The Chicago Bulls are finally realigning for the future.
The team will undoubtedly be a poor team by design next season, having traded defensive ace Alex Caruso, acquired point guard Josh Giddey, traded franchise star DeMar DeRozan in free agency and selected development player Matas Buzelis with the 11th overall pick in June's draft.
The team will likely look to the upcoming draft to add talent around their growing core, and talented prospects like Cooper Flagg, Ace Bailey, Dylan Harper, Nolan Traore and VJ Edgecomb make that an even better decision.
But does Chicago have what it takes to compete for the top pick in the 2025 NBA Draft?
As things stand, probably not.
Despite losing two great win-win players, the team's roster is still more competitive than the lower tier of the NBA.
Zach LaVine continues to be a solid player averaging nearly 20 points per game despite his huge, nearly untradeable contract, Nikola Vucevic and Patrick Williams remain valuable game-winning frontcourt pieces, and a host of other players will continue to give the Bulls an edge over teams like the Nets, Wizards and Pistons.
A trade would have to be made during the season to acquire Chicago's most coveted prospects, and while the team may not want to sink to the bottom of the NBA, that would be best for the future.
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