Previewing the Chicago Bulls heading into the 2020-21 NBA season

The 2020-21 NBA season is a few weeks away and training camp is underway. Out with the old, in with the new. The Chicago Bulls took almost two decades to turn a new leaf, so to speak. The old regime that led with an iron fist and a tin foil sensibility is gone. Insert coach Billy Donovan and new GM Arturas Karnisovas and the Bulls appear to be headed in a direction of promise. Chicago has a young core that could be on the verge of the playoffs. Here we’re going to take a look at the TEAM’ offseason, plus look ahead to the 2020-21 season.

2020 offseason

Key additions

Patrick Williams, F (draft)
Garrett Temple, SG/SF (free agency)

Key losses

Kris Dunn, G/F (free agency)
Shaq Harrison, G (free agency)

2020-21 odds

Title odds: +20000
Win percentage: O/U 41.5
Zach LaVine MVP odds: +15000
Patrick Williams ROTY odds: +2200
Coby White MIP odds: +1500
Wendell Carter Jr. MIP odds: +3000

2020-21 roster

Depth Chart

PG: Coby White, Tomas Satoransky, Ryan Arcidiacono, Devon Dotson
SG: Zach LaVine, Denzel Valentine, Garrett Temple
SF: Otto Porter Jr., Patrick Williams, Garrett Temple, Chandler Hutchison
PF: Lauri Markkanen, Thaddeus Young, Patrick Williams, Noah Vonleh
C: Wendell Carter Jr., Daniel Gafford, Cristiano Felicio, Luke Kornet

Roster battles

Starting PG: Coby White vs. Tomas Satoransky
Backup SF/PF: Thad Young vs. Patrick Williams vs. Garrett Temple

Fantasy basketball

Best Sleeper

Lauri Markkanen — Everyone will be talking about LaVine, White, Carter and Williams for the Bulls. Markkanen, to me, is the ideal bounce-back candidate. Markkanen averaged 18.7 points per game in his sophomore season and regressed a ton in his third year under a lame-duck coach in a lost season. If anyone can get the most out of Markkanen and get him back to that Year 2, it’s Donovan. I think we’ll see Markkanen’s numbers gravitate more towards his previous career highs, making him an ideal target late in your draft.

Likely Bust

Patrick Williams — As a Bulls fan, I’ll admit I’m a bit biased after seeing the team reach for Williams at No. 4 in the draft. I’m now cautiously optimistic Williams will turn into an OK rotation player. The FSU product is more of a defensive specialist and his offensive game likely won’t blossom until at least his third or fourth season. Williams isn’t going to start. He shouldn’t see a ton of minutes and if he does, they’ll be focused on being a stopper on defense. Williams is strictly a dynasty/keeper league-only option for me, Dawg.