NEWSLETTER
Tonight: Warriors-Nets, Clippers-Lakers (aka A SNOOZEFEST)
Tomorrow: Hawks-Bulls (a.k.a. THE GAME EVERYONE IS WAITING FOR, DUH!)
•  Lauri Markkanen said he had a rich girlfriend, but you wouldn’t know her, because she goes to school in Canada. Arturas Karnisovas said prove it. On Monday afternoon, we got an even better idea of how this new Bulls front office wants to run the show. The new regime did not reach an agreement with Markkanen on a rookie-scale extension, thus throwing him into restricted free agency next offseason. In other words, they told the big man they aren’t investing in the “what if.” The goal has been to evaluate the talent on this current roster and decide who fits the new vision (whatever that vision might be), and Markkanen will now get no free pass from that process this season. The seven-footer must now immediately prove that he can play at the elite level many once expected. There can no longer be complaints about system or fit, as not only does Donovan have a proven track record of putting players in a position to succeed, but Markkanen has even praised the new-look offense.
Went on to cite increased emphasis on cutting, and the looks he's gotten running pick-and-roll this preseason: "Of course I had some plays last year. But I do feel like I was a little more spacing the floor last year more than now."
— Rob Schaefer (@rob_schaef) December 19, 2020
•  I’m sure the new front office hopes that the lack of a contract this offseason can lead to a big one in 2021. Markkanen now has more than enough motivation to put together the best season of his career, and I’m sure the Bulls will have little problem matching an offer sheet next offseason if he’s able to just that. However, if his season is only mildly better than last, we have to prepare for the rather annoying reality. Teams might try to run-up the price on the big man and make this Bulls team overpay. You never want a bad contract on the books, but we’ll just cross that bridge when we get there.
•  Markkanen is already being tabbed as one of the more intriguing free-agent options in 2021, so I think that demonstrates where the talent-level of that class has gone (*ahem* down the toilet). Besides Kawhi Leonard, practically all of the top free agents in 2021 have signed extensions this offseason, including Giannis Antetokounmpo, Paul George, Donovan Mitchell, De’Aaron Fox, Rudy Gobert, and Bam Adebayo (just to name a few). An aging Chris Paul along with Blake Griffin, DeMar DeRozan, Kyle Lowry, Victor Oladipo, Lonzo Ball, Jarrett Allen, and John Collins now help represent the current 2021 free-agent class. There are certainly players the Bulls could view as upgrades in a number of areas, but landing a true future start in this class has grown less and less likely.
•  As annoying as that is, it’s also kinda fine. No one should have been hanging their hat on signing a top free agent in 2021 anyway. Sure, it felt more likely with a new front office, but the Bulls still have not proven to be any kind of appealing destination. What this means, for now, is that Chicago will likely have to look at the two alternative ways to landing a star – trade for one or draft one. Karnisovas has plenty of experience building a foundation via the draft (Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray), and he has at least some experience doing so in the trade market. The Nuggets never made any major star-getting trades, but they certainly built out their roster this way. I can’t tell you who the Bulls can target in the trade market. I mean, that’s not my job to figure out. But, what I can tell you is that big-name players are on the move all the time in today’s league. The Bulls have some young assets who they hope to improve this season, and they also have all their future first-round draft picks. In a lot of ways, that’s all you need to be a legitimate player in the trade market.
•  The “young assets” part of the Bulls future is incredibly important. The more their young talent improves, the more flexibility the organization will have. This is at least partially (in my opinion) why they made it a priority to invest in player development and hire a proven coach from the jump. There is no avoiding the fact that, right now, the current talent on this roster isn’t going to net much of a return from anyone around the league (with the exception of maybe Zach LaVine). If you don’t believe me, read through The Athletic’s recent post where Darnell Mayberry talked to several scouts about Chicago’s players.
“They’ve got enough talent to be in the playoffs.”
"I thought four was a real stretch for him."
"Maybe his talent is a tad overrated."@DarnellMayberry on what NBA scouts are saying about the Bulls: https://t.co/dk3sGjjUby
— The Athletic Chicago (@TheAthleticCHI) December 22, 2020
•  Wait … what are the chances the Bulls just drafted a star? I’m not ready to assume anything after just four preseason games, but if Williams is truly the highest upside talent in the draft like several believe, the Bulls front office might be off to an even better start than we think.
•  lol what a mess.
Rockets players' early signs of tension in recent days included James Harden throwing a basketball at a rookie, setting the stage for Houston to tip off the season on Wednesday.
Story from @ShamsCharania for @TheAthleticNBA ⤵️
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) December 22, 2020
•  Sadly, not me.
Who can top this? đź‘€ #NBAJerseyDay https://t.co/h08bh6Nb1l
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) December 22, 2020
