Via NBA.com
With Dwyane Wade's future with the team uncertain, the players pictured above are the face of the Chicago Bulls. Sorry Bulls' fans. The rebuild has begun. Fan favorite Dwyane Wade seems to be halfway out the door, and the Bulls have now fully erased the Tom Thibodeau era by reuniting Jimmy Butler with Thibodeau in Minnesota--making Nikola Mirotic the longest tenured Bull (if he resigns). Again, the rebuild has begun. That rebuild is centered around the up-and-down philosophy of Head Coach Fred Hoiberg. Hoiberg has stressed the need for a certain roster to fit his philosophy, so the Bulls front office being the Bulls front office gave him virtually no roster.
Best Case Scenario
Via HoopSeen
The best possible scenario for any tanking team is to see all that hard tank pay off with a high draft pick. The 2018 NBA Draft is filled with young franchise-changing prospects such as: Luka Donic, Marvin Bagley III, Michael Porter Jr, and the list goes on. Landing a top-5 pick would immediately speed up the rebuild process and give the Bulls a respectable face of the franchise for years to come. Aside from a successful tank, Chicago's season can be seen as a success if the young backcourt of Dunn and LaVine develops to its potential. LaVine posted a solid 18.9 points per game, before tearing his ACL 47 games into the season. Dunn, on the other hand, failed to come close to living up to a top-5 pick's hype--averaging a measly 3.8 points and 2.4 assists a night. Prospects like the sweet stroke 7-footer Lauri Markkanen and the returning bright spots Denzel Valentine and Bobby Portis should leave Bulls' fans with a glimmer of hope for the upcoming season. And if that doesn't work, they can always turn on a college game and envision the top prospects in a Bulls jersey.
Worst Case Scenario
Via SLAMonline
Dwyane Wade is a Chicago fan favorite, but no one, including Dwyane Wade, wants to see him in a Bulls Jersey this season. Wade is too good for the team to properly tank, but not good enough to turn a rebuilding team into a contending team. Along with giving the team secretly unwanted wins, Wade remaining on the roster is a clear hindrance to the development of the team's young guards. Throwing Dunn, LaVine, and Valentine into the proverbial fire far outweighs the veteran knowledge Wade has to offer--no matter how valuable. The worst thing Chicago can do is slow down its rebuild by not buying out a clear outlier in their otherwise young unproven roster.
Prediction: 27-55; if the Bulls do the right thing (buyout D Wade), which knowing the Bulls they probably won't.