Former NBA star Charles Barkley believes that Chicago Bulls had the best offseason. The six-time champions have recruited the likes of Lonzo Ball, DeMar DeRozan, and Alex Caruso to make a strong case in the upcoming season.
The Bulls narrowly missed out on a spot in the play-in tournament by finishing 11th in the Eastern Conference table. They last made it to the playoffs in the 2016-17 season, where they were eliminated by Boston Celtics after a 2-0 lead.
With Zach LaVine at the helm and a crucial late acquisition in the trade window in the form of Nicola Vucevic from Orlando Magic, coach Billy Donovan has a talented roster to lay out his plans.
While appearing on “Waddle and Silvy” on ESPN 1000 in Chicago, Barkley said:
“I’ll be totally shocked if they don’t make the playoffs. And I’m not just saying this … I think it’s fair to say the Chicago Bulls have had the best offseason in the NBA,” Barkley said.
Other franchises who have had evenful off seasons are the New York Knicks and the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Athletic ranked Chicago Bulls’ off season fourth in the entire league. They rated Lozo Ball’s acquisition as the best value while terming DeRozan’s deal as the worst.
“My analytics friends blanched at the high price tag, in salary and picks, Chicago gave up for the 32-year-old DeRozan, and it was a lot. But how long are Bulls ticket holders supposed to wait for a better product on the floor? Chicago’s new players should impact collectively: Zach LaVine won’t have to always guard the opposition’s top wings down the stretch (Caruso); he won’t have to play make as well as score (Ball) and he won’t have opposing defenses tilting his way all the time (DeRozan).”
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