Yesterday, MLB held their annual Little League Classic game. The “Cubbies” and the “Burgh” hung out with a bunch of youngsters, and it had me thinking … What would be the NBA equivalent? Hooping with AAU kids?
Yeah, that doesn’t sound quite as magical. I know the NBA has all those kids camps, but a larger-scale, broadcasted event like this would be pretty awesome, too. Heck, every sport should do it. Hire me, NBA, I’ll take care of this.
At the end of last week, Bulls.com beat reporter Sam Smith gave us a random mid-summer mailbag! Smith prefaces the post with a disclaimer of sorts, pointing out the noticeable optimism in the air (ah, it smells so refreshing). He covers plenty of offseason topics, including Markkanen’s potential heading into his third season. Reading through his comments about the 22-year-old becoming a 20/10 player made me think, does Markkanen have the most potential on this team?
Some may think that’s an easy answer, but when you pit him against Zach LaVine and Wendell Carter Jr., it’s hard to decide who could have the best career. Carter Jr. still has so much to prove at this level, but his upside appears extremely high with the versatile skill set he possesses for a center. As for LaVine, he may very well have another level to his game, but we probably saw close to his offensive ceiling last season (which if you add winning/average defense is All-Star-caliber). As for Markkanen, we are still waiting around to see exactly what he can become. When you take into account his size with the rebounding ability and shooting, Markkanen feels like he should have the most upside. Although, while we’ve seen great flashes (like in February last season) his health and inconsistent aggressiveness on the court is holding him back. Smith points out that the true test for Markkanen’s potential is whether he can become the team’s “go-to guy” whether that be late in the game or just when a bucket is needed. Markkanen has the tools to be that guy, but does he want to be is the real question.
(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
Yeah, of course, Zion is the only one to get this right:
Shoutout to Mark Schanowski who has been killing it for years over with NBC Sports Chicago as their primary Bulls pregame and postgame host. Schanowski will remain on the team (which is good news for all of us), but will be stepping back on a number of his primary duties. He deserves a break! And, okay, stop harassing me, I’ll host the Bulls postgame show.
Coby White winning Rookie of the Year would be pretty darn awesome, but it’s going to be super hard. I looked into some of the average stats for ROY candidates over the last 10 years, and unless the Bulls decide to run things completely through White right away, he probably isn’t even going to scratch the surface.
I’m cool with every picture of LaVine just being a shot of him dunking. Honestly, based on his Instagram, it just feels like every bucket this man scores this season will be via a dunk.
The bartender at the bar @CodyWesterlund and I are at is playing us at Connect Four. I joke it’s too bad he and Rajon Rondo never met when he was on the Bulls. He counters that Rondo is overrated at Connect Four because he doesn’t play against other elite players. Soft schedule. pic.twitter.com/YN4KtQxsJd
Elias Schuster is the Lead Chicago Bulls writer at Bleacher Nation. He started with BN full-time in 2019 immediately after graduating from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign with a degree in Journalism (yes, he started with the Jim Boylen Era). Since joining, Elias has been the driving force behind Bulls and NBA content for both the site and social accounts. You can follow him on Twitter/X @Schuster_Elias.
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