2009-2010 Finish: 48-34

What went well

After missing the playoffs by just one game in 2009, the Bulls and GM Dazman returned determined to re-shape the franchise and not get shut out again. However, all the team really needed was to stay together to succeed. Although Drew Gooden and Ryan Hollins didn’t want to stick around and see if Dazman’s vision would work out, the team did woo back Anthony Parker for the full MLE and retained CJ Watson. Beyond, no notable additions except for moving a 2nd rounder to the Sixers for the injured Darrell Arthur.

The season began and the Bulls came out swinging. They were the hottest team in the league, dominating the Eastern Conference with their play. Shaquille O’Neal looked young again and Gerald Wallace helped keep the pace. Then, Dazman made some trades that disrupted the Bulls’ gameplay. First, he sent mediocre center Ronny Turiaf to the Pacers for mediocre center Kwame Brown. Then Dazman sent Wallace and Haslem to the Sixers for the struggling Joe Johnson and forward Brandon Bass.

The good news is that Johnson took his new home in Chicago, shaking off the slump that plagued him when he had to play alongside Paul Pierce, lighting up the Chicago scoreboard. But the team floundered around him, with the Bulls dropping out of the top spot and down into the depths of lower end contenders. Another bright spot was late season pickup Reggie Williams. The undrafted player came into town and soon became a major part of the rotation.

What went worse

With the JJ contract situation hovering over the team, the Bulls pulled into the playoffs in the 6th seed against the New York Knicks. But with both Shaq and JJ suiting up for the Bulls for the last time, the distraction proved to be too much and the Knicks blasted away the Bulls, four games to one.

Stars

- Joe Johnson, GF -

Johnson never lived up to his potential in Philly but in Chicago he showed flashes of greatness again. Just in time for contract season. In Chicago, he hit 20.6ppg on almost 50% shooting. While these numbers may not warrant a max contract, JJ is the closest thing Chicago had to a stud last season.


Goats

- Kwame Brown, C –

Another season, another bad year for the former #1 pick. Brown is now on his sixth NLL team and got pretty much garbage minutes only. Is it too late for the former blue chip prospect?




Looking to the future

The season ended with T.J. Ford doing what the Bulls hoped he wouldn’t: exercising his player option. But anyone is tradable in the NLL and the Bulls packaged Ford with Parker and draftee Greivis Vasquez, sending them off to the Heat for Jason Richardson.

So where does that leave the Bulls? They come into the season with no rookies. They do have more than $35 million to spend on free agents. Not so fast, more than $16mil will be going to JJ, who proclaimed he is committed to the Bulls franchise. But are the Bulls committed to him? Shaq is a goner (which is fine as Roy Hibbert is developing nicely) and J-Rich is basically the same player as JJ. There is a rumor out of the Bulls camp that team wants to do a sign-and-trade with JJ, but will anyone want his crazy contract? The Bulls could really go either way this season as Hibbert, JJ and J-Rich are the only starting caliber goes on their squad. The Bulls certainly have a few problems. More than 16 million of them.