You know those nights where your sleep was just so darn good it’s actually easy to get up in the morning?
I had me some of that last night, and I’m feeling ready to take on the world … or just do bullets!
Resist the urge to immediately click out of the post after reading the following name: John Paxson. Still here? Cool. Over the weekend, news dropped that Paxson would not be doing his annual Christmas radio interview with David Schuster (before you ask, no relation). The announcement seemed as though it was just another way for him to dodge the media, but only a few hours later he provided one-on-one interviews to several Chicago media outlets. Across the board, I’ve noticed the comments to each reporter are all about the same. Paxson created some carefully-crafted responses that, for the most part, fail to take accountability. Did we expect anything less?
The Daily Herald’s Mike McGraw did ask Paxson one important question I didn’t see anywhere else – Why did the Bulls blow it up in the first place? I encourage anyone to read the post for his full answer, but it’s clear Paxson didn’t quite know how to answer it. “I can’t really define it in a … in this day and age when you have to make commitments to players financially and that type of thing, I felt, and I think we all did that we were plugging holes,” Paxson told McGraw. “Every year we were plugging holes and that wasn’t sustainable.”
I don’t want to go too far into the past and pick apart the Jimmy Butler trade saga, however, it sure sounds like Paxson’s referring to Butler. McGraw agrees, and mentions how Paxson’s logic was flawed. The organization should’ve known teams are built on sure-fire stars. With that being the case, the problem isn’t trading Butler, it’s simply that the organization didn’t ensure a star in return. Instead, the front office crossed their fingers and grabbed three young talents. If it works and one’s a superstar, the Bulls are back. If it fails and the evaluation was wrong … well … we’re living that outcome.
Anyway, back to the present day, the Bulls tip-off a four-game road stretch tonight in Oklahoma City.
The Bulls will have a shot at their second win-streak of the season tonight after – surprisingly – beating the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday for their first win of the season over a .500 opponent.
Asked about people saying, "Yeah, but" about this win because Clippers played without Kawhi, LWil and Beverley, Boylen said: "Well, we didn’t have (Otto) or Hutch or Gafford. So we can 'yeah, but it' a little bit too."
The three absences combined probably wouldn’t even make up for one Kawhi Leonard, but this is still what an NBA coach is supposed to say. The guys in the locker room picked up a big win, and they need to treat it like such.
The Chicago Tribune’s Phil Thompson talks about the football-like design to the Bulls final play. Dunn didn’t set a screen to help LaVine cut toward the basket, instead, he ran right in front of LaVine to force Paul George and Rodney McGruder to get tangled up. Dunn’s one smart cookie.
Denzel Valentine on his game-tying 3 in final minute: "I was just waiting for the ball to come my way. Zach is our best player. So the ball’s going to be in his hands. But shoot, I’m ready for it. I love those moments. I love to make those shots."
Forbes’ Jason Patt reminds everyone just how far Dunn and Valentine have come since this offseason. Honestly, other than Felicio, these two players were written off the most this offseason. Now, they’re two of the most fun things about this team. Dunn’s defense is grabbing league-wide attention, while Valentine is proving to be the most useful he’s ever been after missing an entire year on the court. Good for them.
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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