The Chicago Bulls are slowly winding down the season as they only have a handful of games left.
The Bulls are currently on a three-game winning streak and are fighting for a spot in the play-in tournament with the Miami Heat.
The Bulls sit at 27-38 for the season, which is good enough for tenth in the Eastern Conference standings.
The Bulls should focus their sites on the offseason instead of the play-in tournament, but they’re forcing their way in regardless. This offseason will be critical for the rebuild, and a few players on the current roster will likely be on the move for next season.
One player likely to not be back with the Chicago Bulls next season
The Bulls have quite a few guards on their roster that they’ll need to shed this offseason. Josh Giddey is the Bull’s starting point guard and is playing his way to get a nice contract extension this offseason.
Of the guards on the Bulls roster, Tre Jones will likely not be the one not to return for next season.
Jones was traded to the Bulls from the San Antonio Spurs at the Feb 6 trade deadline for Zach LaVine, who went to the Sacramento Kings. Jones has been a decent player, providing production as a starter and a role player.
In 13 games with the Bulls, Tre has averaged 22.0 minutes a game, scoring 9.6 points, grabbing 2.8 rebounds, and dishing out 3.7 assists. Jones has also been a fantastic free-throw shooter with the Bulls, shooting 90.5% from the stripe on 19-21 attempts.
Jones is well-liked by his head coach, Billy Donovan, who Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune recorded Donovan stating Jones has the ‘it’ factor and he’s a winner.
“He’s got the ‘it’ factor,” Donovan said of the former Duke star. “He really does. He’s just a winner.”
This statement from Donovan comes on the heels of Jones starting in place of Lonzo Ball who is currently injured and has missed the last four games.
Why Jones is likely not to return
With the emergence of Giddey, who has been on a tear as of late, Jones is likely not expected to return for next season. As Poe states in her article, Jones is strictly a point guard, whereas Giddey can play the point, the shooting guard, and the small forward positions.
Since the Bulls have so many guards on the roster, it wouldn’t make much sense for them to bring Jones back.
The Bull’s top priority this summer will be to resign Giddey and add another big or a wing to pair with Giddey and rookie phenom Matas Buzelis. The Bulls need to spend money on a bonafide superstar, which they lack.
The remainder of the season
Choosing to resign Jones would be a safe move for the Bulls to make and fall right into line with how the front office likes to operate. The Bulls need to take a risk and spend a little, which will help set them on the road to success.
If the Bulls chose to go down the road of adding another big or another wing, then there wouldn’t be room to keep Jones.
These last handful of games are likely a tryout, to put it mildly, for Jones to prove he is worth keeping around.
