The Chicago Bulls lined up a nearly wide-open jumper for free agent Carmelo Anthony, but their shot resulted into nothing but an air ball.

Anthony opted for the monster contract – sorry, Phil Jackson’s vision – over the chance to win a ring. This leaves the Bulls in quite a predicament, not the kind the Houston Rockets are in, but a predicament nonetheless.

Chicago made the right moves so far this offseason. The Bulls made a nice push for the best free agent available to them, and they’re reportedly finalizing an agreement with center Pau Gasol, who should serve as solid off the bench support and a mentor for Nikola Mirotic.

The failure to sign Anthony shouldn’t reflect too poorly on the Gar Forman and John Paxson combo in the Bulls’ front office. But what will and should cause them serious consternation is if they swing on the chance to sign any competent scoring options. Serious scoring threats are a dime a dozen, and the remaining options don’t look very good for the Bulls.

Trevor Ariza, who drew Chicago’s attention a few days ago, is headed to Houston. Lance Stephenson is a poor choice for most teams. I can just imagine Stephenson blowing in Tom Thibodeau’s ear. Jordan Crawford wouldn’t be a bad addition, but he’s not going to carry this team during a scoring drought.

Essentially, the Bulls are right back where they started. They have a solid frontcourt with Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson, Mirotic and Gasol. The questions remain on the wings. Where will the offense come from?

Derrick Rose is a question mark until he plays more than 10 games. No one else is a scoring option. Maybe Gasol can score, but he won’t strike fear into the hearts of anyone like Anthony would have.

It’s easy to be cynical about this team. The front office blew another offseason without adding the one thing this team has needed since 2010: a scoring threat on the wing.

With the return of LeBron James to the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Central Division, the Bulls won’t have to just deal with a dangerous Indiana Pacers team. They’ll also run into a much-improved Cavaliers squad that may just be title favorites.

Thibodeau can work his magic, but his magic tends to disappear in the postseason. That’s why the Bulls’ best chance to win is to build the bench up. If they can’t get one great scorer, then they need to sign several good scorers. While great defensive play is the biggest reason for Chicago’s recent success, it’s safe to trust this coaching staff with a group of sub-par defenders who happen to be plus scorers.

But until the Bulls make a serious offensive addition, this is a still a playoff team, just not an NBA Finals team.