The only problem is the retirement of veterans Antonio Davis and Addarian Griffin, leaving the Bulls to look for a good perimeter defender and interior substitute.

In the end, Artest successfully joined the Bulls, and the Bulls paid a high price for this. Lul Dunga's future draft rights were exchanged for Artest from the Pacers.

Chen Jie was very unhappy about Luer Deng's departure. After all, the two had been together for a year. Chen Jie knew that Luer Deng was a capable player and the two had a very good relationship.

But Chen Jie also knows very well that this is an alliance, this is business, and no one can stop it.

Luer Deng does have his own shortcomings, that is, his body is thin and his defense is not good.

In the Bulls, with Chen Jie on the outside, the other players need more defense. Everyone understands this.

Regarding this transaction, the league's media still felt that the Bulls made a profit.

With Artester, Chen Jie has more energy to attack. And Artester's offense is not as complete as Bruce Bowen's.

He and Luol Deng, obviously he is more suitable for the Bulls and more helpful to the Bulls.

Adarian Griffin's position has been filled after his retirement.

The addition of interior substitutes and the Bulls' subsequent trade made Chen Jie very happy.

They completed a trade with the Spurs, and the Bulls paid Frank Williams, who had never been able to get playing time, in exchange for Lillard Brown.

Lillard Brown, this name is not very familiar to everyone, but his nickname is Xiaohei.

That is, Chen Jie's best friend at Duke University.

Xiao Hei has come to the Bulls. Of course the happiest person is Chen Jie.

At that time, Chen Jie was still in China. After learning the news, Chen Jie kept a smile on his face during the national team's training the next day, which made his national team teammates who were used to Chen Jie's cold appearance very surprised.

Not used to it.

After completing these two transactions, the Bulls will have no action this summer.

There is a saying in the NBA that a winning team does not need to change.

The Bulls were the 2005 championship, but they were not a winning team. So who was?

Therefore, although the Bulls have not made any major changes, they still become the favorites to win the championship before the start of the season.

In the summer league, Xiao Hei performed well and entered Skiles' vision. Throughout the preseason, after several attempts by Skiles, the Bulls' main lineup for the regular season was finally determined.

.

Chandler and Kwame Brown are still inside, and Chandler and Chen Jie are working together more and more tacitly. And Kwame Brown, the former parallel import No. 1 pick, has proven himself in the Bulls. The inside combination of the two can be said to be

He can compete with both Wallaces of the Pistons.

The outside line is even more powerful, including last year's MVP Chen Jie, defensive master Artester, and Hinrich.

Compared with the lineup that won the championship, this lineup has only one position change, and that is Artester replacing Luer Deng.

As for the bench, Chris Duhon and Lillard Brown became part of the Bulls' regular rotation.

Generally, a team has eight players in its regular rotation, but the Bulls' eighth player made Chen Jie feel that the changes in the world are unpredictable.

This person who became an important member of the Bulls' bench turned out to be Lutherhead, whom Chen Jie often watched in his previous life. After Tracy McGrady was injured, he performed well.

He was a rookie in 2005. The Bulls may have tasted the sweetness in the draft market last year. Although they selected Hyde with the 30th pick this year, Skiles still entrusted him with an important task.

With this lineup, the Bulls embarked on their own road to defending their title.

In the opening game, before the Bulls faced the Pistons at home, the Bulls players received last year's championship rings, and the seventh championship banner was finally hung on the roof of the United Center.

With such honor, the Bulls once again bloodbathed the Pistons at home. Chen Jie's 55 points and Artester's victory over Billups both made the fans at the United Center extremely happy.

Then, the Bulls won consecutive victories, and before the Christmas game, they ranked first in the Eastern Conference. For the Christmas game, the league arranged a game between the Heat and the Bulls.

This is the first time that Chen Jie has participated in the Christmas game, and it is also the first time for many members of the Bulls team to participate in the Christmas game.

The Heat's strength this year is even stronger than last year, and with a strong desire for revenge, they even broke out into a fierce fighting spirit during the game.

As a result, although Chen Jie scored a game-high 44 points, he still lost to the combination of O'Neal and Wade. The Bulls maintained an unbeaten home record of nearly 40 games, which was ended by the Heat.

The Bulls suffered a defeat, but the Celtics, ranked second in the Eastern Conference, won the game.

Before, they were only half a game behind the Bulls. After this game, they overtook the Bulls and became first in the Eastern Conference.

This is the first time this year that the Bulls have fallen from this position.

Losing the first place in the Eastern Conference made Chen Jie and others very unhappy. Until the All-Star Game, they won consecutive games and competed with the Celtics for the first place in the Eastern Conference.

Until the All-Star Game in Houston, the Bulls were still one game behind the Celtics, ranking second in the Eastern Conference.

The Heat are third in the Eastern Conference, and the Cavaliers are fourth. Although the Pistons performed very well, they can only be ranked fifth because the first four teams are too strong.

It is obvious that the strength of the East has even surpassed that of the West.

The record of the top eight teams in the Eastern Conference has also surpassed that of the Western Conference for the first time in many years.
Chapter completed!