I kind of want to walk down the street and try to do this to people.
Maybe you’ll be my first victim.
Where’s the towel? I’m about to throw it in.
Not only are the Bulls riding a five-game losing streak thanks to a disastrous second-half effort against the (now) 13-25 New Orleans Pelicans, they’ve also lost their most consistent player of the season. Chicago fans haven’t had much to be excited about lately, but Wendell Carter Jr. has shown some extreme promise in his second year with the team. On the literal brink of averaging a double-double (11.1 points and 9.9 rebounds), Carter Jr. used the first 37 games of the season to prove he should be a major part of the franchise’s plan moving forward. I’m not quite sure how this team is going to operate without Carter Jr. manning the paint. Bulls basketball has already been pretty ugly … now it could get even uglier.
We’re devastated too, Wendell.
On the bright side, after starting Thad Young and Lauri Markkanen against the Pelicans, Boylen will turn to Gafford!
Former-NBA player turned analyst, Kendrick Perkins appeared on the Mully & Haugh show yesterday to talk Bulls basketball. To no surprise, Perkins didn’t have the nicest thing to say about how things are going in the Windy City, especially when it came to Jim Boylen: “Him building that high-school type atmosphere, culture, the guys are not having fun … I try to be a fan of Jim Boylen, but I can’t. Not in today’s NBA. The way he is running his system, it just don’t work like that anymore.” The city of Chicago agrees with you.
Perkins also discussed Zach LaVine’s role on the team, calling him more of a “robin” than a “batman,” which … well … fair point. If you want to listen to the full interview, check out the podcast here. Perkins must have been heated after talking about the Bulls yesterday though because he got into an awesome Twitter feud with Kevin Durant later in the day:
https://twitter.com/TheHoopCentral/status/1215538819346206720?s=20
Sorry, KD wins (in this fight and in the game of basketball).
K.C. Johnson shared a new mailbag yesterday with a lot of good insight. He talked everything from the rotation to trades to front office shuffling. Oh, which speaking of front office shuffling, NBC Sports Chicago’s David Kaplan had some major comments on the future of the Bulls front office … like REALLY major.
Before you get too excited, I think we all need to understand this is the first we are hearing of such “massive” changes. The other reports that have surfaced over the past months have been nothing major. Sprinklings about Gar Forman’s job security and possible “new roles” have been discussed, but as far as a complete overhaul goes, this is the only report. I’m not saying I don’t trust Kaplan, he obviously knows his fair share of people in the industry. What I am saying is the precedent set is that no one will lose their job. For that reason, I’m aboard the “I’ll believe it when I see it” boat. The circumstances do feel a bit different this time around (especially with attendance taking a hit), but banking on these “massive changes” is setting yourself up for disappointment. My advice: Expect little and be surprised if it happens.
Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale outlined what each NBA team should do during this trade deadline. For the Bulls, he said, “just don’t buy.” I’d agree.
Happy to get Oladipo back … scared it’s against the Bulls.
#StartDanielGafford
https://twitter.com/chicagobulls/status/1215670832992870402?s=20
NEWSLETTER
