2003–04 Chicago Bulls season

NBA professional basketball team season March 2026 August 2023 Chicago Bulls 2004 23 59 Central 8 14 Bill Cartwright (fired) Pete Myers (interim) Scott Skiles John Paxson Jerry Reinsdorf United Center Did not qualify CHI Fox Sports Net Chicago WGN WCIU WMVP The 2003–04 Chicago Bulls season was the Bulls' 38th season in the National Basketball Association.https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/CHI/2004.html 2003-04 Chicago Bulls Roster and Stats During the offseason, the Bulls re-signed free agent and former forward Scottie Pippen. However, they continued to struggle finishing last place in the Central Division with a 23–59 record, missing the playoffs for the sixth straight season. Following the season, Pippen retired and Jamal Crawford was traded to the New York Knicks. (See 2003–04 Chicago Bulls season#Regular season) Offseason July 20, 2003: Signed F Scottie Pippenhttps://www.nba.com/bulls/news/pippen_030720.html Scottie Pippen re-signs with the Bulls NBA.com July 20, 2003 2026-09-28 https://www.nba.com/bulls/news/pippen_030720.html Scottie Pippen re-signs with the Bulls Chicago Bulls nba.com 2026-09-28 August 20, 2003: Signed G Kendall Gill September 4, 2003: Bought out contract of C Dalibor Bagaric October 23, 2003: Waived G Trenton Hassell NBA draft 2003 NBA draft Round Pick Player Position Nationality College / Club Team 1 7 Kirk Hinrich PG Kansas 2 36 Mario Austin F Mississippi State 2 45 Matt Bonner F Florida 2 53 Tommy Smith F Arizona State Roster Chicago Bulls 2003–04 3 Tyson Chandler FC 7 1 235 1982-10-02 Dominguez HS (CA) 1 Jamal Crawford G 6 6 185 1980-03-20 Michigan 2 Eddy Curry FC 6 11 285 1982-12-05 Thornwood HS (IL) 34 Antonio Davis FC 6 9 245 1968-10-31 UTEP 20 Ronald Dupree F 6 7 209 1981-01-26 Louisiana State 21 Marcus Fizer F 6 9 262 1978-08-10 Iowa State 13 Kendall Gill G 6 5 195 1968-05-25 Illinois yes 12 Kirk Hinrich G 6 3 190 1981-01-02 Kansas 6 Chris Jefferies F 6 8 225 1980-02-13 Fresno State 8 Linton Johnson F 6 8 205 1980-06-13 Tulane 15 Jannero Pargo G 6 1 175 1979-10-22 Arkansas 33 Scottie Pippen F 6 7 210 1965-09-25 Central Arkansas yes 32 Eddie Robinson basketball F 6 8 210 1976-04-19 Central Oklahoma 45 Paul Shirley F 6 10 230 1977-12-23 Iowa State yes 22 Jay Williams basketball G 6 2 195 1981-09-10 Duke yes 11 Jerome Williams basketball F 6 9 206 1973-05-10 Georgetown Bill Cartwright (fired) Pete Myers (interim) Scott Skiles Ron Adams Johnny Bach Mike Wilhelm Fred Tedeschi (trainer) https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/CHI/2004.html March 15, 2004 Roster notes Point guard Jay Williams missed the entire season due to a dislocated left knee from a motorcycle accident. Regular season Heading in to the season, Bulls fans were as optimistic as they had been in years. Before it was done, however, winds of change had blown through the Windy City leaving a roster and a coaching staff upside down. After closing out the previous season with four solid wins in the final six games to reach the 30–victory plateau, the team was hopeful of reaching the playoffs for the first time since 1998 and new pieces were added to the team's puzzle for that to happen. First, Kirk Hinrich was taken with the seventh overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft to fill the void at the guard spot. This happened just days after the team learned it would be without services of Jay Williams, who was injured in a motorcycle accident in June and would miss this entire season. Later in the summer, the Bulls signed free agent Scottie Pippen, a seven-time NBA All-Star, two-time Olympic gold medalist, and member of the NBA 50th Anniversary Team, returning him to Chicago on July 20, 2003. “I think I know how to win games in the NBA. It may sound simple, but both winning and losing can become a mindset, and I won’t accept losing—ever. Whether it’s on the floor, in the huddle, at practice or just demonstrating a winning leadership, I plan on helping this team win,” said Pippen. Just one month into the season, however, it became clear that expectations were not being met and changes were necessary. With a 4–10 record, the team relieved Bill Cartwright of his head coaching duties (11/24/03). A few days later, Scott Skiles was named head coach (11/28/03) as he set out to instill a tough, defensive-minded, and high-effort mentality upon his new team. The Bulls makeover wasn't done yet. A blockbuster of a deal went down on 12/01/03, when Chicago traded Lonny Baxter, Donyell Marshall and Jalen Rose to Toronto for Antonio Davis, Chris Jefferies and Jerome Williams. “This trade helps us address a couple of different areas, areas that we needed to get stronger in. It not only provides us with size, but also with energy,” said John Paxson. While the Bulls continued to struggle, improvements in effort under Coach Skiles were evident, and the roster re-make had only begun. The team's 23–59 record qualified it for a sixth consecutive NBA Draft Lottery appearance. Other Notes: Hired Assistant Coaches Johnny Bach (07/15/03) and Ron Adams (07/16/03) ... snapped a 26-game road losing streak versus Western Conference teams with a 95–79 win at Utah (02/04/04) ... Hinrich dished out 506 assists and his average of 6.7 apg ranked tied for 7th in the NBA, despite the Bulls ranking last in the league in team field goal percentage (.414) ... Hinrich was the only rookie in the NBA to tally a triple–double when he registered 11 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists against the visiting Golden State Warriors (02/28/04) ... Jamal Crawford went for a career–high 50 points (18–34 FG, 8–11 FT) at Toronto (04/11). Honors: Kirk Hinrich (freshman team) participated in the Schick Rookie Challenge at All-Star Weekend ... Hinrich also was named to the got milk? NBA All-Rookie First Team ... the Bulls drew an average of 19,736 fans through 41 home games (third in the NBA), including 11 sellouts ... the Bulls also hosted the seven largest crowds in the NBA, including a season-high draw of 23,067 versus the L.A. Lakers at the United Center. Standings CHI CHI Player statistics Regular season PlayerGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPGLonny Baxter† 14 1 10.5 .551 1.000 .625 2.5 .4 .1 .4 4.3Corie Blount† 46 3 16.4 .471 .000 .542 4.5 1.0 .8 .4 4.5Rick Brunson† 37 0 10.9 .376 .478 .871 1.0 2.2 .7 .1 3.1Tyson Chandler 35 8 22.3 .424 .000 .669 7.7 .7 .5 1.2 6.1Jamal Crawford 80 73 35.1 .386 .317 .833 3.5 5.1 1.4 .4 17.3Eddy Curry 73 63 29.5 .496 1.000 .671 6.2 .9 .3 1.1 14.7Antonio Davis† 65 64 31.3 .407 .768 8.1 1.9 .4 .9 8.9Ronald Dupree 47 8 19.0 .394 .444 .629 3.6 1.2 .7 .4 6.2Marcus Fizer 46 2 16.0 .383 .118 .750 4.4 .9 .3 .2 7.8Kendall Gill 56 35 25.2 .392 .237 .735 3.4 1.6 1.2 .3 9.6Kirk Hinrich 76 66 35.6 .386 .390 .804 3.4 6.8 1.3 .3 12.0Chris Jefferies† 19 2 9.8 .364 .410 .632 1.5 .3 .2 .4 4.0Linton Johnson 41 20 17.9 .355 .212 .595 4.5 .7 .9 .8 4.2Donyell Marshall† 16 8 25.5 .419 .407 .700 6.2 1.8 .8 1.3 8.7Roger Mason Jr.† 3 0 14.3 .091 .167 1.0 1.0 .3 .0 1.0Jannero Pargo† 13 1 26.5 .429 .377 .852 2.1 3.6 .5 .4 13.5Scottie Pippen 23 6 17.9 .379 .271 .630 3.0 2.2 .9 .4 5.9Eddie Robinson basketball 51 4 20.1 .482 .200 .651 2.0 1.1 .6 .2 6.7Jalen Rose† 16 14 33.1 .375 .426 .765 4.0 3.5 .8 .3 13.3Paul Shirley 7 0 12.3 .435 .000 .333 2.3 .6 .1 .1 3.0Jerome Williams basketball† 53 32 23.2 .466 .000 .675 6.5 1.2 1.3 .1 6.5 † Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Bulls only. Awards and records Kirk Hinrich, NBA All-Rookie Team 1st Team See also 2003–04 NBA season References Category:Chicago Bulls seasons Chicago Chicago Chicago Category:2003 in Chicago Category:2004 in Chicago