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2024-25 NBA Season Preview: Chicago Bulls

Matt Hanifan / NBA / October 22, 2024

2024-25 NBA Season Preview: Chicago Bulls

The 2024-25 NBA Season has officially arrived! To continue our team season preview series, we will be previewing the Chicago Bulls! Let’s not waste any more time and jump into it!

What happened last year?

For the sixth time in seven seasons, the Bulls finished below .500 last year, going 39-43 with their second-straight play-in exit to the Miami Heat. It was an encouraging season from the likes of Coby White and Ayo Dosumnu, both of whom broke out. DeMar DeRozan led the league in minutes and was still the primary option on the NBA’s 19th-ranked offense, while the defense still didn’t perform up to par (22nd) despite Alex Caruso finishing in the top-10 in Defensive Player of the Year voting. With few silver linings and many more head-scratching decisions, it was another disappointing season in The Windy City.

Offseason Recap:

Chicago finally picked a direction this offseason, letting DeMar DeRozan walk in free agency. They were able to get Chris Duarte plus two second-round picks from the Sacramento Kings in a three-team trade, though I wasn’t a fan of them not landing the Kings’ unprotected 2031 swap that San Antonio acquired. Chicago also traded Alex Caruso, but got back only Josh Giddey without extracting a first-round pick, which is mind-blowingly bad. That can’t happen in any circumstance. I think their No. 11 pick, Matas Buzelis, can be a serviceable player if he’s able to consistently knock down his 3-point shot. They could’ve done worse there.

Projected Starting 5:

Josh Giddey, G – Giddey will likely enter this season as the Bulls’ starting guard. He’s now in his age-22 season, hoping to get back to where he was in 2022-23 after a disappointing season last year a season ago.

Coby White, G – Coby White broke out last year, averaging 19.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.1 assists. I expect his usage to take a slight dip with Giddey, LaVine and Ball back in the mix, but make no mistake that White is one of this team’s top shot creators heading into 2024-25.

Zach LaVine, G – A foot injury limited LaVine to just 25 games last year after playing 60 or more games in four of his previous five seasons. I’m not sure if a bounce-back year will warrant a long-rumored trade, but he’s only two years removed from back-to-back All-Star teams as he enters his age-29 season.

Patrick Williams, F – Williams’ status for the start of the season remains up in the air after suffering an ankle injury in the team’s preseason finale. He hasn’t been the healthiest duck on the pond through his first four years, nor the most productive. While he was rewarded with a five-year extension this offseason, this is still a big “prove it” year for the former No. 4 pick.

Nikola Vucevic, C – Vucevic is entering his age-34 season and is coming off his worst 3-point shooting season since 2015-16, canning just 29.4 percent of his 4.1 3-point attempts last year.

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Notable Reserves:

Lonzo Ball, G – It was so cool to watch Ball play basketball again–having last played in Jan. of 2022 before undergoing multiple knee surgeries. I don’t expect him to begin the season as a starter, but I hope he is able to look 70-80 percent of his old self during the duration of the season.

Ayo Dosunmu, G – The stat sheet doesn’t do enough justice for Dosunmu, who averaged 12.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists a year ago. He’s developed into a proficient 3-point shooter, which he’s leveraged into developing an all-around offensive game. He still has room to grow, but the 24-year-old is an exciting young guard to watch.

Jalen Smith, F/C – Smith signed a three-year deal with Chicago this offseason and could be a sneaky upgrade over Andre Drummond.

Biggest X-Factor: Ayo Dosunmu

While the health of Ball, LaVine and White will be important, but without Alex Caruso, I think Dosunmu will get even more opportunity to expand his wings on both ends of the floor. He may be Chicago’s best perimeter defender and best 3-point shooter, so if he can take another leap, Chicago could be an interesting play-in threat in the East.