What a turn around have we seen here. From the eight seed in last years playoffs, they were a team whose first, second, and third options couldn’t make a three pointer to save their lives. Those players were Jimmy Butler, Dwayne Wade, and Rajon Rondo. Wade and Rondo both left by will, Butler however was traded on draft night to the Timberwolves with Justin Patton for Lauri Markkanen, Zach Lavine, and Kris Dunn.
Kris Dunn had a very uneventful rookie season, playing under Tom Thibodeau, who notoriously doesn’t give many minutes to rookies. In college at Providence, he was a pass first guard who was a very good wing defender. He wasn’t the best shooter, and isn’t to this day, but he has time to turn that around.
Zach Lavine was one of Minnesota’s high-flying wings, but was had a torn ACL and he was out of play for a full year. When healthy, Lavine is a near lock for 20 ppg on good shooting and flashy dunks.
Markkanen was traded as the seventh overall pick. The Arizona product is the modern power forward: a tall guy who has the ability to shoot the three. His defense is suspect, but there is plenty of time for him to improve. Markkanen was compared to Dirk Nowitzki, and while he may never be as good as the German Jesus, he has the potential to make us anticipate “the next Lauri”.
This season, Lavine didn’t get a lot of playing time due to his injury, and he was t too far from his old self. Markkanen could easily finish third or fourth in Rookie of the Year voting. Lastly, Dunn is starting to turn around too. He is in talks for Most Improved Player.
While they are far from done, the Bulls, with a few good pickups in the draft, Chicago can be future dynasty.