The Chicago Bulls have had a flawless summer thus far. They were already a tough team to begin with, but this off-season, they have put themselves in a terrific position to compete for a title.
The most ratifying move Chicago made to please their fans was amnestying Carlos Boozer’s $16 million contract, thus giving them more cap space to spread their wings this off-season.
With the extra cash, the Bulls made one of the most underrated moves this summer by signing Pau Gasol. The big Spaniard did not even ask for a large contract, which was another win for Chicago. Pau accepted a three-year, $22 million deal. That is a huge bargain for the Bulls, who now have a legitimate low post scorer in Gasol.
What’s more, Gasol will undoubtedly help Joakim Noah with rebounding and interior defense. We just most recently witnessed Gasol dominate during the 2014 FIBA World Cup, and his play overjoyed Bulls fans, their coaching staff, and players. Gasol is a high I.Q. veteran with plenty of experience. He is a two-time champion and a savvy post player with various moves and unblemished footwork. The Bulls offense was horrendous last season and stagnant at times. Pau Gasol will fix that immediately as he will be a go-to-scorer in the post.
Gasol is a fantastic upgrade at the power forward position, with no disrespect to Carlos Boozer. However, many Bulls fans were growing frustrated with Boozer’s lack of defense and inconsistent rebounding. They will not have that problem with Pau.
Moreover, the Bulls finally signed their 2011 first-round draft pick, Nikola Mirotic. Mirotic adds more frontcourt depth and will supply some scoring off the bench with his phenomenal shooting touch. There has been a lot of hype surrounding Mirotic for the past couple of years, so we will see if he could live up to it once the NBA season begins.
The Bulls lost D.J. Augustin this summer. Augustin was an extraordinary mid-season addition as he filled in the void for an injured Derrick Rose. Though, the Bulls have gone on to replace him with another scoring point guard, Aaron Brooks. Brooks will come off the bench as a third point guard. He is a streaky shooter, high energy player, and a suitable replacement for Augustin.
To add more backcourt depth, the Bulls most recently signed E’Twuan Moore to a two-year deal. Moore is a combo guard with solid scoring abilities and terrific size. He may not see many minutes, but the extra depth will be needed in the long run.
Lastly, Chicago re-signed its veteran point guard Kirk Hinrich. They were determined to keep Hinrich for his exceptional perimeter defense, veteran leadership, and basketball smarts. He will play as a reserve this season if Rose is able to remain healthy. Re-signing Hinrich was a must.
The Chicago Bulls will definitely be a top Eastern Conference team this upcoming season and have built a championship caliber roster to compete with the Cleveland Cavaliers. One of the major issues the Bulls had last season was lack of bench depth, which they have certainly addressed this off-season.
Grade: A
Depth Chart:
PG: Derrick Rose/Kirk Hinrich/Aaron Brooks
SG: Jimmy Butler/Tony Snell/E’Twuan Moore
SF: Mike Dunleavy/Doug McDermott
PF: Pau Gasol/Taj Gibson/Nikola Mirotic
C: Joakim Noah/Cameron Bairstow
Coach: Tom Thibodeau