The Chicago Bulls have made a huge splash in the 2016 Free Agency by acquiring two of the best guards available from the free agents’ pool. By adding Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo, the Bulls now gain two former NBA champions. But the impact of the signings remains to be seen and is not far from questionable
The Golden State Warriors are unquestionably the winners of the 2016 NBA Free Agency. The addition of a player like Kevin Durant takes an otherworldly offence to stratospheric levels. It would have been hard to top that, and going by name value. the Bulls have done a good job of making a splash. Only time will tell if the splash is a ripple effect blasting all competition or the dull gulp of the laden corpse of the Bulls of past drowning in no man's land.
One thing is for sure, this has made the Bulls a team to keep an eye on. Kind of like a speeding truck with no brakes carrying fuel tanks and headed for the metropolis. Take three outspoken personalities and add a coach who hasn’t had the experience of dealing with such, and you have a recipe for carnage either way.
Here are 8 things to expect with the Bulls’ signing Wade and Rondo:
#1 Questionable scoring
Anytime your players 1-3 are all used to having the ball in their hands for extended periods of time, you can be sure of fielding a confusing offence.
Rajon Rondo has never been known as a scorer, he averages just 11 points per game over his career and is one of the few point guards in the league without a reliable jumper.
Last season, Wade averaged a career-low 45.6% shooting percentage. It remains to be seen how much he is willing to defer to the other two stars on this team.
Jimmy Butler ought to be the unquestionable top dog on this team. He’s the youngest stud and is the future of the franchise. But he needs more touches. So does the talented group on the Bulls bench, but how will they get it? A combination of all these factors could lead to a confusing offence.
#2 Ball hogging, isolation basketball
On one hand, you have Rajon Rondo, who prefers to orchestrate the offence with the patience of a predator awaiting the perfect moment to strike. If that wait costs two-thirds of the shot clock then so be it. He has won a championship his way and intends to continue in the same vein.
On the other hand, in Dwyane Wade, you have a two-guard who has won a championship his way, then by taking a back seat to the best forward in the world. In the 2008-09 season, he set the fifth highest mark for usage rate with 36.22, and in 2014-15 he posted a 34.71 rate.
Both the backcourt guards are used to having the ball in their hands. So is Jimmy Butler. Don’t expect to see a game of hot potato as these three move the ball.
#3 Fred Hoiberg ageing rapidly
Bulls’ General Manager spoke of “going younger, more athletic and building it back up moving into the future." Adding two stars in their 30s who are both past their prime seems totally contradictory to that philosophy.
Fred Hoiberg is one of the most mild-mannered coaches around the league. He only drew his first technical foul after 628 games as a player and coach. Over the offseason, as the Bulls unloaded Joakim Noah and Pau Gasol, he might have entertained dreams of developing a fast paced offence like he had at Iowa State. Instead, he gets two old guards whose athleticism has nearly failed them in his backcourt.
One of those guards is infamous for butting heads with his coaches, if not held in check Rajon Rondo wouldn't think much before literally head-butting a coach who errs in his unforgiving eyes.
The coach is going to have his hands full this season.
#4 Where is the shooting?
Ex-Lakers coach Byron Scott had the following unique perspective on three pointers:
He is now out of his job. In the 2016 NBA Finals, the two teams had led the league in three-pointers made. All of the recent championship teams have benefited heavily from threes made. There is no question that floor spacing by relying on the long ball is the way to go these days. A team with prolific three-point shooters can go on a 15-0 run in minutes and change the complexion of any game.
Last year the Bulls ranked 21st in the entire league in 3 pointers made, but their percentage was third best in the league with 37.1% accuracy. One wonders how well they can shoot from downtown with Dwyane Wade making just 7 threes last season and Rondo averaging a 28.9% mark from beyond the arc for his career.
Butler himself shot just 31% from downtown last season. While they do possess spot up shooters on the bench, it is unclear how they will be utilised in the rotation with so many minutes dedicated to three non-shooters.
#5 Friction/chemistry between the three stars
The chemistry between Rajon Rondo, Dwyane Wade and Jimmy Butler might work out or it might explode in a seething mass of flames. Wade and Rondo have been at each others’ throats in the postseason in numerous battles. Burying the hatchet might be simple enough but that kind of background makes for ripe barbs.
Jimmy Butler would have been envisioning running the Bulls offence with the freedom that James Harden enjoys at Houston. He might have dreamt of shooting for the MVP award. Now he has two stars with lengthy resumes to accommodate into his team.
It will be interesting to see if this trio can coalesce into a Big 3 or fall out with disagreements.
#7 Bulls finishing in the top four in the East, but only just
Despite the potential problems, the Chicago Bulls do possess one of the most talented squads in the Eastern Conference. The three stars are quite talented and their bench can be a force to reckon with. It would not be a stretch to see them pose a threat in the Eastern Conference.
At the same time, it is difficult to see them getting past the Cavaliers with a rejuvenated LeBron James. Even the Toronto Raptors may surpass them on athleticism alone. And now the Boston Celtics have become better by adding Al Horford. The East has got stronger.
The Bulls can fight for the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference, injuries notwithstanding. That is probably as high as they will go unless the team meshes together quickly.
#7 Nights which make the world make sense
Even a broken clock is right twice a day. Not to be pessimistic about the Bulls, but their roster seems to spell confusion all around. There will be growing pains before they can gel into a coherent unit. Even the Miami Heat needed a season before their Big 3 learned to fit in better with each other.
That being said, there will be nights which will tantalise fans with the potential of this team being a dark horse in the East. Even though it seems to be constructed against conventional wisdom by eschewing marksmen in the backcourt, there is enough raw talent here to mesmerise on good nights.
Rondo will gracefully involve the entire team while dazzling us with his brilliance. Wade will assume control and power the opponents into submission with his nifty drives, and Butler will be reborn having such help around him and prosper without having to shoulder the burden alone.
But we won’t see such nights often enough at least until next year when this team has had time to play together.
#8 Boom or bust
The Bulls have done the right thing in taking a gamble which will either make them contenders in the East or see them hamstrung for the near future. There is no point in being mired in mediocrity where one doesn’t get draft picks or advance to the conference finals.
Lack of three-point shooting on the floor can be one of the biggest weaknesses of this team. But if their inside game is strong enough, they can still instill a pace and space offence without relying on the gamble of a three point shot. This can either work brilliantly or fail spectacularly. There doesn’t seem to be any middle ground. If it fails, they will just break the team apart in the near future instead of waiting for years to see some magic.
