Chicago Bulls: Are Derrick Rose and Company Closer To Winning a Championship?
The NBA draft is over and Chicago Bulls fans want to know, are the Bulls any closer to a championship after the draft? While it wasn't the draft that some fans wanted, it's hard to find fault with the Bulls' selections.
While it is true that the Bulls did not get the shooting guard that will take them to the next level, it should be remembered that type of shooting guard simply wasn't available. In fact, even if they had the No. 1 pick in the draft, they still wouldn't have the shooting guard they need.
What the Bulls did do was actually quite intelligent. In Nikola Mirotic, they got a player who can join the Bulls in a few years—after he's had a chance to develop—but without having to pay him to do so. Down the road, the addition will pay off. But there will be no immediate impact.
They also acquired a player who can be added to the rotation in Jimmy Butler. He won't be a starter, nor will he be the player that the Bulls need to get to the finals. At the same time, he won't be a player that commands a lot of money, since he was the last player taken in the first round.
So why on earth would I say that the Bulls actually had a very intelligent draft? If they didn't get the player they needed, then how could they have been intelligent? The answer isn't in what they did do, but instead, what they didn't do. What they didn't do is spend a lot of money on a young player who isn't going to get starter's minutes.
The Bulls have a very young team already. They also have one of the lowest payrolls in the NBA. However the collective bargaining agreement turns out, the Bulls will have money to spend. The details really aren't that pertinent right now. It's just reasonable to assume that if the bowls are handcuffed in free agency, the NBA will kill free agency. And the players simply won't allow that.
So the Bulls will be sitting on an opportunity to sign a solid, veteran, proven, hungry shooting guard. They can get that player they so desperately need who can shoot and play defense. Caron Butler is an outstanding shooting guard who technically won a ring but didn't play most of the season.
Other potential backcourt mates to Derrick Rose run the gamut: Jason Terry, Jamaal Crawford could come back to Chicago and Richard Hamilton could get bought out. Then there are the likes of everyone from Nick Young to Jason Richardson to Marcus Thornton.
My point here really isn't to list all the shooting guards that are available or to provide some kind of ranking, I'm just saying the help the Bulls need isn't going to come from a 19-year-old freshman. The help they need has to come from a veteran presence.
Last season, the Bulls were 24-5 when both Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer started. Over an 82-game season, that winning percentage translates to 68 wins. Sure, maybe that's a little generous, but not excessively so. Considering that the two players were still getting used to one another, even in the last game of the season, it's not unrealistic to speculate that the Bulls could, at the very least, repeat last season's 62-win feat.
Trade speculation, regarding a deal for Orlando's Dwight Howard, seems shortsighted. This isn't a team that needs to be rebuilt, it's a team that just needs a finishing touch. The Bulls are just one piece away.
Last season, the Dallas Mavericks proved that in the end depth is more important than star power. The Chicago Bulls are the second-deepest team in the NBA right now. Adding one more piece will just make them deeper, and that will make them deep enough to win it all.
