© Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports
Training camp will be pivotal in deciding who the Chicago Bulls' starting point guard will be
One of the most pressing questions the Chicago Bulls face heading to training camp next week is who’ll be the team’s starting point guard. Veteran Pat Beverley assumed the role late last season, resulting in a late run to the Play-in Tournament.
But with Beverley signing with the Philadelphia 76ers, the team must now assign the pivotal starting role to someone else. The Bulls, though, have many choices, and they’ll have training camp to sort out who’s the best suited for the job.
Longtime problem
Elias Schuster of Bleacher Nation wrote that the point guard spot has been where the Bulls have been vulnerable for quite some time now. They thought they had stumbled on the answer to their problems in Lonzo Ball, but that was before the two-way talent injured his knee in January 2022. Since then, the Bulls have struggled to replace his production and impact.
“For what feels like the millionth year, the Chicago Bulls will walk into another season without a clear long-term answer at point guard. While they thought they found their solution in Ball two offseasons ago, the 25-year-old’s knee had other plans. Now, they’re going back to the drawing board with a deep pool of guards but no obvious choice for the role of lead facilitator,” Schuster wrote.
Who will fit in with the “Big 3”
Since Lonzo’s injury, the Bulls have tried a carousel of guards to man the critical spot and received mixed results. This time, the Bulls have the likes of Ayo Dosunmu, Coby White, Alex Caruso, Dalen Terry, and Jevon Carter to choose from.
However, coach Billy Donovan’s best bet would be to go with a guard who will fit in with the skill sets of DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, and Nikola Vucevic.
“Indeed, the Bulls have several players on the roster who have filled in at the position in the past. Unfortunately, none can be deemed the most traditional distributor. Neither can they check all the boxes that Ball did during his short successful stint with the team. This is why training camp will prove so important. Head coach Billy Donovan will have to determine who best fits next to his core trio, as well as what rotation can most closely resemble the production they received from Ball,” Schuster added.
