The Chicago Bulls have been off to a solid start this season despite dealing with injuries to Derrick Rose, Taj Gibson and Pau Gasol and if Rose continues to stay off the court, Will Bynum or Mike James could be signed to help give depth to the roster, while future moves may include trade deals or signing Ray Allen after earlier interest this summer.
Rose has been coming back slowly from two years of knee injuries and he has also dealt with ankle injuries in the early part of the season. According to Pro Basketball Talk, the Chicago Tribune reports that the Bulls may look at adding some point guard depth if Rose continues to deal with injuries, with Will Bynum and Mike James as potential targets on the free agent market after John Lucas signed in China. The Bulls have Kirk Hinrich on the roster, but he is also dealing with a slight injury after bruising his ribs.
Gasol has been banged up a bit, while Gibson is dealing with an ankle injury after spraining it last week. Gibson went down hard against the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night and that could keep him out even with the results coming back negative on the ankle. Gibson has sprained his ankle multiple times over the past two seasons and it could be a nagging issue for him heading into the December part of the schedule.
Allen still remains a free agent and he could stay on the market until around the All-Star break before signing with a team. The Bulls were mentioned as one of the teams interested in Allen over the summer alongside the Clippers, Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers. The Bulls have Doug McDermott and Mike Dunleavy as their best three point shooters and Allen could be an option if he comes back later in the season. Jimmy Butler has been playing heavy minutes for the Bulls this season with Rose dealing with injuries and he has been very impressive early on.
The Bulls comes into Monday night with an 8-5 record this season and they are first in the central division and in the top part of the eastern conference. The team has the Nuggets on Tuesday night and with a back to back coming up, some of those players may continue to sit out. The Bulls are ranked in the middle of the pack this season in both scoring on offense and defense in points per game with the shuffling lineup.
