Chicago Bulls (14-44, fourth worst in NBA)
Current talent: Chicago’s roster has seen plenty of turnover throughout the season, but they arguably have more talent now than they did before the trade deadline.
Departing Bulls Bobby Portis, Jabari Parker and Justin Holiday were all solid but flawed rotation players. On the other side of the ledger, Otto Porter is a proven two-way contributor who has already shown the ability to take over a game, with his 37-point outburst against Memphis a telling reminder.
Lauri Markkanen and Zach LaVine are both explosive scorers at their best, and they along with Porter should combine to produce at least a few boilover wins. A serious lack of depth and defensive ability keeps the Bulls from dropping any further here. 12/20
Team needs: Unlike the teams still to follow, Chicago already has a few long-term pieces in place. Markkanen represents the future of the franchise, and LaVine is a star-level scorer despite his defensive struggles. Porter is on a two-year trial run at least, and Wendell Carter has shown enough promise to remain a potential frontcourt partner for Markkanen.
While no one bar Markkanen is untouchable in their role, the Bulls may be in a position to draft more for fit than some. With little depth outside of their core group, they should probably still take the best talent available, but they can afford to be slightly more selective. 14/20
Injuries/resting potential: All of Chicago’s key contributors have some sort of injury history. Markkanen missed the first quarter of the season with an elbow injury, LaVine missed a full year with a torn ACL, and Carter may miss the rest of the season after having surgery on his thumb.
Even Porter, who had only missed 22 total games over the last four seasons, missed ten straight games in Washington with a quad strain. Between those four, and the benching and/or buyout of center Robin Lopez, Chicago’s core should see plenty of DNP’s down the stretch. 17/20
Dell Demps Desperation Factor: The Bulls front office is certainly under pressure, but it’s hard to know how they will react. The infamous GarPax, made up of general manager Gar Forman and president of basketball operations Jon Paxson, has made bad decision after bad decision with no real direction.
The only logical path this season is to aim for a top-three pick and add more young talent, but logic doesn’t seem to fit the GarPax brand. A middling grade here seems fitting for a franchise that can’t quite figure out where it’s going. 10/20
Strength of schedule: Chicago plays five games against their fellow bottom-five teams, equal most among the group. 13 playoff opponents somewhat offsets that, but it’s still far from the hardest schedule in the tankapalooza race. 10/20