NBA 2017-18: 5 Teams Most Impacted By Injuries

#3 Chicago Bulls

Enter c — The Chicago Bulls acquire Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn, and Lauri Markkanen in exchange for Jimmy Butler and their 16th overall draft pick.

The Chicago Bulls have seriously taken a step back this season over the offseason. Not only did they trade away their best player, Jimmy Butler, with their 16th overall draft pick for an injured Zach LaVine, a rookie Kris Dunn, and the 7th overall draft pick (which was used to pick up Lauri Markkanen). Dwyane Wade also decided to waive his contract and left the team for the Cavaliers. On top of that, there have been fights between the team members and multiple injuries.

So where does that leave the Bulls?

Currently, LaVine is scheduled to return to team practices late in December after being sent down to the G League with the Windy City Bulls. Even though Bulls' head coach Fred Holberg said the Bulls have “no reason to rush” the return of LaVine. This is a big hint that the Bulls are in total rebuild mode this season. Nikola Mitotic is still recovering from a facial fracture, which has put him on a day-to-day assessment. Bobby Portis is also day-to-day with a right arm contusion. Finally, Cameron Payne will be out for three to four months recovering from surgery to his right foot.

The Bull’s are currently 3-18 this season which is putting them on pace to do worse than the worst record recording in NBA history, the Charlotte Bobcats with a record of 7-41 (0.106 winning percentage). I know the Bulls are taking a step back this year to develop their newly acquired rookie. Markkanen is doing extremely well this season and I would say he is probably their best player on the team currently. But this is still a huge step back from their 41-41 record last season placing them 4th in the Eastern Conference.