5 questions as the Chicago Bulls open training camp today, including roster battles and COVID-19 precautions
Nearly nine months after their last regular-season game, the Chicago Bulls finally can begin preparing for their next game.
Training camp opens Tuesday at the Advocate Center for individual workouts, and group workouts can begin Sunday as the NBA marches toward the Dec. 22 opening of the 2020-21 season.
The Bulls have four preseason games scheduled. They host the Houston Rockets for a pair of games at the United Center on Dec. 11 and 13 before traveling to Oklahoma City for matchups against coach Billy Donovan’s former Thunder squad Dec. 16 and 18.
After a frenetic offseason crammed into roughly a week, here are five questions about the Bulls on the eve of training camp.
1. What about COVID-19? Is the NBA doing another bubble?
Even though the NBA earned high praise for its bubble experiment in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. — successfully completing the season and playoffs without any players or coaches testing positive for COVID-19 — there was not much appetite for implementing that sort of restricted environment for an entire season.
That leaves the NBA to try to navigate what other sports leagues are struggling to pull off: traveling around the country to play games while the pandemic continues to spiral out of control. The league released its version of an oversized memo of health and safety protocols — just like the NFL and MLB did — but even those guidelines combined with rigorous testing won’t prevent players from catching a highly contagious virus routinely setting records for the number of people infected.
A few NBA arenas plan to allow fans to attend games despite how much is known about transmission rates indoors. While the Bulls have not officially announced their plans regarding spectators, the restrictions in place in Illinois and Chicago seem unlikely to allow it.
2. Have the Bulls made any big additions?
While it feels like the Bulls have made a lot of changes since they last took the floor in March — including a new front office led by Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley, and a new coaching staff led by Billy Donovan — on the court, their roster will look a lot like it did the last time we saw the team.
The biggest addition this offseason came via the draft when they selected forward Patrick Williams with the No. 4 pick. Williams also has not played a competitive game since March, and without the benefit of summer league and with a shortened training camp, it’s unclear how much he will be ready to contribute right away, even if those around him believe he will make the transition smoothly.
The Bulls added veteran wing depth in free agent Garrett Temple, who should help a young team grow off the court; aggressively pursued point guard Devon Dotson, an undrafted rookie from Kansas, for a two-way contract; and signed forward Noah Vonleh and guard Zach Norvell Jr. for auditions in training camp.
3. Have the Bulls lost anyone they might miss?
The Bulls allowed guards Kris Dunn and Shaquille Harrison to walk away in free agency, leaving some large roles to fill defensively on the perimeter.
Dunn developed into one of the best outside defenders in the NBA last season, often guarding the other team’s best player. Without him — and to a lesser extent Harrison, who showed potential that he could step into a role like Dunn’s — the Bulls lack a clear next option to fill that role. Their next-best perimeter defender is probably …. Otto Porter Jr.?
Patrick Williams has the size and talent to be an NBA-ready defender, but expecting him to develop into a lockdown defender right away is a lot to ask of someone who just turned 19 in August.
The Bulls finished a surprising ninth in the league in defense last season, thanks in large part to Dunn’s contributions. Without a clear replacement, his absence will be felt.
4. Any roster battles to watch during training camp?
The Bulls don’t appear to have any significant battles at the top of the depth chart with their starting lineup — Coby White, Zach LaVine, Otto Porter Jr., Lauri Markkanen and Wendell Carter Jr. — all but set.
There’s a bit of a logjam to sort out in the frontcourt, however, especially at the four. Markkanen will need a large share of playing time, veteran Thaddeus Young had issues adjusting to his reduced playing time last season and it’s unclear in which forward spot Patrick Williams will be most comfortable.
Add in Noah Vonleh, who will be out to prove during camp that he still can contribute, second-year center Daniel Gafford and perhaps Luke Kornet, and the Bulls have a few questions to answer as they look to build a rotation and firm up the back end of their roster.
The roster currently has 17 players, not including two-way guards Devon Dotson and Adam Mokoka, so if they decide to keep Vonleh or Zach Norvell, they would have to clear space (and they have Kornet and Cristiano Felicio on expiring contracts to do so).
5. What else needs to be sorted out before the season?
Lauri Markkanen is entering his crucial fourth season in the NBA and became eligible for a rookie-scale contract extension this offseason. The deadline for the Bulls to lock him up long term is Dec. 21.
Although the new Bulls executives seem to value Markkanen and have spoken highly about him and the need to get him back on track after a down year, whether they are willing to offer him a large extension after that disappointing season remains to be seen. Markkanen could command a contract in the range of the five-year, $80 million deal the Wizards gave stretch-four Davis Bertans this offseason.
“I’ll let my agent work that out with the front office,” Markkanen said in September during the Bulls minicamp. “I do want to stay in Chicago for the long term. That’s my main goal, to hang out and try to build up relationships with the guys and get to play with them and get the chemistry going. I just worry about the things I can control on the floor, and I’ll let other guys work on the contract stuff.”
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