Jeff Van Gundy doubts Chicago Bulls chances for next season – NBA News
The Chicago Bulls have been one of the teams making constant headlines in this year’s off-season. But unlike the Brooklyn Nets or the Los Angeles Lakers, they have been in the news for their inability to sign good players and keep
the franchise as a title contender going into next season.
The Bulls lost their all star MVP point guard Derrick Rose to an ACL injury in game 1 of the first round of the playoffs last season. He has since undergone a knee surgery and is currently rehabbing from the injury.
The point guard is expected to miss the first few months of next season and will be making a comeback sometime around March next year. With the face of the franchise out for a long time, the Bulls chances for next season already
seemed grim.
And then the Bulls went through a mediocre off-season in which they parted ways with many of their bench players, who were a critical component of the Bulls success over the past two seasons.
Kyle Korver, Omer Asik, C.J. Watson, Ronnie Brewer and John Lucas III will all be playing for different teams next season.
The Bulls signed Kirk Hinrich, Marco Belinelli and Vladimir Radmanovic to complete the roster but it is uncertain if they will be able to live up to the expectations of the team management as well as the fans. With Rose out, they
will have an ever bigger role to perform and it is uncertain if they are capable of doing so.
Jeff Van Gundy, former head coach of the New York Knicks and current analyst with ESPN/ABC is not giving the benefit of doubt to the new look Bulls and sees them missing the playoffs next season.
Van Gundy was on the ESPN 1000’s “Waddle and Silvy Show”:
“To lose Rose by itself is going to cost you — even if you thought they were a 55-win team with Rose — that costs you 12-15 games right there. And then all the other guys I think people are overlooking,” said Van Gundy.
“Their point guard situation last year was the MVP and a very good backup. This year it’s a combo guard in Hinrich and we’ll see who they can get as a backup. At the two-guard, (Rip) Hamilton is always hurt. Deng, you don’t know
where he’s going to be injury-wise” added the former coach.
The Bulls hopes of finishing with a respectable position next season now rests on how well Rose can return from injury and the tactics of head coach Tom Thibodeau.
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