2016-'17 Chicago Bulls: Starting Five

While the NFL season is about to come under way, the city of Chicago has so many questions blowing around it's professional sports teams that it is hard to settle on just complaining, I mean discussing, how the Bears will fair this upcoming season (That's for another time soon). For now, I wanted to put the focus on the Chicago Bulls and what possibilities may potentially lay in wait for us on this roster. (NOTE: these are only my predictions and in no order of importance.)


- Rajon Rondo: Guard #9

The first thing that needs to be understood is that this may not be the same Rajon Rondo that helped the '07-'08 Boston Celtics clinch an NBA championship. Although I will say, Rondo's career numbers of 11.0 PPG, 8.7 APG, 4.8 RPG, & 1.8 SPG have held strong throughout the years in Boston, being traded to the Dallas Mavericks, and then playing with the Sacramento Kings last season. So stat-wise, there is possible hope that Rondo retains that form that he has had for the last 10 years.

Another thing that must be understood is that Rondo has earned himself a reputation as a "complicated" player or "coach killer" as some analysts have described him. Over his 10-year career, Rondo has found a way to get under the skin of legendary coaches Doc Rivers (Celtics), Rick Carlisle (Mavericks), and George Karl (Kings). Even before then, Rondo had apparently butt heads with his former head coach at Kentucky University, Tubby Smith. Considering all that, what would he do with a very passive, fairly young, and still new head coach Fred Hoiberg? My guess would be somewhere between screaming at him on the court & shoving him over the bench or worse.

Overall: While it will depend on Fred Hoiberg's game plan for the squad, Rajon Rondo's role on the team will more than likely be as the starting point guard with his main objective to dish out assists to the open man and have his defensive presence bring a tougher persona/feeling to the team.

Predicted Stats:
Points/Game- 9.7
Assists/Game- 10.6
Rebounds/Game- 5.9
Steals/Game- 1.8
Turnovers/Game- 2.6
Field Goal%- .443
3 Pt. %- .333

- Dwyane Wade: Guard #3

Even at 34 years old, there is something about Flash that can still drive him to compete at the highest peak possible. With Dwyane Wade coming back home to Chicago to live out a dream now come true, there is great hope that he will translate his leadership and elite ability to play to the rest of the roster in order to bring the Bulls back into playoff contention. Maybe even make a run at securing another NBA title. Now the chances of that happening seem small so far because the season has not started yet, but there is always an opening in the window for that to happen.

Wade's been able to produce strong numbers in his 13-year Hall of Fame career with 23.7 PPG, 4.8 APG, 5.8 RPG, & 1.7 SPG. But despite having strong career numbers, there are some that have expressed concern over how Wade may be able to fit into Hoiberg's system which showed that he likes his shooting guards to be able to hit the three from long range (but who doesn't). Although I'm sure Wade could find some way to adjust his game, his .284 career three-point percentage is not a very promising statistic. The other issue that Wade has is that he IS 34 years old, and with just a two-year deal with the Bulls, these maybe the last of Dwyane Wade's productive starting years before either coming off the bench or retiring.

Overall: Although his age and style of play may not fit the system, Wade's role on this team will most likely be as Jimmy Butler's sidekick in scoring while being a teacher/mentor with Rajon Rondo to younger guards like Jerian Grant and Denzel Valentine to groom them for the future.

Predicted Stats:
Points/Game- 18.6
Assists/Game- 5.4
Rebounds/Game- 4.1
Steals/Game- 1.2
Turnovers/Game- 2.4
Field Goal%- .476
3 Pt. %- .292

- Jimmy Butler: Guard/Forward #21

When Dwyane Wade says that this Chicago Bulls' team is "Jimmy Butler's team", I feel that he is not just talking about this coming season. In fact, ever since Butler has begun to emerge as a rising star for the Bulls, I've continued to and still stand by my claim that Butler was Chicago's premiere franchise player over hometown hero and nostalgia choice Derrick Rose. My reason for saying so: Rose's two ACL injuries hindered any forward progress in his career on both a physical and mental level [but that is just my opinion on that]. But it seems clear that the bulk of our success will lay on how Jimmy Butler works both on and off the court.

Although I consider Butler to be the Bulls' franchise player, I can understand where people would come from when they say that his stats do not reflect that of a franchise player with 13.6 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 2.6 APG, & 1.4 SPG in five years. However, in those five years here in Chicago, three out of the five have seen him score in double digits (13.1 PPG in 2013, 20.0 PPG in 2014, and 20.9 in 2015) which has helped to make him into a more complete baller when combined with his outstanding defense. And while it's has only been the last two seasons that have taken him to the next level as the team's star/franchise player, he's shown he's got the fire inside to try be the best he can possibly be in the NBA. The only concern that would be here is whether or not he has the ability to carry this momentum going forward and even higher to eventually get this team to The Dance.

The only other concerns that could be found with Jimmy Butler are two things: Injuries and loyalty/leadership. Okay, so that is technically three things. The concern of injuries for Butler is that ever since becoming a starter in 2013, he has not played a whole 82-game season. By doing some simple math with the number of games he has played and started over the last three years, it comes out that Butler is averaging about 66 games over the last three years. Now it's not a major, "Oh no! He's done for!", issue, but it is one that should be understood by the fans. 

The other parts of Butler that could be a problem are both his leadership and loyalty to the team. Now in terms of loyalty, I mean toward Hoiberg and all of the front office and not the team (just yet). After last year's fiasco in which Butler seemingly called out Hoiberg as having a very weak way of approaching the game, it's very hard to look at him and believe that, even with all these new additions, that he will still buy into Hoiberg's style of coaching. It'll be even worse if it comes from both Butler and Rondo. And then the issue of leadership is just trying to feel out and see if Butler is ready to be "the man" & "go-to guy" for this organization both on and off the court.

Overall: While Jimmy Butler has shown us that he can play at an elite level like a franchise player should, much of his success this coming season will come down to whether or not he will buy into Hoiberg's system and how he will be played in it with his other star teammates.

Predicted Stats:
Points/Game- 21.4
Assists/Game- 3.3
Rebounds/Game- 6.4
Steals/Game- 1.4
Turnovers/Game- 1.4
Field Goal%- .438
3 Pt. %- .363

- Bobby Portis: Forward #5

I have to say that this was a hard choice to make because of the numerous options you have to go with at power forward. From my eyes alone, i would say that the Bulls have about four options at this position with Portis, Nikola Mirotic, Taj Gibson, and Cristiano Felicio. But I decided that Portis would be the guy that would be on the floor at the start of the season. My choice came from his performance in the summer league games combined with what he has showcased to Chicago whenever he's stepped on the court. But to be fair, these are all just predictions of mine. For all I know, Hoiberg could still decide on putting Mirotic or Gibson in at the position (Felicio as backup center).

So here's the thing when it comes to making a call on Portis: there is not that much to go off of as far as NBA competition. But that is also a benefit for him as well because it means that his ceiling could be who knows how high. During his rookie season last year, Portis averaged 17.8 minutes per game and was able to to average 7.0 PPG, 5.4 RPG, & 0.4 BPG. Now with all that being said about how many points, rebounds, and blocks he has in almost 18 minutes on the court, we can then predict what his stats may be if he is allowed to play more time. So in the case that he is made a full-time starter with 30+ minutes per game, we could then multiply his 17.8 minutes by 2 to get 35.6 minutes per game. That means that Portis would then be averaging 14.0 PPG, 10.8 RPG, & 0.8 BPG. But again, that is all based on that is his stats from his first season.

The only concern I've seen with Bobby Portis has been how to play him. ports has shown that at 6'11", he has the ability to take the ball down the court if need be and utilize his multi-range of shooting to knock down shots. But then does that mean that Portis will be strictly power forward or will he also see some time at center potentially? I wouldn't put it against Hoiberg to make him the big man down low and see what he can do. And the other issue that could come is what is wrong with most people in their early 20s which is that he is still growing into his own and trying to find what works for him best in his work environment.

Overall: As good as Taj Gibson has been for the Bulls over his career on both offense and defense, It seems to me that Bobby Portis i the future starting power forward of this team with Nikola Mirotic coming off the bench or possibly splitting the time (depending on how they both improve).

Predicted Stats: (based on assumption that he plays 24-25 min.)
Points/Game- 10.2
Assists/Game- 1.1
Rebounds/Game- 8.5
Steals/Game- 0.4
Turnovers/Game- 1.2
Field Goal%- .469
3 Pt. %- .310

- Robin Lopez: Center #97

Just like I had difficulty figuring out who would be the starter at power forward, it was just as difficult to make a decision at center. Yes, Robin Lopez is the only one on the roster that is "technically" a center big man. But I also decided to factor in his backup, (more than likely), the young and strong Brazilian Cristiano Felicio. Although Felicio is only 6'10" and weighs in at 275 lbs., I have to say that his "go hard" mentality and ability makes him a viable option here. But I chose Lopez because he is a true seven-foot tall big man and I think Hoiberg will throw him in there for the size aspect of it.

First things first, shut up about how Robin Lopez is a junk journeyman player that is not worth anything. yes, I did think that Lopez, Calderon, and Grant traded for Rose was a bit like for how good Rose has been in the past. But we have to remember that we are giving them a broken Rose that barely has enough left in him in my opinion. Plus in return, we got a big man who knows his defense and a young guard in Jerian Grant to start grooming for the future. But enough of that; back to Lopez.

Lopez does have questions marks on him in the form of, "How healthy will he be all season long?" It's a decent question to ask when you consider that he missed quite a few games in the early stage of his career. However, the last four seasons have seen Lopez play and start in all 82 games of the season three times (2012-'13, 2015). During those three seasons, Lopez was also able to score in double digits as well, but that has not been enough to bring his averages up across the board. However, all fans should be aware that Robin Lopez is not the prolific scorer like Pau Gasol was or the rebounding machine that Joakim Noah was with the Bulls. And the fans must also remember that Robin is NOT his brother, Brook Lopez.

Overall: While Robin Lopez would not be my first choice after what I saw Felicio could do around the basket while down low in the post, I would bet that we see him start at center and taking most of the minutes for time before they allow Cristiano Felicio to come in and try his hand at playing more minutes.

Predicted Stats:
Points/Game- 8.6
Assists/Game- 3.2
Rebounds/Game- 8.5
Steals/Game- 0.6
Turnovers/Game- 2.3
Field Goal%- .516
3 Pt. %- .000

{Click here to read: "2016-'17 Chicago Bulls: The Bench"}