Goran Dragic, Andre Drummond Providing Major Value To Chicago Bulls To Start Season

The Chicago Bulls’ 2022 offseason was rather underwhelming in the moment. The free agent additions of Andre Drummond and then Goran Dragic seemed like uninspiring and cheap moves that would only marginally improve the Bulls’ depth, almost solely because the players they were replacing couldn’t be much worse. The ducking of the luxury tax only added to the disappointment.

While there’s still a long season ahead, the early returns on these signings have actually been terrific and a pleasant surprise. This veteran duo is bolstering a bench unit that has made a major impact for the Bulls, with their chemistry from their Brooklyn Nets days together last season shining through.

The 36-year-old Dragic has been a revelation after his addition on a veteran’s minimum contract felt strange when it happened because of a crowded Bulls backcourt that was hoping to get Lonzo Ball back. However, Ball needing another knee surgery and being out for months to start the season opened the door for the veteran to slide into the backup point guard spot behind Ayo Dosunmu. Dragic has certainly made the most of his minutes and is destroying the washed narrative, constantly pushing pace and flying around the court looking like his former All-Star self.

Dragic is averaging 8.6 points and 4.2 assists in just 17.4 minutes per game, giving him 17.8 points and 8.7 assists per 36 minutes. His career per-36 mark for assists is 6.2, with a career high of 7.9 coming in 2012-13. He’s running the offense and setting the table in impressive fashion:

As seen in the video, the chemistry with Drummond is palpable, with Dragic’s lob-throwing giving the big man plenty of easy baskets. Dragic has been pulling off some serious wizardly with his lobs, including on this one to Javonte Green:

Dragic is also shooting 61.5% from 3-point range, which will come down significantly but has been a big help in the early stages of this season. He has been a solid 3-point shooter for his career (36.3%), and the Bulls will take what they can get in this area.

Chicago is a plus-37 in Dragic’s 87 minutes on the court (plus-22 in 70 minutes with Drummond) while playing at a blistering 103.76 pace, per NBA.com. The Bulls don’t want to overextend him, but using him in this role where he can go pedal to the medal for 15 to 20 minutes per game has been perfect so far. Billy Donovan rightfully trusts him way more than Coby White, who saw his minutes dip the last two games.

As for Drummond, he continues to rebound at an elite level, snatching 9.4 boards in just 15.6 minutes per game. That’s good for a whopping 21.7 rebounds per 36 minutes. Like that Dragic assist number, this would be a career high.

The 29-year-old has never been an elite rim protector despite his hulking presence, but he’s doing an admirable job on defense right now as part of a bench unit that’s getting a lot of stops. They’re turning that defense into offense, thanks in large part to Dragic pushing pace.

Drummond can still sometimes be a headache when he tries to do too much with the ball in his hands. He has struggled to finish around the rim when he’s not dunking, and he’s turning the ball over at a high rate. But when he sticks to just rebounding, setting screens, catching lobs and playing sound defense, he’s the perfect backup center. He has even shown a willingness to shoot 3-pointers, though he’s 0-of-2 in the regular season after going 3-of-3 in a preseason game.

Ultimately, the former All-Star is a clear upgrade over the departed Tristan Thompson and third-string center Tony Bradley. While signing the younger Isaiah Hartenstein to a more lucrative deal (he went to the Knicks for two years, $16 million) still would have been more appealing, Drummond is providing good value on his two-year, $6.56 million contract.

Dragic and Drummond still need to prove they can be this effective over the course of a full season and into the playoffs. Teams will make adjustments, and the wear and tear of a long season will come into play. That’s especially true when it comes to two veterans with a lot of miles on them.

But so far, these signings are looking like home runs for Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley after they faced criticism for their offseason plans.