Skip to main content

The Chicago Bulls finished 31-41 last season, which was good for the 11th seed in the Eastern Conference last season. 

Not good enough for the NBA Playoffs. 

That will likely change this season as according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the team has landed four-time NBA All-Star DeMar DeRozan (see Tweets below). 

The deal is for a fully guaranteed $85 million over three-years, according to Charania. 

Now the Bulls have added DeRozan and Lonzo Ball (see Tweet below from Charania) to a roster that has 2021 NBA All-Stars Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic. 

Stats last season: 

  1. DeMar DeRozan: 21.6 PPG/6.9 APG
  2. Zach LaVine: 27.4 PPG/5.0 RPG
  3. Lonzo Ball: 14.6 PPG/5.7 APG
  4. Nikola Vucevic: 23.4 PPG/11.7 RPG

2020-21 Central Division: 

  1. Milwaukee Bucks (42-26)
  2. Indiana Pacers (34-38)
  3. Chicago Bulls (31-41)
  4. Cleveland Cavaliers (22-50)
  5. Detroit Pistons (20-52)

The Bulls will now be a very good team with a chance to get a top-four seed in the Eastern Conference playoff picture. 

Why is this bad news for the Pacers?

  1. The Bulls missed the playoffs last season, which now adds another team into the playoff mix.
  2. The Pacers will play the Bulls more than most teams (as many as four times per season) because they are in the same division.
  3. The Pacers already lost last the season series last year (2-1 in favor of the Bulls)
  4. The Pacers missed the playoffs last season, and most of the playoff teams have improved, while the Bulls (who did not make the playoffs) made a massive jump. 

The Central Division just got a lot more interesting for the 2021-22 NBA season.