Grading Bulls' Biggest Moves from 2024 NBA Offseason
The Chicago Bulls' activity during the 2024 NBA offseason felt like a course correction.
After repeatedly bumping into a low ceiling in recent seasons, they finally paved a path toward something different.
Veterans were sent packing. Young talent was added. Some focus—though not all of it (yet)—was shifted toward the future.
Change was overdue, and honestly more of it was needed. For now, though, let's spotlight three of the franchise's most notable offseason moves with letter-graded assessments.
The Alex Caruso-Josh Giddey Trade
As soon as trade rumblings started swirling around Alex Caruso last season, he immediately vaulted atop the wish list of a lot of win-now teams.
His two-way skills are an effortless fit, and the same could be said of his modest salary. Chicago could and should have asked for a ton in return for him.
It's hard to say that's what the Bulls wound up getting when they flipped Caruso to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Josh Giddey in the rare player-for-player swap.
Giddey is a 21-year-old recent lottery pick (No. 6 in 2021), but he's also coming off the least productive season of his career and had his role sliced in the playoffs due to his limitations as a long-range shooter.
He can still stuff the stat sheet, and there aren't many players with his combination of size (6'8"), vision and creativity. Hindsight may eventually remember this swap fondly for Chicago.
As far as present value goes, though, it feels like the Bulls should have gotten more, particularly from a pick-rich team like the Thunder.
Grade: C-
Drafting Matas Buzelis at No. 11
The Bulls held this year's No. 11 pick, which seemed nowhere near high enough to nab Matas Buzelis, who was commonly mocked near or within the top five.
Yet, the draft board broke in such a way that the 6'10" forward, who just so happens to hail from the Windy City, fell right in their laps. Chicago has been celebrating ever since.
One of the Bulls' biggest problems in recent years is that their whole never measured up to the sum of their parts. Buzelis is the kind of player who can change that. He was two-way-connector potential with all kinds of length, athleticism and versatility.
He needs to improve as a shooter and could stand to bulk up his body, but there is time to figure that part out. For now, Chicago can continue to enjoy nabbing one of this year's biggest draft heists.
Grade: A-
Re-Signing Patrick Williams
The Bulls had major plans for Patrick Williams when they made him the No. 4 pick of the 2020 draft.
Apparently those plans still exist despite the fact that the 6'7" swingman has shown little to no discernible growth across four NBA seasons.
His on-court growth may have plateaued, and yet his salary is skyrocketing. He wound up with a new five-year, $90 million deal, which feels bloated on the surface but seems especially high for a restricted free agent with an uncertain market.
Chicago could have forced him to find an offer sheet elsewhere and matched whatever it was. The Bulls wouldn't have had control of the contract terms, obviously, but they almost certainly wouldn't be paying anything near this price.
It's fine for the franchise to have some interest in seeing what Williams' future holds. It's borderline baffling to pay this much to find out.
Grade: D+