3 NBA playoff outsiders that must make the postseason in 2022

Teams that must make the NBA playoffs: 2. Chicago Bulls

There’s a lot to be admired about a team that decides it has had enough of losing games and decides to make moves to get better.

And that’s exactly what the Chicago Bulls did last trade deadline and this offseason, or at least that’s the hope. The Bulls have built a completely new team around one of the best scorers in the NBA in Zach LaVine by adding Nikola Vucevic, Lonzo Ball, DeMar DeRozan and others.

Next season will dictate whether the decision to sacrifice some of the future to chase success right now has paid off. The Bulls gave up two first-round picks to the Magic to get Vucevic and another in the sign-and-trade with the San Antonio Spurs to get DeRozan.

The hope last season was that by acquiring Vucevic, the Bulls had paired LaVine with someone who could play pick and roll and space the floor to propel the team into the playoffs. The latter did not materialize, as the Bulls missed out on the postseason and conveyed its eighth pick to the Magic.

But there are no excuses for the team this coming season. Chicago is in win-now mode and anything other than a playoff finish next season has to be deemed a significant failure, particularly given that the ages of some of those acquired means the window for winning is not all that large.

Chicago could have opted for the more patient path by waiting for Patrick Williams and Coby White to develop while adding more prospects through the draft. But its decision to go for glory means it was able to land a talented young playmaking point guard in Lonzo Ball, who is surrounded by guys that can score in a number of ways.

The problems will no doubt arise on defense. Ball is a solid defender and Williams certainly can be, but the team’s other starters have their issues. Vucevic is not known as a guy that can protect the rim all that well, while LaVine has made improvements on defense but still has a way to go.

It was a big risk to go after veteran offensive firepower in Vucevic and DeRozan, who are in the latter stages of their careers, and by taking the more impatient, win-now path, the Bulls have made the targets for the short-term clear.

It’s hard to see the Bulls making a serious run at the title without a true superstar on the roster, but missing out on the postseason would be nothing short of a disaster.