Chicago Bulls: Evaluating the Bulls as the team heads into the hiatus

2. What was this season about?

The front office, coaching staff and the players were certainly on-brand at the start of the season – this season was about the playoffs. It felt right, sounded good and it got plenty of fans revved up for the season.

But now, the season is supposedly about development, coaching, and teaching. Or at least that’s how Boylen explains his questionable timeout decisions.

LaVine is developing into a high-level scorer, currently averaging 25.5 points per game, but is he the max-level franchise player the Bulls hoped to get to replace Jimmy Butler? Can he become the face of the franchise and lead Chicago to the playoffs in the Eastern Conference? Early indications have not proven that.

https://twitter.com/espn/status/1237547303780511746?s=20

If the season is now about development, why did Coby White have to wait until game 65 to crack the starting lineup? As a lottery pick supposedly with a great future with the club, shouldn’t he have gotten the best opportunity to perform against the best their opponents had to offer? If it’s been about development, why did it take injuries to get Denzel Valentine more playing time?

This season has just been confusing, with Ryan Arcidiacono being inserted into the starting lineup over White, Markkanen drifting passively and aimlessly into the background and Thaddeus Young‘s curious role with the team. There hasn’t been a clear direction and the over-selling of this team as a potential playoff squad hurt their overall development.