Chicago Bulls
Could LaVine and Markkanen evolve into a legit force in the East?
Since the fall of the 2010 Chicago Bulls, they’ve pretty much been an afterthought in the Eastern Conference. They’ve made the playoffs and even made some noise, but haven’t proved to be much of a real championship threat at all. However, over the last couple of seasons, the Bulls have begun to assemble a nice young core.
It began by trading for Zach LaVine (in the Jimmy Butler deal) and continued when they drafted Lauri Markkanen in the 2017 NBA Draft. While both have flashed signs of potential during their short time with the club, they haven’t exactly put it all together at the same time. And that’s what should give this team hope heading into 2019-20.
If both LaVine and Markkanen can play at a high level this season, something that they’ve been trending towards as of late, the Bulls could emerge as a dark horse threat to steal one of the final two playoff spots in the East.
The Bulls also recently added Wendell Carter Jr. and Coby White to their young core, who could help elevate this team even further. However, there’s no question that the key to success for this season very much lies with Markkanen and LaVine.