AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- The glimpse lasted only about 45 seconds.

With Dwyane Wade (thigh) and Rajon Rondo (ankle) out and the Chicago Bulls in the middle of a tight finish with the Detroit Pistons, Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg was trying anything he could to give Jimmy Butler a few seconds to rest.

After a timeout on the floor, Hoiberg subbed Butler out of the game and went with Paul Zipser, Jerian Grant, Bobby Portis, Cristiano Felicio and Denzel Valentine. After a quick dunk by Pistons big man Aron Baynes, Butler went back to the table to check in. The young coach really didn't have any other choice.

As has been the case throughout much of the past week, the Bulls' offense stalled late in the fourth quarter. Hoiberg's team had no answer for the Pistons down the stretch in Monday night's 109-95 loss. But the sequence of events that led to seeing five young players on the floor together down the stretch of a meaningful game offered an eye-opener about what could be coming in the Bulls' future.

The game itself played out as expected Monday. Down two of their veteran stalwarts, the Bulls melted down the stretch and couldn't find any kind of rhythm. The Pistons double-teamed Butler constantly, forcing him into either a contested shot or a pass to a player who usually missed. The Bulls were just 6-for-20 in the final 12 minutes and were outscored 30-16 in the final frame.

"I think everybody knows who's going to get the ball in the fourth quarter," Butler said. "Give or take that DWade's out, that [Rajon] Rondo's out. They did a good job of making me give the ball up, double-team. Obviously, that was their scouting report. I could hear them yelling it all the way from the other end of the floor. But I'll take the shots that we got.

"I want the young guys being aggressive, shooting the ball when they're open, attacking the rim when you can. That's only going to make us better in this long run that's so short with the 19 or so games we have left. We'll be OK."

The Bulls weren't supposed to win Monday, but it was the way the game unfolded down the stretch that has to give the front office cause for concern. For as much the Bulls' fan base has wanted younger players such as Portis, Valentine and Cameron Payne to get an opportunity, the trio showed again Monday that it might not be ready for prime time. After scoring eight points and grabbing five rebounds in 14 first-half minutes, Portis scored just two points and grabbed one rebound in 11 second-half minutes. Valentine missed all three of his shot attempts in 15 minutes of action while Payne was just 1-for-4 from the field in the fourth and 5-for-14 for the game.

Monday's game offered another example of the quandary the organization finds itself in, not only in the final six weeks of the season but also moving into next season and beyond. If Bulls executives Gar Forman and John Paxson decide to deal Butler in the offseason, the Bulls are going to have a lot more nights that resemble Monday, with a lot of young players trying to learn on the fly.

If they decide to keep Butler and Wade uses his opt-in clause to come back next season, the Bulls will have to find ways to keep the veteran players happy while trying to develop the young group that is struggling now. For players such as Payne, the opportunity to play is big -- let alone playing late alongside an All-Star such as Butler.

"It's big-time, just playing -- period," Payne said. "Playing -- period. Not even late. Just being out there on the court. You can get a lot of confidence that way. I think that'll be good for me."

Payne's night, especially in the six minutes he played in the fourth quarter, is a microcosm of what is ailing the Bulls lately. After moving the ball well in the first half, Butler and the Bulls reverted back to a lot of iso-ball. Each player who got the ball usually put up a quick shot, which allowed the Pistons to race up and down the floor.

"We did get stagnant," Hoiberg said. "We missed a couple good looks early in the quarter that I thought affected us. But you got to continue to play through it. You got to get it off the board, push it down at the same place that helped us play pretty good offense for most of the first three quarters. But we did. We got stagnant and couldn't get anything going."

In the short-term, the Bulls remain 1.5 games ahead of the Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks for the last playoff spot in the East. If Wade and Rondo are able to play Wednesday, they have to take advantage of an awful Orlando Magic team and get back on track.

But Monday served as another reminder of the frustrating predicament in which the Bulls find themselves, in regard to which direction they are going. Is it time to blow things up, or should they build around Butler for the future and hope that with more seasoning, some of their younger players can be better?

It's the single biggest question facing the Bulls as the season comes to a close. It is much more important than the result of an ugly-looking game against a mediocre team in March at the end of a lost season.