The 2024-25 Chicago Bulls’ Season Preview
August 31st, 2024
By Alan Lu
Last year, the Bulls had another disappointing season, even though they got solid seasons from their stars, Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan. After all, they missed the playoffs despite having made it to the play-in tournament in 2024. This season, DeMar DeRozan is on Sacramento, and they will need a healthy season from Zach LaVine, who has struggled to play a full season in recent years. On the bright side, Coby White had a very good season for the Bulls in 2024. The Bulls missed the playoffs last year, but they could contend for a play-in tournament spot in 2025.
Coby White had a solid 2024 season, and he will look to build off of that to try to make another leap into 2025. (Photo: David Banks/USA Today Sports, via NBC Sports)
However, Lonzo Ball has been injured and missed multiple years. He will also miss this upcoming season, as his NBA career is in jeopardy because of a knee injury. The Bulls have struggled to generate a consistent, fluid offense in the wake of his absence. They’ll need more ball movers and shooters to create more flow in their offense.
Star Players:
None
Right now, it doesn’t appear that the Bulls have a true star player for the upcoming season, though they have a couple of players that are close to that level. Zach LaVine is a tremendously athletic combo guard that can score at all three levels and make plays with the ball in his hands, but he’s been very injury prone, and had a down season, as his massive contract has made it very difficult for the Bulls to trade him. Coby White is an athletic, skilled combo guard that had his best year in 2024, but he will need to have another strong season to prove that last season wasn’t a fluke.
Additions:
G-F Josh Giddey, F Matas Buzelis, F-C Jalen Smith, and G-F Chris Duarte
Josh Giddey is a tall, playmaking point forward that will strengthen the Bulls on offense, but he will need to be a more consistent shooter and defender on the floor. Smith is a versatile, skilled big man that should help the Bulls in a reserve role, and Duarte had a solid rookie season, but has struggled in the NBA since. Matas Buzelis is a tall, very skilled forward that has great versatility, intriguing scoring skills, and upside.
Subtractions:
F DeMar DeRozan, G Alex Caruso, C Andre Drummond, and G Javonte Green
The loss of DeRozan and Caruso will hurt the Bulls considerably. DeRozan was a longtime star player on the Bulls, as he provided some much needed scoring, offense, and versatility. Caruso was the Bulls’ best defender for a long time. Also, Drummond and Green were solid backend rotation players for the Bulls, so their loss may also be felt in addition.
Rookies:
F Matas Buzelis and G-F Marcus Domask
Matas Buzelis is a very tall and skilled forward that can score the basketball in a variety of ways, handles the ball well for his size, and also can block shots. While he will need to improve his shot selection, he is a talented forward that has a lot of upside. Marcus Domask may be a long shot to make the roster, since he’s on an Exhibit 10 contract, but while he may only be an average athlete and will need to improve his outside shot, he is a smart point forward that has strong playmaking skills, and he also is a post-up guard that can score down low.
Expected Rotation:
Zach LaVine is a former All-Star that is now injury prone and on a massive, virtually untradeable multi-year contract, but the Bulls will need him to help lead their team this season. But as he played just 25 games and sported a 15.1 PER in 2024, for a player that will be making over 43 million dollars this season, the Bulls will need him to stay healthy and to produce at the All-Star level he’s produced years before. (Photo: Michael Reaves/Getty Images North America/Getty Images via AFP, via Fox Sports)
Projected Starting Lineup:
The Bulls have three talented offensive players in LaVine, Coby White, and Vucevic, but they may not fully fit together, because they mainly tend to play in a stilted, turn-based offense, and so their offense is not fully optimized. Patrick Williams is an athletic 3 and D forward, but his progress as an NBA player has sort of been halted as he has pretty much stayed in his role.
Key Bench Players:
Ayo Dosunmu will be a key role player for the Chicago Bulls for the 2024-25 NBA season.
(Photo: Dustin Satloff/Getty Images, via Forbes)
Ayo Dosunmu will be the top returnee that will lead the Bulls’ bench. They will also get a boost from adding Jalen Smith to their team, as Smith will add some stretch capabilities and rim protection. Matas Buzelis could be an intriguing player to their team this season. Lonzo Ball was an impactful role player when healthy, but he has missed the last two NBA seasons, and it’s uncertain if he’ll play in the NBA again.
F-C Jalen Smith
G-F Torrey Craig
The Rest of the Roster:
G Lonzo Ball (has missed two consecutive seasons, unsure when or if he’ll ever play again)
G-F Dalen Terry (Two-Way)
G-F Onuralp Bitim
G-F Chris Duarte
C Adama Sanogo (Two-Way)
G D.J. Steward (Two-Way)
Others In Camp:
F-C Kenneth Lofton Jr. (Exhibit 10)
G-F Marcus Domask (Exhibit 10)
Team Options at the End of the 2025 Season:
Here I will project the likelihood of the Chicago Bulls to pick up and accept or decline the team options for various players at the end of the 2025 season.
Dalen Terry – 50/50, Leaning Towards It Will Be Accepted (50% Certainty)
Head Coach:
After the Chicago Bulls had a surprisingly solid 2022 season, the Bulls have missed the playoffs in 2023 and 2024. (Photo: Kamil Krzaczynski/USA Today Sports, via Fansided’s Pippen Ain’t Easy)
Billy Donovan
2023-24 (CHI): 39-43, Missed the Playoffs
Coaching Career: 399-319, 19-27 in the NBA Playoffs
He’s a good defensive coach, but he hasn’t been able to get the most out of his players on offense, despite having a couple of standout, star players. After having a fairly successful 2022 season, they regressed and missed the playoffs in 2023 and 2024. They haven’t won nearly as many games ever since Lonzo Ball got hurt, and Donovan will need to find a way to get his team back to the postseason.
NBA Head Coach Rank: 26
Outlook:
The Chicago Bulls will be looking to get to the playoffs in 2025, but they will face stiff competition from the other teams in the Eastern Conference.
(Photo: Charles Rex Arbogast/The Associated Press, via WSLS 10)
The Chicago Bulls have a talented team that doesn’t really fit well together, and they haven’t played in a smooth, flowing offense, so they haven’t been able to get the most out of their players. That said, they have consistently competed and defended well, but in an increasingly competitive Eastern Conference, the Bulls could end up in the play-in tournament once again and they may wind up missing the playoffs.
Projected 2024-25 Finish:
Expected Win-Loss Record: 30-52
Projected Regular Season Finish: 12th in the Eastern Conference
Expected Playoff Finish: Projected to miss the playoffs
Preseason NBA Power Ranking: 26
I went to Basketball-Reference and SalarySwish to look up some information for this write-up. It will be an exciting basketball season this year, and I’m looking forward to seeing the in-season tournament to see how that will unfold. Anyways, that is my write-up on my preview of the 2024-25 Chicago Bulls. Thanks for reading.