NBA Rumors: Chicago Bulls' Offseason Expectations Will Lead To Disappointment

Picture this scenario.

The Chicago Bulls get LeBron James to sign with them in early July.

They've just hit the jackpot of NBA free agency!

But come on.

You really think LeBron will be happy just playing with Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah?

Yeah right.

The Bulls should get Chris Bosh too.

That would fill the need at power forward and give Chicago the true low-post option they've been missing all these years.

Yet there's still that nagging problem of a shooting guard with range on his jump shot.

Oh yeah! Joe Johnson and Ray Allen are on the market too! Perfect.

These types of scenarios have been thrown around the Internet by delusional fans who are sipping the 2010 free agency Kool-Aid a bit too much.

Chicago does have the best supporting cast to win right away, but this is not a fantasy team.

And let's not even get into the feasibility of this scenario.

The Bulls have a rookie head coach.

Fact.

The Bulls have Michael Jordan's shadow.

Intangible, but fact.

The Bulls have management that year after year have proven incapable of making a big trade or recruiting a top free agent.

Fact. Big fact.

So temper those enormous expectations.

I'd give the Bulls a 30 percent chance of winning the LeBron sweepstakes. 

If the Bulls get LeBron, there's probably a 20 percent chance they get Bosh along with him.

Of course, that would have to be in a sign-and-trade of some sort.

If they don't get James, the Bulls have a 50-50 chance of nabbing Bosh on his own.

I fear the lure of Dwyane Wade in Miami might be enough for Bosh to head to South Beach.

If the Bulls get both of those players, there might be a 2 percent chance they get Ray Allen, and a 1 percent chance they get Joe Johnson.

Look, free agency is getting a ton of attention, but ultimately many stars are going to stay put (Dirk Nowitzki for example).

Some will try their luck elsewhere.

But the Bulls are not going to become a powerhouse through free agency.

I wish they would, but any Bulls fan who has seen this organization run things over the past several seasons has to have a nagging feeling that Chicago will end up with Carlos Boozer, David Lee or Rudy Gay.

Maybe they'll splurge on Johnson as well.

Imagining a starting five with five All-Stars is not realistic.

For the sake of all Bulls fans out there, stop daydreaming. 

The Bulls will have a successful off-season if they nab one big star (James, Wade, Bosh) or two second-tier stars (Boozer, Allen, Lee).