NBA Season Preview 2020-21: 5 big questions for the Chicago Bulls

The Chicago Bulls rebuild was behind schedule, and the organization made noteworthy changes to get it back on course. Here are the five biggest questions for the Bulls in the upcoming 2020-21 season.

1. Who is the most important player for the Chicago Bulls’ future?

Coby White. The 20-year-old guard from North Carolina had a sporadic rookie season, which matched his tendencies. His jitterbug nature and blazing speed make him a threat to blow by most defenders, but it also gets him into trouble when his body is ahead of his mind.

Chicago’s situation didn’t help. With Zach LaVine entrenched as a starter and Tomas Satoransky signed to a three-year, $30 million deal last summer, White was forced into a bench scorer role. It amplified some of his strengths, but also limited his chances to develop his weaknesses.

When he got a chance, he didn’t disappoint. Over Chicago’s last nine games before the season shut down, White averaged 26.1 points on .480/.432/903 shooting splits in 34.1 minutes a night. He had only averaged 24.4 minutes a night in his first 56 outings; a bigger opportunity was exactly what he needed.

He’s still limited as a playmaker. His assist percentage for the whole year was merely 16.3, and even in that scorching stretch to end the season it only crept up to 21.5 percent. Nine great games also don’t tell you nearly enough about a player. But White’s bright spots are scintillating, and the Bulls don’t have anyone else with his kind of upside.

2. Jim Boylen : Billy Donovan :: Thor: the Dark World : Thor: Ragnarok

The man responsible for limiting White’s role was Jim Boylen, and White was not the only casualty. Lauri Markkanen was relegated to spotting up and not much else, Wendell Carter Jr. wasn’t allowed to use any of his modern big man skills at the 5 (like shooting, passing or switching on defense), and few players outside of Zach LaVine got better under Boylen.

Few Bulls seemed to like him either. From Zach LaVine refusing to come out of the game while he’s hot, to making players practice extra after a loss, Boylen did things his way against all odds. The Bulls finally let him go this offseason, replacing him with Billy Donovan, one of the masterminds behind the Oklahoma City Thunder’s surprising success in 2019-20.

Donovan did not trade for Chris Paul, but he did deploy the best closing lineup in the league. Paul, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Dennis Schröder, Danilo Gallinari and Steven Adams outscored opponents by nearly 30 points per 100 possessions (177 minutes), the best quintet in the NBA to play that much time. He left OKC over disagreements with the direction of the franchise (which are now obvious), and he should be a major upgrade for the Bulls — even if he’s just league average.

3. Lauri Markkanen is clearly not the next Dirk Nowitzki but he still might be the next                     .

Mehmet Okur. Before Bulls fans bark at this comparison, consider how much more useful Okur would be today. Only 24.0 percent of all his field-goal attempts were 3s, despite him hitting 37.5 percent on 3s over his entire career. The Utah Jazz embraced his unique skills as much as the era allowed them to, but he could’ve been so much more in a fast-paced, ball-sharing offense like the Bulls are about to have this season.

Markkanen already has the shot profile that Okur could’ve had; he’s just not a marksman yet. But thanks to question No. 2, it’s pretty easy to figure out why this sweet-shooting big man can’t get a grip on a consistent offensive role yet. A more egalitarian offense with pace and space is what Markkanen needs to thrive, not a bunch of standstill 3s and the occasional pick-and-pop.

The players being compared in this case are more ideas than actuality, but that’s all you have to work with when talking about big men with excellent shooting strokes. There aren’t many, and almost none of them turn out to be Dirk Nowitzki. That’s okay.

4. How many games does rookie Patrick Williams start this year?

12-15. The No. 4 overall pick is as raw as they come, one of the youngest players in this draft class who didn’t even start for his college team. He was drafted high because of physical and mental traits, rather than actual production, which makes it difficult to see him playing a featured role early on. The Bulls are also strong at the forward spots with Otto Porter Jr., Lauri Markkanen, Thaddeus Young, Garrett Temple and Chandler Hutchinson.

That being said, this could be a pivotal year for the organization: either the team shifts to being more competitive with the incumbent core, or it trades veterans for value at the deadline. The latter would push Williams up the pecking order, but a starting role still seems improbable unless both Porter and Young are traded. The prediction here is that he only gets spot starts as a fill-in for injured/resting players.

5. The Bulls are inbounding the ball with 24 seconds left in the game, trailing by one. What’s the play call?

Something along the lines of LaVine dribbling the clock down isn’t a bad idea. Nor is getting White involved off the ball for some instant offense. Maybe Carter can make something happen off the short roll in a pick-and-roll with White or LaVine. Oddly enough, the Bulls have solid options for freelance offense. It’s just a matter of how Donovan uses them.

Of all, LaVine is still their best option to make something happen. His playmaking is limited (which calls into question the fit of White and LaVine together), but LaVine still put up 25.5 points a game on respectable efficiency (56.8 true shooting percentage) for an entire season. That’s hard to do for anyone, making it even harder for one of his teammates to usurp him in the pecking order.