Chicago Bulls 2019-2020

[Brian]

I'm rooting for 7 just for the ridiculousness of it... though with from what I understand from a couple of months ago that not a lot separates the top picks it would be very Bulls to actually jump up to the top 4 this season.

[Regular Show]

I'm rooting for 7 just for the ridiculousness of it... though with from what I understand from a couple of months ago that not a lot separates the top picks it would be very Bulls to actually jump up to the top 4 this season.

 

I'll give the new Bulls regime the benefit of the doubt (and I like Karnisovas), so maybe moving up helps?

 

Getting pick #7 again would indeed be ridiculous.

[UMFan83]

I'm rooting for 7 just for the ridiculousness of it... though with from what I understand from a couple of months ago that not a lot separates the top picks it would be very Bulls to actually jump up to the top 4 this season.

 

I'll give the new Bulls regime the benefit of the doubt (and I like Karnisovas), so maybe moving up helps?

 

Getting pick #7 again would indeed be ridiculous.

 

I hate that the 6 teams outside of the top 16 that get to restart the season will be in the lottery with the 8 teams whose seasons ended in early March (and won't start again until December). I'm completely cool with the Bulls not coming back, I honestly had to desire to watch them again (not that I was watching before) but they get the shaft a bit with no revenue from local broadcasts, not to mention less development time for the players. Not a huge disadvantage but a slight one. I think they should make the lottery only for the 8 teams left out, and give every team 1/8 odds for each pick. The Bulls last 17 games were going to be pretty brutal and there was a good chance they would have dropped before the end of the year.

 

I think they had 2 wins over +.500 teams all year and 11 of their last 17 were against over .500 teams including a west coast trip to play Houston, Denver, LAC, LAL and Utah.

[WrigleyField 22]

I'm rooting for 7 just for the ridiculousness of it... though with from what I understand from a couple of months ago that not a lot separates the top picks it would be very Bulls to actually jump up to the top 4 this season.

 

I'll give the new Bulls regime the benefit of the doubt (and I like Karnisovas), so maybe moving up helps?

 

Getting pick #7 again would indeed be ridiculous.

 

I hate that the 6 teams outside of the top 16 that get to restart the season will be in the lottery with the 8 teams whose seasons ended in early March (and won't start again until December). I'm completely cool with the Bulls not coming back, I honestly had to desire to watch them again (not that I was watching before) but they get the shaft a bit with no revenue from local broadcasts, not to mention less development time for the players. Not a huge disadvantage but a slight one. I think they should make the lottery only for the 8 teams left out, and give every team 1/8 odds for each pick. The Bulls last 17 games were going to be pretty brutal and there was a good chance they would have dropped before the end of the year.

 

I think they had 2 wins over +.500 teams all year and 11 of their last 17 were against over .500 teams including a west coast trip to play Houston, Denver, LAC, LAL and Utah.

I honestly would have loved to see a losers bracket tourney to decide the picks.

[Brian]

Haven't read any of the stories on this, how did the NBA land on salary? Did the players get full salary? If the players still got paid, or would only get some pro-rated equivalent to a playoff share for whatever games they would have gotten in a lottery tournament that's a pretty big ask for players to come back and fight for a lottery pick for a team team they might not be on next year

[Andy]

I'm rooting for 7 just for the ridiculousness of it... though with from what I understand from a couple of months ago that not a lot separates the top picks it would be very Bulls to actually jump up to the top 4 this season.

I'm completely expecting us to get a top 2 pick now that we're in a draft that's universally thought of as inferior to the last few.

[Regular Show]

In addition to the news of the regular season re-start, the dates for the draft and lottery were announced as well: August 25th for the lottery, and October 15th for the draft.

 

We have to wait a long time for the lottery and then almost another 2 months for the draft...

 

For those bored and want to do sim drafts or learn more about the prospects:

 

http://www.tankathon.com/mock_draft

 

Whenever I did it and got the Bulls the #1 or #2 pick, they selected LaMelo Ball.

[raw]

Is Saadiq Bey a reach at 7 (where the Bulls will inevitably pick)? Because I really want Saadiq Bey if they pick outside of the top 3. He's not the best athlete in the world, but can spot up shoot with anybody in this draft and projects to be a solid defender with what looks like great length. Not really crazy about many prospects in this draft.

[WrigleyField 22]

Is Saadiq Bey a reach at 7 (where the Bulls will inevitably pick)? Because I really want Saadiq Bey if they pick outside of the top 3. He's not the best athlete in the world, but can spot up shoot with anybody in this draft and projects to be a solid defender with what looks like great length. Not really crazy about many prospects in this draft.

Seems like all the talk of this draft is there isn't much drop off to the mid first (mainly cuz the top sucks).

 

So maybe?

[Regular Show]

Is Saadiq Bey a reach at 7 (where the Bulls will inevitably pick)? Because I really want Saadiq Bey if they pick outside of the top 3. He's not the best athlete in the world, but can spot up shoot with anybody in this draft and projects to be a solid defender with what looks like great length. Not really crazy about many prospects in this draft.

 

Hah, I wish his name was spelled Saadiq Bey for personal reasons.

 

Yeah, I mentioned him a few pages back as one of the few prospects I actually like in this draft. I dislike most prospects in this draft. He can definitely shoot it from outside with a very quick release. I'm a big fan of Saddiq Bey, but I don't know about taking him at 7?

 

He's more of a high-floor player than a high-ceiling talent, and some experts question his rebounding ability and defense. He can stick with smaller faster players right now when a switch happens, but some of the guards in the NBA might prove way more difficult. If he was a better athlete or had better acceleration maybe he goes in the top 10? It's possible if some team (in the top 10) really likes him.

 

Maybe he moves up in the coming months. I think the Bulls will definitely have a chance to take Bey if they really like him.

[Regular Show]

https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/bulls/bulls-make-juneteenth-and-election-days-organization-wide-holidays

 

Bulls make Juneteenth and Election days organization-wide holidays

 

“Over the last few weeks, we have started having powerful and honest conversations with our players, coaches, front office and community leaders and will continue to have an open dialogue about racial injustice and police brutality, especially in our Black communities,” a Bulls spokesperson said. “We are developing longer-term plans designed to bring us together for real change.”

 

Speaking on a conference call with reporters last week, Zach LaVine and Thaddeus Young both revealed that Arturas Karnisovas, the Bulls’ new executive vice president of basketball operations, encouraged open dialogue on the subject of racial equality and police brutality...

 

Good for the Bulls.

 

It's a nice move and I hope the Cubs do this as well. Every progressive team should be doing this and I'm glad Arturas Karnisovas is taking part in these talks. I've heard nothing but good things about him.

[Regular Show]

https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/bulls/bulls-mailbag-which-free-agents-fit-lauri-markkanen-extension-talks

 

Bulls mailbag with KC Johnson:

 

Why is Jim Boylen still the coach? — Bob H.

 

Arturas is on Line 1...

 

“Coaching in the league is very difficult. To make a decision about coaching is really hard. It’s probably the hardest thing for executives. So I look at a lot of aspects. I’ve had numerous conversations. That said, I’d like to be in a building, to be in practices, to be around the coaching staff in meetings. We’re looking forward to getting in the video room together, analyze the games, to watch games together. Talking to players and coaches, obviously everyone is disappointed with the results last year. They definitely underperformed. Watching games, I’m excited to watch because there’s a lot of talent on this team. In order for me to keep players and coaches accountable, I have to have personal relationships with them. That’s what I need to cultivate. That’s my objective this offseason.”

 

That’s what Karnisovas said during his end-of-season conference call with reporters. It mirrored comments he made upon his hiring but took them a step stronger. Those are the only two times Karnisovas has spoken publicly since his hiring.

 

Karnisovas and Eversley were in Chicago recently. After an initial flurry of moves that included the dismissal of Gar Forman and the hiring of Pat Connelly and J.J. Polk, they since only have made decisions when contract deadlines presented them. They picked up the option of assistant coach Nate Loenser and declined the option of athletic trainer Jeff Tanaka. (Boylen declined Shawn Respert’s request to increase his role and add a year to his expired contract.)

 

So, we’re going to have to take the new executives at face value. They have said the plan to take their time to form relationships with the coaching staff and watch them in action. With the Bulls not part of the 22-team restart, that will mean player workouts at the Advocate Center, shared film study, and draft and free agency prep.

 

If the league and players association come to an agreement on formal offseason activities for the eight teams not in Orlando and a decision hasn’t been reached, those would offer another opportunity to analyze Boylen. As previously reported, Karnisovas has empowered Boylen for now. They have shared meetings about player development plans and draft preparation. Boylen is planning for his normal offseason visits of players not in-market.

 

Stay tuned.

 

It's disappointing that the Bulls still haven't fired Boylen... I guess Arturas Karnisovas likes to take his time on these key decisions and get to know people first. Everyone knows it's only a matter of time before he gets the axe. I'm sure Karnisovas has some candidates in mind.

[UK]

No chance Boylen coaches the Bulls over one of the three assistants from Denver (Unseld, Adelman, or Fernandez).

[UMFan83]

ESPN broke down the inside details from the 2010 FA saga better than I’ve seen before.

 

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/29375065/the-decision-high-stakes-maneuvers-lebron-james-dwyane-wade-chris-bosh?platform=amp&__twitter_impression=true

 

Sounds like it was really down to Chicago and Miami. Miami already had the moves ready to go to clear a 3rd max slot. The Bulls might have been the team if they could find a suitable trade of Deng but nothing was as locked in as what Miami had in place. Also cited as reasons: Rose not involved in recruiting, and Noah’s “acrimonious” relationship with LeBron (Noah apparently tried to reach out to LeBron to recruit and the call went unreturned).

 

Clearly the 4 Finals appearances and 2 titles means that the Heatles were some degree of a success, but I cant believe they only win 2 titles with a starting 5 of Rose, Wade, James, Bosh, Noah

[We Got The Whole 9]

Little more luck on our outside shooting and if Rose hadn't gone into hero mode, we beat them in that series and go on to beat Dallas as well.

[Named After Maddux]

ESPN broke down the inside details from the 2010 FA saga better than I’ve seen before.

 

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/29375065/the-decision-high-stakes-maneuvers-lebron-james-dwyane-wade-chris-bosh?platform=amp&__twitter_impression=true

 

Clearly the 4 Finals appearances and 2 titles means that the Heatles were some degree of a success, but I cant believe they only win 2 titles with a starting 5 of Rose, Wade, James, Bosh, Noah

 

I definitely agree, if or no other reason than the Heat wouldn't be the main obstacle to the Bulls. No one in the Eastern Conference would have worried me during that time so the run to the Finals wouldn't have been too challenging. My only concern would be Thibs who was a great coach, but saying he was averse to load management would be an understatement. Perhaps the collective toll on those five wouldn't have been as significant considering there wouldn't have been as much pressure on those five as there was on Rose/Noah to carry the Bulls and the Big 3 to carry the entire Heat roster.

[ChiCubsFan]

Those 5 plus ring chasers would have surely won every championship until they decided they didn’t want to play together anymore.

[WrigleyField 22]

One oft cited rumor I've heard was that Wade and Bosh were set on Chicago, but they pitched to Lebron about teaming up one last time. When he agreed, they went to Miami.

 

This story contradicts that a bit.

 

Chicago with any two of those guys I think ends up better than 2 for 4. Chicago with just Lebron might have as well (plus whatever other guy/guys they would have been able to pair with Lebron that offseason).

[ChiCubsFan]

Lebron, Noah, Rose, and Deng or Taj off the bench easily beats every EC team and wins at least 3/4. I don’t even know who plays what position, but it doesn’t matter. The Bulls were so close to the big 3 Heat and then you remove the best player on the planet from them and give him to the Bulls. No chance for anyone in the East.

 

Same goes for getting Wade and Bosh.

 

1+ of any of the 3 gives us at least 1 championship.

[David]

One oft cited rumor I've heard was that Wade and Bosh were set on Chicago, but they pitched to Lebron about teaming up one last time. When he agreed, they went to Miami.

 

This story contradicts that a bit.

 

Chicago with any two of those guys I think ends up better than 2 for 4. Chicago with just Lebron might have as well (plus whatever other guy/guys they would have been able to pair with Lebron that offseason).

 

i thought wade already disclosed all this a few years ago after he signed with the bulls, no?

[Regular Show]

 

Good breakdown for anyone curious about LaMelo Ball's game and his strengths and weaknesses. Again, I really think he'll be an inefficient shooter who takes bad shots and will never become an elite PG.

 

That said, I was wrong about Luka Doncic and he's developed into an amazing player...

[ChiCubsFan]

What were your thoughts on Luka?

[Regular Show]

What were your thoughts on Luka?

 

I thought he'd develop into a solid player.

 

Just not this good this quickly. He's a little chubby and his conditioning isn't great and he's not a great athlete by NBA standards. I thought NBA defenses would frustrate him and make it harder for him. I didn't know what position he ends up at (PG or point forward/SF), but the NBA is evolving into a positionless league...

 

I like the two guys ESPN hired away from DraftExpress (Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz) and those guys were always super high on Luka Doncic. They thought his play in Europe at such a young age was really special and they weren't too concerned about his defense/conditioning.

 

So, I believe both of those guys have LaMelo Ball ranked #1 so I'll defer to them on this.

[Brian]

[tweet]

[/tweet]

 

Jumpman logo will be on 'Statement Edition' jerseys next year. That is league wide so while I'll enjoy seeing the Jumpman logo on a Bulls jersey, it's also going to be delicious to see Jordan dunking on the Knicks again.

[Brian]

BOYLEN OUT