill a hole at power forward, but his scoring has been inconsistent in the three seasons he's been with the team.

His postseason play in the two years when Rose was active have been rather underwhelming. The problem with Boozer is that his expectations may be unrealistic, especially since he's starting to go on the wrong side of 30.

The other two All-Stars—Deng and Noah—aren't offensively superior players. Deng is a great defender who could guard multiple positions and probably one of the best in the league at doing it. He developed a three-point shot over the past few seasons, but he rarely ever creates a shot or play himself anymore.

Noah, on the other hand, is a hustle and energy player who constantly chases loose balls and rebounds around the rim. He's also a versatile defender, and finished on the All-NBA Defensive Second Team this season.

Like Deng, he's not a reliable scorer and gets most of his points through offensive rebounds and hustle plays. Noah has developed an improved mid-range jumper, but he only shot 37 percent from 16-23 feet this season, while attempting over two shots per game from that area (per Hoop Data).

Conclusion

The Bulls have one of the best coaches in the league and any team that focuses on defense as much as Tom Thibodeau would be near the top of the standings during the regular season.

However, it's unlikely that the current Bulls' core can lead the team to a championship anytime soon, unless a shocking trade or turn of events happens which impacts the entire league (i.e. Heat 'Big Three' breaking up). There just aren't enough scorers and shooters on the team who could support Rose on offense, and that's why the Bulls weren't able to reach the next level yet.

There are some great scorers in free agency this summer who could definitely help the Bulls. O.J. Mayo and Monta Ellis are a few that come to mind, but both of them would command bloated contracts that the Bulls will be unable to afford unless they give away Deng, Noah or Boozer.

Until the Bulls can figure out a way to surround their best player with the best role players, the core of Rose, Deng, Noah and Boozer will have only an outside chance of winning a title.