2014 NBA Season Preview: Chicago Bulls Open the Pre-Season Against Wizards

After an eventful summer that started when they were unceremoniously ousted in the First Round of the NBA Playoffs by the Washington Wizards, the Chicago Bulls will have a chance at some symbolic redemption as they meet the Wizards in their first preseason contest on Monday, October 6th.

Here is the 2014 Chicago Bulls pre-season schedule:

The Wizards may have inadvertently had one of the biggest influences on the front office's personnel strategy this summer. Washington claimed to have been targeting the Chicago Bulls as a First Round Playoff match-up because while the Chicago Bulls boasted a top notch defense, the Bulls' anemic offense was a weakness that the high powered Wizards hoped to and succeeded in exploiting.

With the personnel moves made by Gar Forman and John Paxson during the off-season, the Chicago Bulls should not have many offensive problems this season.

The Chicago Bulls' biggest off-season moves begin with the free agent signing of Pau Gasol. The 2-time NBA Champion was looking for a situation in which he could play for another NBA Championship, and when Carmelo Anthony returned to the New York Knicks, the Chicago Bulls had a potentially better option in signing Pau.

With Gasol on board, the Chicago Bulls were able to keep Taj Gibson and also finally amnesty Carlos Boozer, a move that seemed to be in the works for several seasons.

In addition, with Pau coming on board for at a bargain, the Chicago Bulls were able to finally bring over heralded rookie and former Spanish League and Spanish Cup MVP, Nikola Mirotic. The stretch 4 with three-point range, Mirotic adds another efficient scorer that can distort opposing defenses.

Chicago Bulls rookie, Nikola Mirotic.

Another big move involved sending their two 2014 First Round Draft Picks to Denver for the #11 Overall Pick in the draft, Doug McDermott. The consensus college player of the year and the scoring leader had his doubters before the draft, but after he lit up the NBA Summer League (18 PPG, 4 RPG, 2.8 APG on 44% shooting from 3), earning All-Summer League First Team honors along with fellow Chicago Bull Tony Snell, the doubters have been silenced.

Optimism is high in Chicago as the Bulls field possibly the most talented team that former NBA MVP point guard Derrick Rose has been a part of.

The off-season additions of Pau Gasol, Nikola Mirotic, Doug McDermott, and free agent point guard Aaron Brooks were made with an eye towards addressing the Chicago Bulls offensive and spacing concerns, and along with the return of Derrick Rose, the Chicago Bulls are considered the "quiet" favorite in the Eastern Conference.

That is mostly because most of the noise in the Eastern Conference is accompanying the repatriation of Lebron James back to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who also added Kevin Love and signed Kyrie Irving to a multi-year extention.

However, with the management and coaching stability in place in Chicago, the Bulls stand to have an advantage over Cleveland right out of the gate, not only with a system in place, but also with Derrick Rose already having played several weeks worth of competitive basketball having participated in the FIBA World Cup Championships.

The road to the NBA Finals, and to realizing the dream of an NBA Championship, begins with the Chicago Bulls' pre-season opener on Monday, October 6th and with the regular season opener at Madison Square Garden vs. the New York Knicks on October 29th.

Hey, BullsNation! How hyped are you for the Chicago Bulls and the NBA season to begin? Let us know in the comments below!