After just missing the Play-In Tournament last season, the Chicago Bulls made significant moves in the offseason to become a threat in the Eastern Conference this season.
With DeMar DeRozan and Lonzo Ball joining the All-Star tandem of Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic, the Bulls will look to snap a four-year playoff drought.
Chicago opens their season on Oct. 20 when it travels to take on the Detroit Pistons.
Depth chart
| Starters | Second | Third | |
| PG | Lonzo Ball | Coby White* | Ayo Dosunmu |
| SG | Zach LaVine | Alex Caruso | Matt Thomas |
| SF | DeMar DeRozan | Troy Brown Jr. | Javonte Green |
| PF | Patrick Williams* | Derrick Jones Jr. | Stanley Johnson |
| C | Nikola Vucevic | Tony Bradley | Alize Johnson |
*Williams has been diagnosed with a severe ankle sprain and is expected to miss four to six weeks.
*White is still recovering from a shoulder injury and is expected to make a full return in November.
Key additions and subtractions
The Bulls were busy this offseason, making a number of trades to up the talent level on their roster. They traded away Tomas Satoransky, Garrett Temple, Daniel Theis, Thaddeus Young, Al Farouq-Aminu and Lauri Markkanen to completely reshape their depth chart.
In exchange for that combination of players, Chicago brought in Lonzo Ball, DeMar DeRozan and Derrick Jones Jr., while it also made some key moves in free agency to sign Alex Caruso and Tony Bradley.
The Bulls also added a solid reserve point guard in Ayo Dosunmu with the No. 38 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.
Positional battles
The Bulls starting lineup is as clear-cut as it gets, although they will have to fill Patrick Williams' void for the first four to six weeks of the season as he recovers from a severe ankle sprain. The logical explanation is Derrick Jones Jr. sliding into the starting five in a smaller lineup, adding a similar defensive presence as Williams.
Off the bench, it's safe to assume rookie guard Ayo Dosunmu will take on the backup point guard role while Coby White recovers from a shoulder injury. Stanley Johnson, Troy Brown Jr. and Javonte Green will have to fight for reserve forward minutes, while Tony Bradley and Alize Johnson will battle for backup center minutes.
Matt Thomas should be seen strictly as a sharpshooting specialist.
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