7 Teams who improved, 6 who regressed after NBA Draft, start of free agency

Chicago Bulls - Regressed

Notable offseason moves: Acquired Josh Giddey; re-signed Patrick Williams

If it wasn't clear before, it certainly is now. The Chicago Bulls are in the midst of a retooling or rebuild; whatever you want to call it, Chicago is going to take a step back this season. Looking at the moves that they've made and are expected to make moving forward, this is a team that is going to have some difficult growing pains before they see the light of a potential playoff appearance. Chicago opened the offseason by trading Alex Caruso to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Josh Giddey. For as good as Giddey was in a defined role for the Thunder, it's hard to envision him being the best player on a team. But there's a good chance we're going to see that experiment this season.

In addition to starting a rebuild around Giddey, there's a growing expectation that DeMar DeRozan won't be back with the team and that the Bulls will likely (in a perfect world) trade Zach LaVine (likely for pennies on the dollar) at some point before the start of next season.

The Bulls are heading into a rebuild whether they're willing to admit it or not. That will involve taking a sizable step back this season.