4 Bulls Who Won't Be Back in 2024

The Chicago Bulls are coming off yet another disappointing season. Despite choosing to chase the eight-seed once again, they came up short, losing in the Play-In. Their baffling insistence on keeping this roster together continues to frustrate Bulls fans.

Even though the Bulls front office would keep this roster forever if it was up to them, they are going to have to make some changes this offseason. It probably will not be the changes fans are hoping for but they still have pending free agents and trade candidates that they need to make decisions on. Here are the four likeliest Bulls to head elsewhere this summer.

DeMar DeRozan

DeRozan has been the Bulls' best player over the last couple of seasons. He has exceeded all expectations since being signed to a three-year deal back in 2021. He made two All-Star appearances and carried this team offensively through significant injuries and misfortunes.

Now, his contract is expiring this summer and it behooves the Bulls to let him walk. Whether they will, however, is another question.

Chicago desperately needs to enter a new era. They are nowhere near being a serious playoff team. They are aging, expensive, and mediocre. Giving 34-year-old DeRozan a multi-year deal worth over $30 million annually is not the way to get out of this mediocrity.

The Bulls need to hit rock bottom and rebuild through the draft. Not retaining DeRozan needs to be the first step in that process.

Andre Drummond

It may sound shocking since the Bulls have a starting center that will make $20 million next season, but Andre Drummond may have been Chicago's best center last year. To be sure, Drummond is nowhere near a starting-caliber big man. He makes a lot of mistakes, has declined athletically, can't finish around the rim, and is a terrible free-throw shooter. He has limitations on both ends of the floor.

But the fact that Drummond was still better than Nikola Vucevic in 2023-24 shows you how miserable this Bulls frontcourt rotation is.

In an ideal world, Drummond would stay in Chicago as the backup center. However, the Bulls have cornered themselves and will likely not be able to afford the veteran big man in free agency this summer.

The Bulls are paying the combination of Zach LaVine, Lonzo Ball, and Nikola Vucevic $84 million for next season. Add potential new contracts to Patrick Williams and DeMar DeRozan and this team becomes incredibly expensive. It's not reasonable to expect the ownership to pay the luxury tax for a team outside playoff contention.

Therefore, Drummond will likely get squeezed out. A team will pay him more than the veteran's minimum since he played well last season and the Bulls should not beat that offer. Drummond, with his experience and off-the-bench impact, fits better on a contender anyway.

Patrick Williams

After four underwhelming seasons in Chicago, Patrick Williams is finally hitting free agency. The 22-year-old will be a restricted free agent, meaning that the Bulls still have the right to match any offer sheet Williams receives. So, if they want to retain him, they absolutely can.

Whether they should or will, however, is another question.

Ever since he was the fourth-overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, Williams was expected to take a leap and become a high-level starter. Even though he showed minor improvements over the years, he hasn't made the jump to become a star. He did, however, turn himself into a solid 40% three-point shooter who can also defend multiple positions on the other end.

That is still a valuable player. Williams should have suitors in free agency. A team with cap space like the Oklahoma City Thunder will certainly try to poach him. The Bulls should match the offer to a reasonable extent but if the amount starts to go over $15-16 million per year, it will be difficult to justify.

Plus, there is a chance that Williams doesn't want to be in Chicago anymore. Even if the Bulls match the offer, the Florida State product may ask them to move him in a trade.

Depending on how much interest Williams will draw in free agency, he is a candidate to be elsewhere next season. But a 22-year-old who plays both ends of the floor in a valuable position is hard to find and the Bulls should do their best to retain him.

Jevon Carter

The Bulls made the surprising decision last offseason to sign Jevon Carter in free agency. Carter is a solid role player who can play both guard positions, hit open shots, and defend at a reasonable level. But he was the last player Chicago needed.

The Bulls already had Alex Caruso and Ayo Dosunmu, who are just better versions of the same player. On top of that, Chicago has Coby White and Zach LaVine in their backcourt, leaving no place for Carter. This team had so many guards at certain points that Caruso was playing small forward for significant stretches of the season.

Considering the fact that Lonzo Ball is potentially coming back next season, Jevon Carter will not have a role in the rotation. Therefore, Chicago should use him and his $6.5 million salary in a trade in the offseason.

The Bulls don't have too many matching salaries that they can use in potential trades. Sure, they have LaVine and Vucevic's monstrous deals but no team really wants those. Carter, on the other hand, can get you a decent player if he is combined with another asset.

The former West Virginia product is not a bad player and he should have a role in the NBA on another team but he is just not a good fit on this deep and talented backcourt in Chicago.

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This article was originally published on dawindycity.com as 4 Bulls Who Won't Be Back in 2024.