Hoops Rumors is checking in on the 2024 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, recapping the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll take a look at each team’s offseason moves and consider what might still be coming before the regular season begins. Today, we’re focusing on the Chicago Bulls.

Free agent signings

• Patrick Williams: Five years, $90,000,000. Fifth-year player option. Re-signed using Bird rights.
• Jalen Smith: Three years, $27,000,000. Signed using non-taxpayer mid-level exception.
• Marcus Domask: One year, minimum salary. Non-guaranteed (Exhibit 10). Signed using minimum salary exception.
• Kenneth Lofton Jr.: One year, minimum salary. Non-guaranteed (Exhibit 10). Signed using minimum salary exception.

Trades

• Acquired Josh Giddey from the Thunder in exchange for Alex Caruso.
• Acquired Chris Duarte, RaiQuan Gray (two-way), the Kings’ 2025 second-round pick, the Kings’ 2028 second-round pick, and cash in a three-team trade in exchange for DeMar DeRozan (signed-and-traded to Kings).
  • Note: Gray was subsequently waived.

Draft picks

• 1-11: Matas Buzelis
  • Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $23,950,723).

Two-way signings

Departed/unsigned free agents

Other moves

Salary cap situation

• Operating over the cap ($140.6MM) and below the luxury tax line ($170.8MM).
• Carrying approximately $166.1MM in salary.
• Hard-capped at $178,132,000.
• $4,250,571 of mid-level exception available.
• Full bi-annual exception available.
• Two traded player exceptions available (largest worth $17,506,232).

The offseason so far

There was some good news for fans in Chicago this summer, as the Bulls’ front office finally accepted that roster changes were needed and that the group in place since 2021 wasn’t about to finally break through and become a contender.

The bad news? That decision probably came too late for the Bulls to get the most out of their veteran trade chips.

Chicago acquired a pair of future second-round picks along with Chris Duarte – a former first-round pick still on his rookie contract – in a sign-and-trade deal sending DeMar DeRozan to Sacramento. That’s a better outcome for the Bulls than letting their top scorer walk for nothing, but it’s a pretty modest return compared to what they might’ve gotten for DeRozan if they’d put him on the trade block before he reached unrestricted free agency.

The other two members of the Bulls’ one-time “big three” – Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic – didn’t go anywhere this offseason and may both still be on the roster on opening night. Their contracts (three years, $138MM for LaVine; two years, $41.5MM for Vucevic) are viewed as somewhat onerous relative to their on-court contributions.

While they could be traded, Chicago shouldn’t expect to receive much of value in return for either LaVine, who is coming off season-ending foot surgery, or Vucevic, who will turn 34 years old this October. In fact, moving off LaVine’s maximum-salary deal would probably require attaching assets at this point, so it might make more sense for the team to retain him in the hopes that he’ll increase his value by playing well this fall.

The most interesting move of the Bulls’ summer was trading defensive ace Alex Caruso for former lottery pick Josh Giddey, who had a tumultuous season both on and off the court in 2023/24. Based on reports that Chicago was seeking multiple first-rounders for Caruso, it came as a surprise that the club didn’t acquire a single pick in the deal, especially from a Thunder team loaded with future draft assets.

I understand the Bulls’ thinking to some extent. While his unreliable outside shot made him something of a liability in the postseason, Giddey is a talented ball-handler and play-maker who is still just 21 years old and is on his way to becoming a better pro than most mid-first-rounders in a typical draft class. A player with Giddey’s three-season track record certainly has a higher floor than an untested 19-year-old prospect.

On the other hand, Giddey is entering his fourth season and is currently eligible for a rookie scale extension. Even if he’s not extended by October 21, he’ll be due a major raise next summer when he reaches restricted free agency, whereas a draftee would’ve been on a team-friendly rookie contract for four seasons.

With Giddey expected to take over point guard duties, Patrick Williams back under contract on a five-year, $90MM deal, Jalen Smith added to the frontcourt on a three-year, $27MM contract, and lottery pick Matas Buzelis on track to play a role as a rookie, the Bulls are well on their way to leaning into a youth movement. However, the ongoing presence of LaVine and Vucevic complicates matters, leaving the team somewhat caught in the middle between play-in/playoff contention and a full-fledged rebuild.

Up next

Assuming there are no trades involving LaVine, Vucevic, or any other Bulls before opening night, 14 standard roster spots look spoken for, while the 15th is up for grabs.

Onuralp Bitim and Kenneth Lofton are among the players on non-guaranteed deals who appear to be in the mix for that last roster spot, and it’s possible the club will bring in one or two more players to compete for it in camp. Carrying a player with a non-guaranteed salary as the 15th man would give Chicago the flexibility to make an in-season change if need be.

The Bulls also have an open two-way slot, with Adama Sanogo and DJ Steward occupying two of those three openings for now. It’s possible that spot could be up for grabs in a camp competition too — Lofton and Marcus Domask are both on Exhibit 10 contracts that could be converted into two-way deals before the season begins.

Newcomers Giddey and Duarte are eligible for rookie scale extensions and I’d expect the Bulls to seriously consider signing Giddey. His stock could be much higher in a year than it is right now, assuming he thrives in Chicago with the ball in his hands more often, so locking him up sooner rather than later could pay off in the long run. A preseason agreement with Duarte, who has seen his playing time and production decline in each of his three NBA seasons, is hard to envision.

The only other Bull who is eligible for an extension is Lonzo Ball, but it’s safe to say that’s not happening either. Just getting on the court this fall would be a huge win for Ball, who has been sidelined for over two-and-a-half years due to knee issues. Barring an unlikely bounce-back season for the former No. 2 overall pick, he’s a strong candidate to have his expiring contract traded by February’s trade deadline — or  to be waived before the end of the season, if he continues to miss time for health reasons.