What’s the Chicago Bulls’ nightmare scenario?

The Chicago Bulls head to the season with tempered expectations. Though the goal remains to make the NBA Playoffs after missing it by a game last season, a lot will hinge on how the team’s “Big 3” of DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, and Nikola Vucevic play together and if the new acquisitions pan out.

This Bulls squad may move up the Eastern Conference ladder, but they may also fall down a few rungs. Here's what a nightmare scenario for the Bulls may look like:

Can the Bulls put it all together?

On paper, the Bulls have the personnel to become a formidable force in the league. What the team lacks is someone who can function as the glue that holds everything together. That role previously fell on the shoulders of Lonzo Ball, but with the latter sidelined for another season, it's unclear who will assume that role.

"Jevon Carter was a really smart signing, and he just might be the two-way playmaker this club has obviously lacked ever since losing Lonzo Ball to a knee injury in January 2022," Zach Buckley wrote.

However, even if Carter can help fill in the gap, it may be just enough to vault the Bulls into the Play-in Tournament. Would this be enough to satisfy a fan base parched for success and a front office that has invested a lot of resources into this core? Probably not.

"Talent isn't the issue, Chicago just hasn't had someone who can bring it all together. But what if Carter connects the dots, and the final picture still isn't more than a play-in participant?"

Jevon Carter looks good in red.@nextlevel_03 | #SeeRed pic.twitter.com/o7EtLbfYmb
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) October 8, 2023

Time to tear it down?

The Bulls face a lot of questions with not a lot of answers available. Perhaps this may be the time the front office decides to hit the reset button on an aging roster with a low ceiling.

"Will this front office finally accept it's time for a tear-down? Or will it continue investing resources into the Zach LaVine-DeMar DeRozan-Nikola Vucevic trio and its supporting cast? With free agency awaiting DeRozan at season's end, the Bulls have some massive decisions to make over the next nine months. If they botch this, they'll keep languishing in the league's middle class, being too good to bottom out but not nearly good enough to contend," Buckley surmised.

Back in the gym!@PlanetFitness | #SeeRed pic.twitter.com/NzyujqwfKj
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) October 10, 2023