DeMar was the problem and the Bulls will win more games this year without him.

[PlayerUp]

Lets wait until 6-10 games into the regular season to start forming conclusions here. It's preseason and it's just a level above the summer league / all star game with actually taking these games that seriously.

I do agree the new roster minus DeMar looks more appealing but we're still lacking a true #1 and we still have serious problems down low.

[ChettheJet]

He wasn't the problem. The young guys were afraid to make plays when they thought they should get the ball to Demar. Look at last night, PWill had the ball on the high post, Lonzo signaled that he was back cutting and did so, quick pass and a lay up. In the past Coby, Ayo, PWill not even Zach could signal Demar and expect a pass if they cut to the basket, he was just looking to clear space to get his mid range jumper. Other players knew this so they never made that kind of cut.

Now with Zach hopefully taking a less ball dominating role, so there's no clear #1 these guys will move the ball more and be willing to find the open man. That doesn't mean Zach doesn't take the most shots and score the most points but he does that without pounding the ball or throwing up tough shots.

[Ballerkingn23]

Correct me if i'm wrong but we're we one of the best teams not just in the east but in baseketball when Ball,Zach,Vuc and Dmo were all healthy, right before Ball went down ??

[TheGOATRises007]

Correct me if i'm wrong but we're we one of the best teams not just in the east but in baseketball when Ball,Zach,Vuc and Dmo were all healthy, right before Ball went down ??

We were a solid/good team, but our net rating was never indicative of a great team.

We were overperforming even then.

[LateNight]

If we are better this season, I will attribute it almost entirely to lonzo ball

[vxmike]

I could think of 3 big problems not named Demar.

But I readily admit that you need to equip your team correctly to win games with him. And playing him with Vuc, Zach, Pat and mediocre 3P shooters was hard to watch.

I don’t really understand why Sacramento went for him. I don’t think that’ll work well for them.

I think Demar will at least help them make the playoffs which is probably their goal. But yeah I don’t think they’ll do anything more with him.

Sacramento wanted someone/anyone to help give them a boost after failing last year. They wanted Zach too. They ended up with Demar at a cheaper price. It’s not a bad move for them and not the greatest either.

The Kings needed a guy who can get them clutch buckets in the playoffs when the games slow down. Demar is very good at that. If he’s ok not being the focal point of their offense I think it helps them potentially win a playoff series.

[HomoSapien]

Just look at last year's team and realistically tell me where they should have finished. Most of the board thinks Vuc is the worst starting center in the league. Pat was awful for half the time he played, and then was unhealthy the rest of the season. Same can be said for Zach. Craig was good but always in and out of the lineup. Carter was a bust.

Given all that, plus all the limitations with the personnel 40 wins sees to be either right on expectations or an overachievement. I really can't see any argument for how DeMar was the problem and how we'll suddenly win more specifically because he's gone.

[ShouldaPaidBG]

You can't be a non-defender and a non-floor spacer and succeed unless you're surrounded with 4 people whose skills are defending and spacing the floor.

[greenwing]

DeMar was not the problem. The roster construction was the problem. Lavine and DeMar only fit together with a floor general point guard like Lonzo. As soon as he went down the two guys could not coexist effectively. Giddey with an even 50% Lonzo as a backup point guard makes the entire roster better. If Demar was still here this team would be way better than last year even without Caruso. As of now, if you want this team to succeed then Lavine needs to stay healthy and return to being the guy like he was before DeMar came to town. That being said, a successful team this season has a likely ceiling of a low playoff seed. If the reports of this upcoming draft being deep are true, then this is the year they should tank. I do not like tanking, but you have to pick a lane. Hope that Giddey and Patrick Williams turn into something (less likely with the latter) and that Lavine and Ball return to form or tear it down and build around Giddey, White and Buzelis. You have to see how this roster performs and make a decision based on early returns.

[rjforniss]

I’m not saying Demar was the problem because he was definitely our most consistent, trustworthy player, but I am enjoying seeing the ball move around a lot more this season. It doesn’t stick to any anybody’s hands too long and their play style is faster. Will this transfer over to bimeong a better team? Only time will tell, but I have zero expectations for this season so I’m just going to sit back and enjoy the rollercoaster.

[MrSparkle]

Analytics don’t lie. You have a better chance winning chucking 3Ps at a competent/league-average rate than running elite/efficient midrange offense. That alone should help.

I think losing Caruso and adding Giddey to the rotation is going to impact the Bulls more.

[WindyCityBorn]

If we are better this season, I will attribute it almost entirely to lonzo ball

You would be wrong. Ball won’t play enough to make that kind of impact.

[Bandit King]

Bulls should be more athletic without demar weather is Lavine or Matas at small forward.

[chitownsports4ever]

Demar was not the problem and we will probably win more games but its because we now have more offense contributors and more than one person to help us maintain the pace and style of play that the entire team can benefit from.

[weneeda2guard]

Several times this preseason we got flashes of those offensive explosions we had when this team first got put together and lonzo was running the point. With lonzo and giddy here basically doing the same thing and all these pieces scoring should be an issue. We have put up 120 in 3 of our 5 preseason games. And there have been times where we have devastated our opponents when we have gone on these runs

Our defense could be an issue. Won't be bad enough where we can't make the playoffs but will be bad enough where we can't make it out the 1st rd

Then there is coaching. We have a lot of guys here will billy play who needs to be played at the right times or will we still see Vuc closing games when he playing horribly?

Also Coby White's role doesn't seem fully defined. There were a lot of times when lonzo and giddy where running the offense Coby seemed like the odd man out.

So in some sense I agree DeRozan and his ball stopping hurt the offense and we won't miss that
Where we will miss DeRozan is on close games during the clutch. And that is where most of our wins must come. We could def be a team that looks back and have a ton of losses 5pts or less.

[kodo]

Correct me if i'm wrong but we're we one of the best teams not just in the east but in baseketball when Ball,Zach,Vuc and Dmo were all healthy, right before Ball went down ??

The best the Bulls have been was 2023 after Zach fully healed and took over the #1 scoring load and Demar went to #2. And we started both Caruso & Beverley instead of just using AC off the bench. We were 3rd in net rating after the AS break.

While Lonzo was healthy we were 4th in W-L, but only 11th in net rating, our defense was pretty poor.

[Hangtime84]

Vuc was the problem last year. And honestly he was Billy love for him and Vuc taking all the damn FGAs

[jordanwilliams6]

I actually don’t think this is far from the truth.

Demar is a great guy and a great teammate but literally everything about his game is the antithesis to modern basketball. Slow tempo, no 3’s and heavy midrange and poor defense. All 3 are easy trademarks of losing team basketball.

[Stratmaster]

I was one of the biggest proponents for shedding Demar. However, my reasoning was that has they traded him a year and a half earlier for a good PG his offensive production could be offset. The problem was always having no one who could aggressively and confidently play the point on offense.

The team is not "better without Demar". But they might be better without Demar, adding Giddey and Lonzo, with Zach being able to do what he does best and Coby and Ayo taking more of a scoring role.

If Lonzo is back playing like he did pre-injury this team would be even better WITH Demar. But that seemed like a pipe dream for the last 2 seasons.

[LateNight]

If we are better this season, I will attribute it almost entirely to lonzo ball

You would be wrong. Ball won’t play enough to make that kind of impact.

I mean - I doubt he himself would make that much of an impact, but attributing any positive to losing demar would be equally dumb