The Bulls Have Found A New Identity

The Bulls Have Found A New Identity

For the first time in half a decade, it feels like the Bulls have serious direction. Between the addition of some veterans and the shaping out of their young core, things are starting to get interesting in Chicago. But what can we expect from them in 2026? Are they good enough to compete in the East? And what can we make of their future? Last season, the Bulls were once again the staple of mediocrity. With a slightly below average offense and a slightly below average defense, they won 39 games, made the play in, and got bounced by the Heat. It sounds bad, but at the very least, they finally made a move, trading Zack Lavine and leaning into their younger guys for the first time in years. Once they made that shift, good things started to happen. Josh Giddy and Kobe White both played by far the best ball of their careers. Rookie Modis Buses showed some really nice flashes as an offball scorer, and they had a uniquely solid offense built around pace, ball movement, and having multiple scoring options at each position. With that said, they weren’t nearly good enough in a few key areas to make a serious playoff push. Despite having a good shot diet consisting primarily of layups and corner threes, they didn’t have the shotmaking talent to fully take advantage. And with that lack of shotmaking, they didn’t really generate free throws, turned the ball over a lot, and didn’t grab many offensive rebounds. So, there really wasn’t room for them to grow into a true top 10 caliber offense. Then on defense, they had very few options at the point of attack, even fewer for big wings and little rim protection. So, they couldn’t really get stops in the half court. However, there is one thing I want to give them a ton of credit for, and that’s the fact that they were the third best transition defense in the league. To me, that screams Billy Donovan and getting everybody to buy in because it mostly is an effort thing. Between that and the fast-paced offense, Chicago actually built a real identity. Here’s a look at how many points each team both scored and allowed per game in transition. The Bulls were far and away the best transition team in the league, outscoring their opponents by more than 10 points a game. Think about how much that can swing the outcome of a game or even a season. The average half court offense scored 0.98 points per possession. The league average transition offense scored 1.25 points. So for them to dominate the most efficient plays on both sides of the ball, it just gave them a really high floor. Also, it positioned everyone in their core to succeed. Specifically talking about offense, pretty much their entire rotation is filled with great transition players. Giddy’s the engine, the guy they’ll often look to to start the push because he’s an elite open floor playmaker. White’s the biggest scoring weapon and flat out one of the best transition scorers in the league, ranking second behind only Giannis last year at over seven points a game. Off the bench, Immu is looking to get out and run as much as he possibly can. And the same goes for young guys like Dale and Terry or Julian Phillips, who I’m primarily focused on though is second-year forward Modis Buzzales because he’s got all of the tools to become one of the game’s most lethal fast break weapons. Before we get into that, I want to give a huge shout out to Factor for sponsoring this video because this 31day series wouldn’t be possible without them. Between the time it takes to research each team and produce these videos while balancing my personal life, I just don’t have time to cook for myself. With Factor, in just a matter of 2 minutes, I can get a fully prepared meal on the table without worrying about preparation, cooking, or cleaning up. Just simply unbox, heat it up, and enjoy. 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Simply put, he’s an effortless athlete who sort of glides down the court with long strides and can spring off the court at any moment to get above the rim. With the physical tools, he has great feel and instincts for filling out space alongside somebody who’s pushing the ball. And he’s got a good enough handle to push it himself in transition with the vision and timing to get others involved as well. That’s not too different from this year’s 12th overall pick, Noah Asen. Noah doesn’t turn 19 years old for another two months. And much like Buzzaleis, he’s a big forward with incredible body control and overall fluidity who excels in transition. He isn’t quite as gifted vertically, but he’s a lot more physical, giving them a more imposing sort of presence who’s shown the ability to generate free throws and finish in a wide variety of ways. All that to say, I wouldn’t be surprised that they’re the best transition offense in the NBA next season. They’ve got playmakers, they’ve got weapons, and they’ve got a clear system in place that’s built around running and gunning. It’s worth noting though that this approach is somewhat born out of necessity because they don’t have much of anything going for them in the half court. It starts with the fact that there isn’t a single player on this roster who can consistently break down a defense one-on-one, whether that’s from the perimeter or in the post. So, there’s not much they can do out of structure to make defenses rotate. They can always fall back on the two-man game with one of their guards running pick and roll or pick and pop with Vuch, but most of their ball handlers are limited scorers, which turns into them over relying on the big man to do his damage from the middle of the floor. Overall, there’s just a noticeable lack of onball scoring talent in the half court, which means they’re going to have to look for ways to create opportunities for offball scorers. Luckily for them, I just mentioned two big, lengthy athletes who have great instincts and can finish at the rim. And across the board, they’ve got active cutters, including Giddy, who’s an incredibly savvy offball player. More importantly, they’ve got an absolute surplus of passers. I haven’t even mentioned that they brought in Trey Jones last year on a roster that already featured strong passers like Josh Giddy, Iunu, and Dalon Terry. They also added Zack Collins, a highle passing big. So between him and Vu, they’ll almost always have someone in the front court that can initiate. And they added Kevin Herder, a movement shooting threat who can make a wide variety of passes off of screens. The ball movement on this squad should be sublime. And while they might struggle to consistently break down defenses, they’ll at least put guys in the right spots to succeed. Defensively, I’m not quite as confident. They did trade Lonzo Ball for Isaac Aoro. And Aoro is a very good defensive wing. He’s got the agility and length to hound primary ball handlers. can get around screens with ease and has an incredibly strong lower body that allows him to pretty much switch across the board, which helped a lot on a defense like the Cavs that had versatile defensive bigs and forwards who could help supplement these skills. On the Bulls, there isn’t much of anybody to switch with. He won’t have Mobly or Allen playing alongside him against pick and roll. And as long as he’s out there, he’ll be a little bit stranded. This roster is filled with Tulie defenders who excel in one or two areas, but lack in others. Iotaumu can pressure guards one-on-one and make their life difficult. He’s not great at getting around screens, isn’t nearly as effective against bigger wings or forwards, doesn’t use his length to make plays on the ball, and isn’t a presence away from the ball. Dalon Terry is really fluid for someone with a 7 foot one wingspan, which helps him slide with guards, get around screens, and make plays with his hands. It also helps him provide a real presence as a secondary rim protector. So, he’s somebody I view as having serious defensive potential. However, he’s incredibly skinny and hasn’t added much functional strength in his three years with the Bulls. So, he doesn’t offer much resistance against more physical creators, and he hasn’t shown nearly enough on offense to demand serious playing time. Anyways, Modis is a completely different type of defender, mostly operating behind the play as a helper. And his skill set is really intriguing because as a rookie, he was already a very impactful rim protector. Here’s a look at the best paint defenders from last season in terms of how many shots they contested within 6 ft and how much worse players shot than expected on those attempts. Buzzale contested about eight shots per 36 minutes and players shot almost 9% below their typical average which puts him in a group alongside guys like Avita Zubots, Evan Mobley and Jared Allen. Obviously, he isn’t the rim deterrent those guys are and operates in more of a secondary rim protector role. But when it comes to altering shots down low, he’s absolutely got the tools. The question is how much else is there? He isn’t quick enough on his feet to stick with shiftier guards and needs to build a ton of muscle before he can hold up against forwards or bigs physically, making him a bit of a positionally awkward defensive player who’s really only going to bring value if you’re able to keep him behind the play. That’s a great building block, though. And if he can add some strength or figure out more ways to leverage his length, we could be looking at a very impactful team defender. Noah Asen has got a different set of tools. He does have the strength to match up with bigger forwards or hold his own in the paint. More importantly, he’s got the lateral quickness to execute a ton of different coverages or switch onto the perimeter. He’s the inverse of Modis. His growth will have to come behind the play, leveraging his large frame into value as a helper and rim protector. I really do think Chicago’s upside on both sides of the ball gets a little bit overlooked. However, it’s still a long-term project and they’re still missing a few pieces, which worries me because it’s almost like they’re allergic to tanking. I’m not saying they need to go out there and lose games on purpose, but I fully expect each of their lineups to prioritize winning now. And along with how the transition game raises their floor, they might be too good to land a top pick without some insane luck. This starting five is pretty solid. And if they’re bringing guys like Dunmu, Trey Jones, and Herder off the bench for extended minutes, you’re getting lots of positive production. Ideally, I’d like to see more minutes for Noah, Terry, and Julian Phillips to experiment and see what they can develop. Like I said, because Chicago’s so good in transition and the roster is filled with great passers, this is the perfect environment for offball wings to develop their games. In my opinion, priorities number one and two should be their big young forwards. Noah Sen has a lot to work on as a scorer in the half court, particularly his handle and outside shot, and developing a somewhat reliable three ball is probably the biggest swing skill for him. As for Modest, he attempted about six threes every 36 minutes and hit them at a 36% clip in his rookie season. Along with the size, athleticism, and feel as a cutter, if he can sustain that level of shooting or even improve, we’re talking about a serious offball weapon. If the defense pans out, now we’re talking about just a ridiculous two-way supporting piece. The onball creation leaves a bit to be desired, though. I think as he adds some strength, grows mentally, and develops his handle, there’s room for improvement, but he’s not super quick, so he’s not the type to consistently beat defenders one-on-one. and hasn’t really shown any indication of being a primary shot creator in the half court. So, that’s what this Bulls rebuild is missing. They’ve got passing, they’ve got off-ball talent, they’ve got length, and lots of upside on both sides of the ball. As for the current iteration of the roster, there’s not much going for them on defense outside of a few standout skills here and there. And then, of course, they’re still looking for a true offensive cornerstone. Ideally, I think you’d want to tank an experiment, but there’s a part of me that thinks the Bulls are going to try to push for 40 wins and potentially find themselves in the playin for the fourth year in a row. One more losing season could potentially get Chicago to a really good spot. The 2026 draft class is stacked with talent, and that’s where they might be able to find their offensive centerpiece. If so, everything else with this team looks really good. They cover most complimentary skills. They’ve got a clear identity, and for the first time in half a decade, it feels like they have direction.

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The Chicago Bulls have surrounded their young core with a decent mix of veterans and are starting to build a new identity. But what can we make of their future?

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