Chicago Bulls: 3 reasons they’ll be better in 2018-19

1. The Chicago Bulls aren’t trying to lose now

This is important for a young team. When the front office is doing everything it can to hamstring the results on the floor, it’s difficult for the players competing. Players always want to win, regardless of what the front office wants. Now, the Bulls front office, coaches and players should all be on the same page. They are all trying to win.

To be fair, I don’t know what that means for this squad yet. We haven’t seen them all together, and I’m not sure how the Zach LaVine-Jabari Parker combo will affect Markkanen’s development. There should be real concern there. LaVine and Parker have alpha male tendencies on offense and neither of them will be the team’s best player. That could cause some friction down the line. But overall, this team has a lot of young talent and they’re athletic, which has been the dream for the front office for years.

I’m not much of a Denzel Valentine fan, but he should add some leadership and scoring punch off the bench. It remains to be seen how much playing time Hutchison will get, but if Valentine falters, the Boise State product should be ready. Hutchison is an older rookie, having played four years in college, and mentally, he should be ready for the rigors of NBA life.

I’m going to stop short of saying this team should be a playoff team, for now. However, in the East, there are only a few teams we can pencil in for the playoffs right now. After the Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors, Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks, the East is up for grabs.

I’m projecting the Chicago Bulls to win around 33-37 games next season. Looking at the LeBron James-less Eastern Conference, I see no reason why they shouldn’t improve by at least five games. There’s just too much young talent on the roster.