It’s a new world for the Chicago Bulls in 2024- 25. After trading their two best players, DeMar DeRozan and Alex Caruso, this offseason, the Bulls will not only look a lot different, but team officials say that they will also be playing a lot differently.
This is just one of the valuable insights gained after the Chicago Bulls Media Day on Monday (Sept. 30) at the Advocate Center on the West Side.
We are going to try to play faster and push the ball because we understand that by losing Demar and AC, there will be a lot of players on this roster who are going to take responsibilities and play a role that they’ve never done before, said Bulls Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations Artūras Karnišovas.
“The shots that we’re going to be hunting are basically rim shots and open threes,” said Karnišovas. “And the only way you can do that is play faster because every time you set against, you know, set defenses, it’s very hard to score.”
The Bulls will be in training camp until Oct. 6 and play their first preseason game on Oct. 8 against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
Here is more of what we learned from Bulls Media Day:
Bulls Could Have Three Guards on the Floor
The Bulls have an astonishing glut of guards, including holdovers Coby White, Zach LaVine, Ayo Dosunmu and Lonzo Ball and new additions Josh Giddey and Chris Duarte.
But Donovan said that the Bulls will utilize those guards, especially when players like White, Giddey, and LaVine share the floor.
“I’m not opposed to playing three point guards or three guards together at all,” said Donovan. “I think it can be very effective, provided those guys all understand what that entails.”
Donovan cited his days as the Oklahoma City Thunder head coach when Chris Paul sacrificed to allow fellow guards Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Dennis Schröder to have the ball.
“That’s kind of a give and take that you’ve got to be able to do,” he said.
He also knows that defense will be a concern with this year’s team, having traded their best defensive player in Caruso and playing with three guards.
“We’re going to have some defensive challenges, there’s no question,” he said. He said this year’s team will have to play defense collectively rather than rely on the individual brilliance of players like Caruso, DeRozan and even Andre Drummond, who left via free agency to join the Philadelphia 76ers.
Zach LaVine Wants No More Drama
Before he began his portion of the press conference, the prolific scoring guard, often the subject of trade rumors, set the record straight.
Whenever there’s something that needs to be said, it will come from Zach LaVine or my representation,” he said.
“There’s a lot of thoughts and rumors, opinions about me, about the organization – so just know, whenever it needs to come from me or them, you’ll know it will be from them.”
LaVine, whose season was cut short last year due to a foot injury, reported that he is in a “great headspace,” is “fully healthy” and is looking forward to training camp.
“Anything negative that will try to pin me [against] the organization, the rumors, drama, whatever it is, I’ll leave that in the past. I’m focusing a lot on this camp right now, going forward on this team, helping, learning and just having a good time.
Reports like this one state that the Bulls are looking to move him.
Lonzo Ball Is Aiming to Play in the Season Opener
Ball last played basketball on Jan. 14, 2022. He has had three knee surgeries since then, but he told reporters assembled at Media Day that he has a “brand-new knee” and expects to be ready by the season opener.
“I think I’ll be ready for the first game for sure.”
But the Bulls expect to bring him along slowly, so his timeline might be a tad optimistic. But we’ll see.
What Will Coby White Do For An Encore?
After finishing as the runner-up for the NBA’s Most Improved Player award last season, White looks to take his game to an even higher level. This offseason, he focused on improving his strength and endurance to become a better all-around player.
“My number one goal was to hone in on my conditioning so I can become that two-way guy, so I can, you know, put forth the same effort on both ends,” he said.