There’s a lot on the horizon for the Bulls and the Sky.

After yet another play-in tournament collapse against the Miami Heat, the Bulls are awaiting the draft lottery in April to determine their odds for a stacked 2025 class. And the Sky have less than three weeks until they kick off the regular season with the first of five matchups against the Indiana Fever.

What’s in store long-term and short-term for these teams? Here are the top questions from fans as the Bulls near free agency and the Sky kick off the 2025 season.

Would like to know about the Bulls potentially trading for Zion Williamson. Seems like a stretch, given his injury history. What do you think? — TJ M.

I don’t mind this idea. The Bulls need a star. And Zion Williamson — despite the inconsistency and the injuries and everything else that comes with it — is a star.

Yes, Williamson is officially tagged with the “injury prone” label. He averages only 42.8 games per season, not including an entire season missed due to a fracture in his right foot. His inconsistent fitness has been a source of derision and criticism. But Williamson is still a former Rookie of the Year finalist who has been an All-Star in two of his five available seasons. And when he’s available, he’s electric — a verified superstar who can rip off 24.7 points per game.

This is the kind of juice the Bulls have been missing. This current roster doesn’t include a single player close to All-Star status. Would Williamson fix this team’s lack of depth and overall stagnancy in the Eastern Conference? Probably not. But it would provide the type of fireworks that will remain far and few between in Chicago without a true star on the roster.

I’m not saying this is the only — or the best — option for the future. The Bulls just worked their way out of the binding of a maximum contract after trading Zach LaVine, so there’s a sizable argument to make against tying themselves to another financial monstrosity. Williamson is entering the third season of a five-year, $197 million deal that would severely hinder the front office’s ability to remain mobile in a rebuild.

Regardless, this will be a goofy offseason, so strap in for a sea of rumors and postulations. Nikola Jokic to Chicago? How about Giannis Antetokounmpo? No idea is too big or small as the league enters a summer of potential superstar shakeups. Just make sure to approach every trade idea with a healthy dose of incredulity.

Will Ajša Sivka come to the WNBA this season? — @tkharris76 on X

Don’t expect to see Ajša Sivka in a Sky uniform this season. The No. 11 overall pick is fully committed to EuroBasket with the Slovenian national team, which will keep her in Europe through the WNBA All-Star break. And the Sky front office and coaching staff have indicated that all future plans with Sivka revolve around her making a debut in the WNBA next season.

So if Sivka isn’t coming this season, why would the Sky spend a first-round pick on her?

I think it’s helpful to view the 19-year-old as a 2026 draft pick. That’s exactly what the Sky traded to Minnesota to secure the No. 11 pick, which granted them the ability to take Sivka and Hailey Van Lith in the first round. Sivka is expected to play in the WNBA next season, deferring her rookie year by a season.

So the Sky essentially utilized one of their 2026 first-round picks to select a player who would be available as a rookie in 2026 — but available in the draft in 2025.

Is Nikola Vucevic gone? Would the Bulls trade him this summer or wait until next deadline? Could that recreate the risk they ran into with Alex Caruso, DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine where holding onto the asset too long resulted in a quieter market for the player? Do you think Zach Collins can be a replacement-level 5 for the Bulls if they deal Vooch in the offseason and draft a young player at the position? And what does Jalen Smith need to improve most to have a future with the Bulls at that position? — Eric B., Doug S. and @TheNBAIndex on X

These are a lot of different questions, but they all gravitate around one of the biggest looming uncertainties for the Bulls — the center position.

Nikola Vucevic is not the future for the Bulls. He does not want to spend the final years of his career slogging through a rebuild. With one year left on his contract, the question is “when” not “if” Vucevic will leave Chicago. The smartest option for the Bulls would be to figure out a deal for Vucevic this summer. His value won’t be high — he’s a 34-year-old center with steep defensive limitations — but his 3-point shooting and versatility as a passer should be enough to entice teams looking for a backup option.

There is, however, good reason to fear that the Bulls will hold out until the trade deadline. Executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnišovas has an unfortunate proclivity to wait too long on these deals, ultimately giving up players for little to nothing. Even if Vucevic repeats his strong shooting (40.2% from 3-point range) from this season, it will still be a tough sell to convince another front office that the veteran center could be a game changer for a team looking to stock up ahead of the playoffs.

Whether or not the Bulls manage to move Vucevic this summer, drafting a center should be a priority for the front office in the next two years. Although the Bulls have a few genuinely promising options at guard and wing positions, their current frontcourt is threadbare. Zach Collins is a perfectly reasonable stopgap, but the Bulls need to bring star power into the position.

Jalen Smith has clearly been phased out of the Bulls rotation, going from the No. 2 center to playing only 14 minutes per game after the All-Star break — a stretch that included 10 healthy scratches. Smith could improve his versatility as a scorer to keep up with the Bulls’ new pace of play. But he also could be one of the easier trade assets this summer due to his team-friendly deal and relative youth at 25.

Who will be the backup forward for Angel Reese on the Sky? Assuming Van Lith is a lock to make the roster, who gets the final spot? Why didn’t the Sky offer Brynna Maxwell a training camp contract? — Eric N., Terrance H. and M.E. J.

The Sky have one clear need in training camp: a backup forward to play behind Angel Reese. Maddy Westbeld seems like the most natural option for a second-string as a stretchy four who can still compete physically with larger forwards at 6-foot-3.

This also feeds into the answer to the second question regarding the final spot left on the roster. The Sky only invited two other bigs to training camp: 6-foot-5 center Jessika Carter and 6-foot-4 forward Morgan Bertsch. Westbeld would need to outplay these two players — who are more experienced, although they have struggled to stick on WNBA rosters.

However, the Sky could also make cuts from their current roster to reshape the balance between the front and backcourts. The Sky are currently carrying seven guards, two centers and only one forward. Even if the final roster spot goes to a forward or center, this 7-to-4 ratio isn’t an ideal balance between the two halves of the roster. The Sky could look to waive a third-string option like Moriah Jefferson to make way for multiple forwards or for a lengthier guard.

This overflow of guards is also the main reason why the Sky did not bring 2024 second-round pick Brynna Maxwell back on a training camp contract. Maxwell was drafted last year to provide some much-needed support to the Sky’s 3-point shooting, but she suffered a preseason knee injury that kept her out of the WNBA.

The Sky stocked up on 3-point shooting veterans like Ariel Atkins, Kia Nurse and Rebecca Allen in free agency, which skewed their needs in training camp to taller, more athletic backcourt options — which ultimately did not fit Maxwell’s profile.