This season will go a long way toward shaping the future of the Bulls, who could have as many as eight free agents next summer, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times (subscription required). Nikola Vucevic, Zach Collins, Coby White, Kevin Huerter, Ayo Dosunmu, Jevon Carter and Dalen Terry all have expiring contracts, while Chicago holds a $2.4MM team option on Julian Phillips for next season.
According to Cowley, coach Billy Donovan has been emphasizing to his players since training camp that they have a common goal in helping one another have the brightest possible NBA future.
‘‘We’ve got eight guys on expiring contracts,’’ Donovan said. ‘‘They’re all tied together. Their futures and careers are in each other’s hands. You get a player that’s young, that’s in their first or second year, they’re looking down the road and thinking, ‘Fifteen years is forever.’ Vooch is sitting there saying, ‘Hey, this went by like that.’ So I do think that there’s an urgency by Vooch, a mindset, a mentality.’’
Cowley suggests that urgency helps to explain Vucevic’s weekend comments after a one-point win over Washington when he said the team was “very soft” for most of the game. Cowley notes that Vucevic and his family like living in Chicago, and the front office could have interest in re-signing the 35-year-old center if the season goes well. He adds that executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas has displayed loyalty to Donovan and much of the roster, and several players could receive multi-year contracts if the Bulls are able to exceed expectations.
‘‘They have to understand the urgency because they all have something to do with each other’s success and they all have something to do with each other’s future,’’ Donovan said. ‘‘I think the moment you get out of yourself and start thinking, ‘What can I do to help the man next to me? What can I do to help the man on the court?’ that’s when you find out the guys that are really committed.’’
There’s more from Chicago:
- The Bulls’ defensive issues have become more apparent during their recent downturn, Cowley states in a separate story. A lack of size and physicality was glaring in games against Washington and New Orleans, and Donovan believes it can only be overcome with a teamwide approach. “For our team, maybe outside Isaac Okoro, we don’t have one guy right now where you can say, ‘This guy is a defensive stopper, this is what this guy hangs his hat on.’ We don’t have that,” he said. “So we have to do it collectively. It’s not one guy’s fault; it’s all of us. It’s the coaches, the players, we all have to do it. We just don’t have the type of guys that you’re going to put on a guy, and he’s going to shut them down.”
- The Bulls had serious interest in Pelicans rookie big man Derik Queen with the 12th pick in this year’s draft, Cowley relays in another piece. They opted for French forward Noa Essengue, who has spent most of the season in the G League, because they viewed him as a better fit for their up-tempo style. “When the draft actually came, there’s things that happen in that moment,” Donovan explained. “You’ve got five minutes to make that pick. I think (the front office) was looking at Noa as an opportunity long-term — ‘This guy fits the way we would like to play.’ I did not get from the front office or even the scouts that (Queen wasn’t) a fit. (But) I think they thought the way we were playing, Noa, maybe from an upside standpoint, another athletic wing, a long defender, (was) maybe something we needed defensively.”
- Collins is expected to begin participating in full-court practices later this week as he moves closer to making his season debut, Cowley adds. The team is hoping to have Collins, who has been sidelined with an injured left hand, back on the court by early December.