Predicting Billy Donovan’s starting 5, the Bulls rotation originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Presented by Nationwide Insurance Agent Jeff Vukovich
Name the Chicago Bulls starting five. It is not as easy as you might think.
A logical test of Josh Giddey, Coby White, Zach LaVine, Patrick Williams and Nikola Vučević may be too defensively challenged for coach Billy Donovan’s preference. It also begs the question of whether it is leaning fully enough into the youth movement that management is undertaking. But it’s still a safe bet.
Name the Bulls’ nine- or 10-player rotation. It is not as easy as you might think.
Ayo Dosunnu and Jalen Smith would appear to be the only locks. Lonzo Ball’s nearly unprecedented comeback attempt from a cartilage transplant, three left knee surgeries and more than 2 ½ years away from NBA action continues to face the arduous task of training camp.
And who knows if the competitive edge and physical style that Matas Buzelis flashed at NBA Summer League will translate to the regular season. Donovan was not the type of coach to give away minutes.
So it’s legitimately an intriguing exercise. And as players begin trickling into the Advocate Center over the coming weeks ahead of next month’s training camp, here’s one guess about it:
The case for Giddey, White, LaVine, Williams, Vučević
This represents the most logical possibility.
Giddey is the shiny new toy, acquired in the Alex Caruso trade, and making a role for Australia at the Paris Olympics that he will likely replicate with the Bulls—a ball-dominating playmaker.
Not content to rest on his laurels as a runner-up for the NBA’s Most Improved Player, White is hitting the offseason lab again. White proved the ability to be a lead guard last season. But with the arrival of Giddey, he can play on or off the ball, more fully emphasizing his strengths.
With DeMar DeRozan signed and traded to Sacramento, his understudy in Williams will be asked to produce higher velocity in a larger role. Starting as the main defender in this lineup is essential.
As for the handles, LaVine’s weak future is where some uncertainty begins. He will almost certainly be in reduced usage for the second straight season due to Giddey’s arrival and White’s ascension. But taking him off the bench would seem like a surefire way to torpedo any chances at a professional partnership, not to mention further damage to his trade value.
Somewhat similarly, starting Jalen Smith over Vučević only to fully lean into a youth movement would be another massive shock.
The rotary locks
Dosunmu handled anything thrown at him with aplomb during his three stellar seasons in Chicago. Start with him out of the rotation; he will work his way back. Start him, get him off the bench, he’ll contribute two-way toughness. He is a lock for minutes.
Ditto Smith, signed to fit the youth movement and bring his unique, stretch-5 skill set and athleticism to the second unit.
From this perspective, those are the only rotary locks. Ball’s health is too uncertain. Buzelis is just one of many recent picks — Dalen Terry, Julian Phillips — that the Bulls are trying to develop, albeit the most high-profile.
The case for a 10-player rotation
In the past, Donovan has played 10 deep at times but has preferred to stick to a nine-man rotation. That had consistent heavy minutes for DeRozan and White and, before last season, LaVine.
Given the number of development projects on the Bulls’ hands and Ball’s health uncertainty, it makes more sense to field a 10-man rotation. Especially since if Ball makes it through training camp to continue his comeback attempt, he will surely be on a minutes restriction come the regular season.
Assuming Ball is healthy, pencil him in as the eighth rotation piece, joining Dosunmu and Smith.
Buzelis vs. Torrey Craig is where the real battle begins. Given that Craig will be a pro regardless of his role and is a veteran mentor on an expiring deal, look for Buzelis and the youth movement to dominate. That’s nine.
That leaves one spot for four players — Terry, Phillips, Chris Duarte and Jevon Carter. Given that Terry has the positional size to guard bigger players, the assumption here is that he will get the first crack. Phillips showed flashes of promise last season, so he can’t be ruled out in what is sure to be a fluid situation.
Duarte and Carter seem to be on the outside looking in at the moment. We think For a team projected by most oddsmakers to miss the playoffs, projecting the rotation isn’t as easy as one might think.
