THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY BY DANIEL ROWELL (@DANIELJROWELL)

The have had the look of a contender for almost five straight years. They boast a starting five with a former Most Valuable Player, Most Improved Player, Defensive Player of the Year, and a five-time All Star; two previous Rookies of the Years; two regular- season Eastern Conference titles; and just in the back of the trophy-case, a dust-free square where Tom Thibodeau's Trophy was once stowed. But looks can be deceiving. With seven straight playoff appearances, Chicago has made it out of the second round just once, and left a fanbase disappointed with four first round exits. As the Bulls begin the transition to the Hoiberg Era, the question remains: Are the Chicago Bulls a championship contender, or is this team on the verge of a rebuild?

It is hard to name a time in Chicago when there was not championship-or-bust CHICAGO BULLS expectations for the Bulls, and for the 2015-16 season, it is easy to see how the case can be made to go for it. Chicago is one of few teams to retain their entire roster from last season, only adding rookie power forward Bobby Portis and . A consensus favorite for the second seed in a weak Eastern Conference, the Bulls’ only obstacle to a Finals appearance is a team which they led 2-1 in the Eastern Conference Semifinals last year. And as my watercooler continues to remind me, the Bulls were a blown timeout technical foul away from a 3-1 lead. If Hoiberg can find a way to solve the minutes controversy, install some innovation to a bland pick-and-roll offense, and get the Bulls back to the playoffs with a full bill of health, the case could be made for a Eastern Conference Championship.

The Bulls, in many ways have the same ingredients as the did last season. A charismatic first year coach enters a veteran locker room split from the controversial exit of an esteemed head coach. An experienced team that hasn’t quite lived up to it’s playoff potential, unites with a us-versus-the-world mentality. A promising young core is given the offensive scheme they need to play to their potential. But this also a team with the ninth-worst percentage (44.2 percent) and only the tenth best three-point percentage (35.3 percent) in the league last season. Not to mention a injury history so long that half the Bulls fan base now carry medical licenses.

A closer comparison to the Warriors-model begins to show Chicago’s receding returns. The Breakout MVP? Awarded in 2011, currently on the bench with an orbital fracture and a career 30.4 three-point percentage. The DPOY Frontcourt? Last seen in 2013, now battling a bad foot and a contract that’s up at the end of the year. The COY with NBA pedigree? Now watching tapes of the 2007 NBA Finals in a motel in Naperville.

So maybe the Bulls are not the next “best offense and best defense in the NBA” But what remains below a receding old guard is young core that is well into a rebuild. Between breakout all-star, , rookie of the year runner-up, Nikola Mirotic, and two wings ready for the challenge of a Hoiberg three-point offense (Doug McDermott and Tony Snell), the next generation of the Bulls franchise may be ready to fill the roles missing from an injury-ridden roster.

This side-by-side of veteran experience and youthful talent has kept the Bulls consistently atop the East through the past five years. The team's two healthiest stars, Pau Gasol and Jimmy Butler, led much of the regular season charge for the team’s third place finish. Gasol led the league in double-doubles and finished second in defensive rebounds behind DeAndre Jordan. Butler averaged 20 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 3.3 assists, finishing fourth in the league with 386 made free throws, behind Harden, Westbrook, and Cousins. As for the 2015-16 season, with so many preseason injuries, it is difficult to predict if the Bulls will ever be able to achieve “full strength”, let alone what a starting lineup may look like. Between Butler’s max contract, and Rose’s fractured offseason, the case can be made that this is now Jimmy Butler’s season. With Hoiberg making lineup decisions at training camp, and previous starters Rose and Dunleavy absent, it is possible the starting five could be very different to start the season. The Bulls most talented players, Butler and Gasol would be expected to take the lead. But the most intriguing lineup questions remain: Who starts, Mirotic or Noah? (I give Mirotic the edge based on his Eurobasket training). How will Hoiberg use Rose upon his return? And what minutes restrictions will the Bulls use on their high-milage roster?

Still, whatever storyline takes shape this season for the Bulls, a Rose-led last-stand against the Cleveland Cavaliers or an injury-ridden transition to a Butler/Hoiberg rebuild, the franchise future is clear. The only guaranteed contract on the Bulls’ books for 2017? Jimmy Butler’s $18.6 million.

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