What do the Bulls have to do to win a championship this year?

Unfortunately, as a realist, the Bulls will not be winning the championship this year.  They just don't have the talent and the top tier of the Eastern Conference (Boston, Cleveland, Orlando) is just too tough.  The most important thing for this year is to continue the progress they made after the trade deadline last year and first round playoff series against the Celtics.  Remember, they are in great positon for the summer of 2010 to grab an all-star caliber free agent, and they actually forfeited some success of this season to do that.

So, no, the Bulls do not appear to be in position to win the championship this year.  However, it is very important for the team to make the playoffs and hopefully advance a round.  The progress of Derrick Rose will obviously be critical, as will the success of Luol Deng.  Ben Gordon's absence will mean his 20.7 points per game will have to come from somewhere, and without a low post presence still, that scoring will most likely have to come from the trio of Rose, Salmons, and Deng (and I suppose Hinrich, who should be getting more minutes).  The Bulls management seems to have lost faith in the hopeful progression of Tyrus Thomas, as his name was not only dangled in trade rumors all summer, but they drafted 2 power forwards in case they need to replace him.  You can always count on Joakhim Noah to provide energy and Brad Miller for steady leadership, but their scoring is limited.  The rookies may end up being the wild card for the season.  I admittedly no little about either of them ,as I only occasionaly watch college basketball.  We will have to see.

In conclusion, as much as it pains me to say, the Bulls will not win the 2010 NBA title.  However, anything after that will up for grabs and based on a multitude of factors.  As for this season, let's aim high for 50 wins (at least better than the 41 last year) and a first-round playoff victory.  That would be considered a success in my book.