The 2009–10 Chicago Bulls season was the 44th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). They finished with a record of 41-41 (.500) for the third time in their past five seasons.
In the playoffs, the Bulls lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games in the First Round.
Key dates
- June 25: The 2009 NBA draft took place in New York City.
- July 1: Start of the free agency period.
Offseason
On May 20, the Bulls promoted Gar Forman to General Manager. Former GM John Paxson accepted a new role as executive vice president of basketball operations. Forman's top priority for the offseason was to re-sign Ben Gordon. Ben Gordon signed with the Detroit Pistons on July 1, 2009.
NBA draft
Free agency
On July 13, 2009, the Bulls signed guard Jannero Pargo to a one-year deal, helping to fill the void Ben Gordon made in leaving the team. On July 14, the Bulls re-signed guard Lindsey Hunter with a one-year contract.
Regular season summary
On January 25, 2010, the Bulls traded center Aaron Gray for guard Devin Brown of the New Orleans Hornets. On February 18, 2010, the Bulls traded guard John Salmons for forwards Hakim Warrick and Joe Alexander of the Milwaukee Bucks. Meanwhile, the Bulls traded forward Tyrus Thomas for guards Ronald Murray and Acie Law of the Charlotte Bobcats.
Roster
Pre-season
Regular season
Standings
Record vs. opponents
Game log
Playoffs
The Bulls managed to clinch the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference over the Toronto Raptors near the final day of the regular season. This marked the fifth time in six years Chicago has made the playoffs. With the lowest seed they faced the number one ranked Cleveland Cavaliers. Poised to win a championship LeBron James and the Cavs defeated the Bulls 4 games to 1 with the over-matched Bulls making a valiant effort in game 5, losing 96–94.
Game log
Player statistics
Season
1Stats with the Bulls.
Playoffs
Awards, records and milestones
Awards
Week/Month
- Joakim Noah was named the Bulls CDW/HP Solutions Player of the Month for November.
- Derrick Rose was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the week of December 28.
- Derrick Rose was named Eastern Conference Player of the Month for April. During this month, he averaged 25.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and 7 assists.
All-Star
- Derrick Rose selected to Eastern Conference All-Star Team as a reserve.
Season
- Taj Gibson was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team.
Milestones
First team to win five consecutive games over opponents over .500 on the road
Injuries and surgeries
- On September 29, Aaron Gray suffered a stress fracture of his left fibula. This was determined after he developed a lower leg pain the week of September 26 and he was projected to miss six-eight weeks. On November 16, Gray, still out because of the stress fracture, was admitted to the hospital because of fluid build-up in his right knee. Gray returned to the line-up to make his season début November 26 against the Utah Jazz.
- On November 6, Tyrus Thomas fractured his left radius during a weight training session. He underwent surgery on November 7 and is projected to miss four to six weeks of the season.
- On November 25, Kirk Hinrich sprained his left thumb during practice. Though initially feared to be a similar injury the previous season where he tore the ligaments of his right thumb, an MRI and subsequent examinations confirmed it to only be a sprain and he will only miss one to two weeks.
Transactions
See also
- 2009–10 NBA season
References
External links
- 2009–10 Chicago Bulls season at Basketball Reference
- 2009–10 Chicago Bulls season at ESPN
