Another year, another Derrick Rose-less campaign—the Chicago Bulls might just want to pack it in for next season.
Or perhaps blow it up entirely.
The Bulls are an unsightly 11-17 and sit 12.5 games back behind the first place Indiana Pacers. Fighting for a more respectable divisional standing in the Central is simply out of the question.
A postseason berth would be as well if not for the deplorably bad Eastern Conference. Chicago is currently just one game behind the Boston Celtics for the eighth and final seed.
Yet, star point guard Rose will remain in rehab for the next five months following surgery on his torn medial meniscus. That leaves the Bulls with the more defensively inclined Kirk Hinrich running things on offense.
Fans might prefer looking elsewhere when Hinrich’s stat line of 8.3 PTS, 3.1 REB, 5.0 AST, .348 FG%, .296 3P% and 10.0 player efficiency rating show up on the screen.
Relative first-round bust D.J. Augustin has provided a bit of a spark in recent days. He’s averaged a slightly better 10.5 PTS, 1.8 REB, 5.9 AST, .426 FG%, .417 3P% and 13.8 PER.
But that’s a product of a mere eight-game (3 GS) sample size. Chicago has gone 3-5 since Augustin’s arrival.
The Bulls as a team are dismal offensively. They rank dead last in the NBA with a per-game average of 91.6 points. A dreadful 28th ranking in both field goal (42.4) and three-point percentage (32.6) solidifies their standing near the league’s cellar.
Chicago’s saving grace once again lies in their shutdown defense led by blue-collar head coach Tom Thibodeau. It ranks No. 2 overall, limiting opponents to 93.1 PPG and 43.2 percent from the floor (fifth-lowest).
Unfortunately, even this contingent boasts a glaring hole. The opposition has shot at the second-highest rate from three (39.1) against Thibodeau’s usually stellar wing defenders this season.
That said, with Hinrich at point, the steal-minded Jimmy Butler at shooting guard, 6’9’’ athletic Luol Deng at small forward and the ever tenacious Joakim Noah at center, the Bulls are a stout overall defense.
Throw in an average of 8.8 boards from power forward Carlos Boozer and this team also rates in the top eight with 44.9 rebounds per game.
But their most prominent issue still remains—a No. 32-ranked, wholly deficient offense.
The Bulls are devoid of a 20-point scorer. They don’t have a 40-percent three-point shooter either, at least outside of the recently acquired Augustin—a career 36.9-percent shot-maker from beyond the arc.
Remove Deng’s already modest 19.6 PPG and this squad is essentially left with nothing.
Boozer should dominate down low, but doesn’t. Hinrich, Butler, Noah and Taj Gibson are all defense.
Supposed marquee offseason-addition Mike Dunleavy is a big disappointment as well.
Oh, and Rose is gone for the season and might not ever regain his offensive explosion.
Should the Bulls, then, blow it up? Should they scrap the roster and begin completely anew?
Deng, Hinrich, Augustin and Nazr Mohammed all become free agents at the end of the season. The contracts of Boozer, Butler, Dunleavy, Marquis Teague and Erik Murphy expire one season later. They could all serve as decent trade pieces.
Only Rose, Noah, Gibson and Tony Snell are signed beyond 2015.
Chicago could conceivably retain the latter three front-line players and acquire a dynamic two-guard and potent outside shooters to pair alongside Rose. Being ill equipped with bodies that spread the floor and pose as real scoring threats is what ails this team.
This of course would require more than a single offseason. It would surely evolve into a two-year rebuilding process.
But the most pertinent question—ultimately—is how do the Bulls build a championship squad around franchise point man Derrick Rose?
If overhauling the existing depth chart would serve as the most expeditious route, then isn’t team brass compelled to pull the trigger?
Because the Bulls are so good defensively—because they have a coach that seemingly overcomes all adversity—and because they still have the rights to a superstar, I say no.
They must give it one more shot at surrounding Rose with effective offensive pieces.
Whether it be through the draft, trades, free agency or all three, Chicago stands only a couple players away from a legitimate championship-caliber team.
Don’t drop a nuke on this roster just yet—hope lies around the 2014 corner.
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