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Five Things We Learned From The 2015 Chicago Bulls Summer League

The Bulls Summer League season for 2015 is now over thanks to a loss to the Phoenix Suns in the playoffs. Here are five things we learned about Chicago this offseason.

Five Things We Learned From The 2015 Chicago Bulls Summer League
Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
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By Vijay Vemu

1. Bobby Portis showed up and showed potential. 

Many wondered why the Chicago Bulls drafted Bobby Portis because they did not need another big man. But the Bulls took the "best player available" route and Portis showed why the Bulls drafted him. Portis showed his versatility by being able to step out and hit some shots from the outside. Portis won't get much minutes given Chicago's frontcourt depth, but if he is given some minutes he could give Chicago some pop off the bench. 

2. Doug McDermott still has that scoring touch

Last year everyone was raving about Doug McDermott's summer league success. McDermott showed that he can score from anywhere on the court but it didn't translate to regular season success because of a knee injury and Tom Thibodeau's tendency to not play rookies much. This year, Doug McBuckets showed he could still score in bunches and looks more confident. He will recieve more playing time and will have to provide the Bulls with some scoring off the bench. 

3. Somebody has to leave from the frontcourt this season

With the addition of Portis and now Cristiano Felicio, the frontcourt of the Bulls is more crowded than ever. Someone has to go. Those likely to go are Cameron Bairstow and Taj Gibson. Joakim Noah is on the trade block as well and his expiring contract could be appealing to teams. But you don't know what you are going to get for Noah. Gibson's value is more set in the market although offseason surgery lowers it a little. 

4. Guard depth was available on the roster

While re-signing Aaron Brooks was the only point guard move the Bulls made, there were some candidates to earn at least a camp spot. Those like Vander Blue showed they could possibly earn themselves a spot on a roster. Brooks was a liability on defense last year in the playoffs and a bigger point guard would have been a more suitable choice for the Bulls. 

5. Summer League success doesn't mean much

While we may talk much about how McDermott and Portis impressed, we said the same thing about Tony Snell and nothing happened. While the blame may fall on Thib's not playing him much, when Snell played he didn't find his shot and was not confident scoring the basketball. Fred Hoiberg has to use the younger players this season and use them as key bench players heading into next year. 

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About the author
Vijay Vemu
Vijay is a sports journalist who covers mainly the NBA and soccer. He is a credential reporter on the Chicago Fire and also covers NBA for VAVEL as well. He is also a editor for Mash Chicago, the publication of the Chicago Tribune. He is also a contributor at SB Nation's Blog A Bull and Big East Coast Bias as well as writing on European Soccer as well. He plans on attending the University of Illnois at Chicago (UIC) in the fall with a major in computer science. You can follow him on Twitter : @VJVemu