This offseason the Chicago Bulls made a few moves to rebuild and get younger. Most notably let DeMar DeRozan, walk and traded Alex Caruso. Rookie Matas Buzelis is a centerpiece of the Bulls’ youth movement. The Bulls now have several intriguing young players and newcomers. Let’s dive into their potential impact and roles with the team.
Expectations for Chicago Bulls Newcomers in 2024-2025
Josh Giddey
Josh Giddey, who the Bulls flipped Alex Caruso for, is likely to have the biggest impact of all the Bulls’ new additions during the upcoming season. A 6-foot-8 playmaking lead guard who has long struggled with his perimeter jumper, Giddey’s strengths and weaknesses are well-defined. Caruso may currently be the more dynamic and impactful player. However, Giddey—still just 21—makes more sense for the (semi) rebuilding Chicago Bulls. Giddey especially makes sense for the Bulls, if Lonzo Ball’s injury absence continues for three years—an unfortunate, but likely scenario.
As a perimeter player, it is tough to succeed in the modern NBA without a reliable outside jumper. There are exceptions, however, Rajon Rondo carved out a lengthy and lucrative career for himself while never truly threatening as a 32.4% three-point shooter.
Even Ben Simmons—who no one wants to be compared to nowadays—was once a truly dynamic and forceful lead playmaker, despite literally zero threat of an outside jump shot. Now, all that being said, Giddey’s lack of a jump shot is still an issue. The possibility of him ever developing into an All-Star-level player is significantly hampered by it. Nevertheless, Giddey does blend an intriguing mix of size, smarts, and under-the-radar athleticism. Making it easy to buy into the idea of him elevating the surrounding talent in Chicago during the upcoming campaign.
Matas Buzelis
During the 2024 NBA Draft, the Bulls selected Chicago native Matas Buzelis with the 11th overall pick. Judging purely from what we’ve seen from the Summer league, it appears as though the Bulls found a long-term keeper. Coming out of a draft class no one seemed particularly excited about, Buzelis who was always projected as one of the prospects with the highest perceived ceiling. For a franchise like the Bulls, who have a handful of decent to good young players but no true cornerstone, taking a chance on a young talent like Buzelis makes a ton of sense.
As things currently stand, Buzelis appears to be buried behind either Zach LaVine at the three spot or Patrick Williams at the four. However, given the injury history of both of those players, don’t be surprised if Buzelis finds his way into the starting lineup at some point during the season. If Buzelis does manage to secure a consistent role for the Bulls—whether in the starting five or off the bench—expect some inconsistency to be in order.
Buzelis is oozing with potential and has a well-rounded skill set. But, he is also rail-thin for a 6-foot-10 forward and still relies too heavily on his athleticism at this stage of his development. Even still, with the right amount of opportunity, Buzelis should make an intriguing run at Rookie of the Year honors. Just understand that the numbers he does put up are likely to be equal parts exciting and inefficient. Similar to the ones he put up during Summer League, (16.4 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 33.7 FG%, 21. 4 3PT%). Regardless, Buzelis is an important part of Chicago’s future and he could have a high-quality rookie season.
Jalen Smith & Chris Duarte
Jalen Smith is a former lottery pick who has developed into a relatively useful role player. As a member of the Indiana Pacers last year, Smith averaged 9.9 ppg, while shooting 42.4% from distance. Standing at 6-foot-9 and weighing in at 215, Smith is a bit undersized as a five. However he can still be a solid backup big. If Smith is able to duplicate his long-range shooting from a year ago, he should prove to be a useful—albeit low-impact—piece of Billy Donovan’s rotation.
Much of what can be said about Jalen Smith can be restated about Chris Duarte. Both players are former lottery picks who’ve never quite popped but have settled in as decent off-the-bench role players. Duarte is a perfectly fine 3-and-D player capable of soaking up rotation minutes every now and again. However, he shouldn’t be in line to take any development reps away from players like Buzelis, Patrick Williams, or Dalen Terry.
Duarte’s career has regressed somewhat since coming on strong as a rookie, averaging 13.1 ppg and shooting 36.9% from three. So he could look to regain some sort of career momentum in what should be a low-pressure environment. In all likelihood, however, Duarte’s biggest impact on the Bulls next season will be off the court. Ideally, Duarte can be a positive locker room presence and provide knowledge and guidance to some of the younger players.
