(670 The Score) On Dec. 23, 2020, the Bulls opened the Arturas Karnisovas-Marc Eversley-Billy Donovan era with an embarrassing 124-104 loss to the Hawks at the United Center. It was a sign of what was to come – another rough season that ended at 31-41.
Less than 10 months later, the Bulls opened another new campaign with an ugly-but-effective 94-88 win at the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday evening. It marked the start of another new era in the sense that the Bulls now have only three players remaining – Zach LaVine, Patrick Williams Coby White – out of the 15 who made the roster to open the 2020-'21 season. Karnisovas and Eversley overhauled the roster with two big deals at the trade deadline in late March and then a busy offseason that included four sign-and-trade transactions in free agency.
Looking back, it's not a pretty exercise to assess the professional stature of many of those 12 whom the Bulls have parted ways with in the last 10 months. To wit:
--- Four of those players are out of the NBA or aren't on a standard contract as this season starts. Ryan Arcidiacono and Luke Kornet are both expected to join the Maine Celtics, Boston's G League team, according to reports. Cris Felicio is playing in Germany after his four-year contract with the Bulls expired this offseason. Chandler Hutchison has landed with the Suns on a two-way contract after the Spurs waived him in September.
Of those four, Arcidiacono filled the biggest role for the Bulls last season, averaging 10.2 minutes across 44 games.
--- Six former Bulls who dressed for the first time with their new teams Tuesday and Wednesday had rough starts. Here's a look at their stat lines.
Lauri Markkanen (Cavaliers): 14 points on 4-14 FGs, 9 rebounds, 31 minutes
Denzel Valentine (Cavaliers): DNP-CD
Thad Young (Spurs): DNP-CD
Garrett Temple (Pelicans): 0 points on 0-1 FGs, 15 minutes
Tomas Satoransky (Pelicans): 0 points on 0-1 FGs, 9 minutes
Otto Porter Jr. (Warriors): 5 points on 1-3 FGs, 12 minutes
The 7-foot Markkanen started as the de facto small forward for the Cavaliers as part of a three-big lineup on opening night. It's an experiment the Bulls tried last season but one that's likely to run its course soon enough.
Young -- who was phenomenal for the Bulls last season -- being benched by Spurs coach Gregg Popovich for the opener was a surprise to some, including Young's wife, Shekinah, who was tweeting perplexed GIFs about the coaching decision. It's possible the Spurs want to transition more toward a youth movement and will look to trade Young down the line.
--- The arrow is pointing up for a pair of former Bulls big men. Wendell Carter Jr. recently agreed to a four-year, $50-million contract extension with the Magic and started for Orlando in the opener alongside fellow big man Mo Bamba. Carter had 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting while adding eight rebounds in 19 minutes as the Magic lost to the Spurs on Wednesday.
Daniel Gafford recently signed a three-year, $40-million contract extension with the Wizards, with whom he's carved out a solid role. He started and had eight points on 3-of-3 shooting and five rebounds in 22 minutes in Washington's win against Toronto in its opener Wednesday.
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Of the 240 minutes logged by Bulls players in their opener last season, 152 came from players who are no longer on the team. Of the 240 minutes logged by Bulls players Wednesday, 177 came from players who weren't on the team a year ago at this time.
The main constant remains LaVine, who was fabulous in scoring 34 points and spearheading a second-half surge that helped Chicago win at Detroit on Wednesday. Williams also started and will be a crucial figure for the Bulls this season, while White will play a key role when he returns – likely in December? – from a shoulder injury.
What's to come next for these new-look Bulls? Only time will tell how successful they can be, but opening night already showcased part of the equation for improving is addition by subtraction.
Cody Westerlund is a sports editor for 670TheScore.com and covers the Bulls. Follow him on Twitter @CodyWesterlund.
