Connor Bedard (Creative Commons/Openverse)
It’s not even July and Chicago’s two alleged major league baseball teams have already killed off hope of 2024 being a decent season. But hey, in Chicago the best season is always the off season for whatever sport.
While baseball hope for a given season generally has a short life expectancy in Chicago, 2024 has been especially brutal. Already attention has shifted to the Bears, Blackhawks and Bulls. At least there are some moves by those teams to consider.
The Bulls are in transition
The Bulls have shown recognition of the fact the team is not particularly good. The Bulls traded Alex Caruso to the Thunder Josh Giddey. There is talk that the Bulls should have gotten more, but actually Giddey seems like a pretty good return. Giddey is only 21 years old and has good playmaking ability.
Alex Caruso is more of a finishing piece on a good contender, not a cornerstone. Plus, he’s 30 years old. Giddey has considerably more upside and fills a need the Bulls have.
The Bulls first round pick was 6’9″ playmaking forward, Matas Buzelis. Buzelis is versatile and has potential to guard any position on the court with the exception of center. Shooting, especially from distance, is considered his weakness.
The Bulls re-signed forward Patrick Williams to a 5-year, $90 million deal. Williams profiles as a good defender and a decent three-point shooter. The Bulls profile off a different version of a mediocre team.
Questions remain
Will the Bulls retain their two marquee players, Zach LeVine and DeMar DeRozan? If they had their druthers, LeVine would probably be gone. DeRozan is probably about even money to stay, though the Bulls would prefer him over LeVine.
It would be nice if the team could move center Nikola Vucevic and his diminishing skills, but that would be a heavy lift.
The biggest question with the Bulls is what level of basketball Hades they will be in.
The Blackhawks will be better
The Hawks had three first round draft picks, including the second overall pick defenseman, Artyom Levshunov. Levshunov was considered the best defenseman in NCAA hockey. He could help the team immediately.
The Hawks also have plenty of cap space, and there are some good scorers available in free agency. Hopefully the Hawks will sign one of them to provide Connor Bedard with some help.
The Hawks should definitely be better this season. They may even be watchable
The Bears kickoff can’t come soon enough
The Caleb Williams era begins for real on September 8 when the Chicago Bears square off against the Tennessee Titans. The Bears will hopefully add another pass rusher by then. Expectations are high for the 2024 season. Just like they were for the 2024 Cubs season.
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