Despite watching their season end at the hands of the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Play-In Tournament for the third straight year, the Chicago Bulls had an encouraging finish to the 2024-25 campaign.

Josh Giddey and Coby White took massive steps toward becoming the franchise’s backcourt of the future. Giddey fixed one of his most glaring weaknesses by becoming a reliable, knockdown three-point shooter. He hit nearly 38 percent of his shots from deep this year compared to 33.7 percent last season. That ballooned to 45.7 percent after the All-Star break.

White settled in comfortably as the Bulls’ No. 1 offensive option after Zach LaVine’s departure. The 24-year-old won back-to-back Eastern Conference Player of the Week Awards and the Player of the Month Award for March after averaging 27.7 points across 15 games. He ended the regular season scoring a career-high 20.4 ppg.

Matas Buzelis, who Chicago selected with the 11th pick in the 2024 draft, started the final 31 games of the regular season and averaged 13.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.9 assists over that span. The 20-year-old rookie also led the Bulls in blocks this year.

Most importantly, Chicago was 15-5 in its last 20 games (ninth-best in the NBA) before getting embarrassed by the Heat.

Now, the Bulls’ front office must determine what comes next because, despite the bad taste that will sit in fans’ mouths all offseason, there was clear progress made and momentum that desperately needs to be carried into 2025-26.

These five players must pack their bags and leave The Windy City for that to happen.

Bulls who must be replaced this offseason to hasten rebuild

1. Ayo Dosunmu

Why would Chicago get rid of one of its best young players in the beginning stages of a complete roster overhaul? All things being equal, they shouldn’t. Unfortunately, they may not have a choice.

Giddey’s late-season surge has earned him a massive payday, one that will likely come from the Bulls. White is an unrestricted free agent after next season, and Chicago will almost certainly shell out a max, or near max, contract before he hits the market. That pair will form one of the most expensive backcourts in the league when their respective deals kick in.

Dosunmu has always been a solid defender, but before a shoulder injury cut his season short, the 25-year-old was in the middle of a career year offensively, posting averages of 12.3 points and 4.5 assists. But the Illinois product will simply be too expensive and less important than Giddey and White. Paying a third guard the kind of money Dosunmu will earn would be unwise.

2. Patrick Williams

There’s not much left to say about Williams. The fourth overall pick in the 2020 draft has failed to live up to expectations. Even when expectations were lowered, he fell far short of those.

His physical attributes still jump off the page. The Florida State product is (somehow) only 23 years old. Williams is strong, long, quick and explosive. He’s a 3-and-D forward made in a lab.

Yet he averaged just 9.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 25 minutes per game across 63 contests this year, 36 of which were starts before he was replaced by Buzelis.

And he’s wrapping up the first season of a five-year, $90 million extension handed to him last offseason.

If the front office can rid itself of that unforgivable mistake (or go back in time and not do it at all since it made absolutely no sense), maybe there would be some extra money to play with to hold onto someone like Dosunmu.

3. Nikola Vucevic, Zach Collins, Jalen Smith

This might seem like cheating, but it’s really not. Bulls fans have been clamoring for the franchise to trade Vucevic for years, and it seemed like it might finally happen at this season’s trade deadline. But the team’s frontcourt rot goes far deeper than its 34-year-old starter. The big man rotation needs a complete overhaul because it can’t defend in any sense of the word.

The Bulls gave up 54 points in the paint per game this season, last in the NBA by a wide margin. They allowed the third-most points per game (119.4), were third-worst in creating turnovers and finished 19th in defensive rating.

And then, fittingly, the Heat game happened.

Giddey may have improved his three-point stroke, but he’s still one of the worst point-of-attack defenders in the league. White doesn’t resemble a shutdown defender in any way. A backcourt that can’t stop players from getting to the rim needs switchable rim-protectors and wings behind it.

The Bulls will be stuck in Play-In Purgatory until their defense gets fixed, and that starts with the big men.