The Chicago Bulls have signed Aaron Brooks to help backup Derrick Rose and he joins Pau Gasol and Nikola Mirotic as important additions this offseason and that means rumored trades from earlier this summer regarding Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson are way on the backburner and the franchise is continuing to build and other free agent options include Jordan Crawford, Jameer Nelson, Andrew Bynum, Ray Allen, Mo Williams, Elton Brand, Francisco Garcia and Andray Blatche as potential targets.
According to ESPN.com, the Bulls have added Aaron Brooks to their roster and now he joins Pau Gasol as well as Doug McDermott, who was acquired in a draft night trade. Brooks comes in after averaging nine points and three rebounds last season while playing with the Rockets and the Nuggets and he will provide depth off the bench for the team. Derrick Rose is expecting to come back healthy this season and Brooks will serve as a backup for him and as an option off the bench. The team also retained Kirk Hinrich and he joins back with European star Nikola Mirotic after the team bought out his contract with Real Madrid and signed him.
Last season the Bulls were ranked first in the NBA in points per game and last in scoring per game and that was why they went after Carmelo Anthony so hard. The team has offensive issues and while Gasol will help with that a bit, he is not a pure scorer like Anthony. The Bulls are hoping that the addition of Nikola Mirotic as well as Doug McDermott in a draft day trade will help with the offensive woes and their combination could end up being as a good of an impact as Melo would have been. Last season the Bulls had DJ Augustin and used a combination of players to make up for the loss of Rose, as he was injured for the second straight season.
The Bulls have been active this offseason while signing Gasol and they have also added back Kirk Hinrich and signed Mirotic from Europe after having his draft rights. Gar Forman talked about having teams offer first round picks for Mirotic and the team feels that adding him is like signing a high level free agent and they are expecting big things from him. The team missed out on Carmelo Anthony this offseason, but signing Mirotic is a huge move and he could be the offensive option the team needs.
The Bulls are deep with Jimmy Butler and Tony Snell as well as Hinrich and now second-round draft pick Cameron Bairstow and that could give the team some strong options off the bench along with Brooks. The team has the chance to be a major factor in the east this season and names like Jordan Crawford or Jameer Nelson could be options, as Crawford was solid last season coming off playing with the Warriors, averaging 11 points and four assists per game. The Bulls are battling with the Pacers and the Cavs in the division and the return of LeBron should make things dramatic in the central.
