Bulls Still an “Elite” Opportunity, Markkanen’s Displeasure, Bringing Back Sports to Heal the Country, and Other Bulls Bullets

Quarantine Challenge: See how long you can go wearing the same pants until your significant other, roommate, parent, sibling or pet calls you out!

Also, if your pet calls you out … maybe step outside and get some fresh air. You’ve got bigger problems.

  • The Bulls already have four three great candidates for their front office overhaul!
  • The exact moment I sat down to watch Mission Impossible: Fallout (for like the 5th time) and finally zone out, news dropped that Pacers GM Chad Buchanan turned down the Chicago Bulls request for an interview. Immediately as I tried to write my tamed thoughts in our post above, my timeline was flooded with tweets that more or less said the following: “HA! SEE THE BULLS SUCK AND NO ONE WANTS TO COME HERE! CHICAGO IS SCREWED FOREVER! GET YOUR PITCHFORKS!”
  • I totally understand the reaction. Yes, this is an embarrassing look for such a dysfunctional organization to have their first interview request shot down. I get it. However, that shouldn’t prevent anyone from still feeling happy that the Reinsdorfs finally decided to make changes. Buchanan was in a comfortable spot in Indiana, and he didn’t want to leave. It happens. The Bulls are targeting high-profile, respected candidates, and when that’s the case, some candidates are likely going to politely decline. I don’t think Buchanan rolled on the floor laughing for hours on end before sending a middle finger emoji to Michael Reinsdorf. As much as we find ourselves feeling that this job opening is undesirable, it’s not. As ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and front office insider Bobby Marks discussed on The Woj Pod, this a very intriguing opportunity in NBA circles: “The people in the league you talk to still think Chicago is an elite job,” Wojnarowski said. If you can trust anyone on this matter … it’s these two.
  • In other front office news …
  • The Chicago Sun-Times Joe Cowley, once again, is reporting that Lauri Markkanen is an unhappy camper. In his latest report, Cowley wrote: “Make no mistake about it, third-year big man Lauri Markkanen was one unhappy camper before the coronavirus put the NBA on hiatus. Unhappy enough that if the direction of the organization was going to stay unchanged, he’d rather be elsewhere.”
  • This is basically the same thing he said earlier this season on 670 The Score, which was later flat-out denied by John Paxson soon after. We haven’t seen this reported anywhere else, and even if it is true, (1) change is coming and (2) he doesn’t have the ability to decide to go anywhere else. I guess Markkanen could try to demand a trade if he really wanted to, but that doesn’t seem like something he would do. Plus, I don’t imagine a new front-office leader would want to trade the big man while his value is (potentially) at an all-time low. With all that said, I don’t deny the fact that Markkanen has likely expressed displeasure in how he’s been used and how the team has performed. I’m just assuming a very similar frustration is felt by the rest of the roster as well. And, to be honest, I’m sure they all wanted to be elsewhere at some point this season.
  • Yesterday, the commissioners of all the country’s major pro sports leagues had a phone call with the President of the United States. Yeah, life is weird right now.
  • Overall, there isn’t much to take away from this whole thing. The ESPN report said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver made sure to mention that sports leagues were the first to shut down and, therefore, would love to lead the charge in “restarting the economy” once medical officials say it’s safe. The NBA, of course, was the first among the leagues to shut down, so you can imagine Silver wanting to bring it all back. There is certainly tremendous financial incentives to being the first pro sport back on the air. Hopefully, the dollar signs don’t cloud anyone’s judgement.
  • MICHAEL: Relatedly, Trump apparently also “raised the idea of the leagues working together to lobby for tax incentives that used to exist for entertainment expenses, such as the ability to deduct concessions and tickets from taxes, sources said. That could be a way for leagues to jump-start fans’ ability to return to stadiums in a difficult economy.” In short, business used to be able to deduct “entertainment” expenses, like tickets to sporting events, from their taxes, lowering their tax burden and getting more fans in stadiums (purportedly). If the leagues lobbied together, they may be able to make Congress act and reinstate that loophole.
  • In the meantime, the NBA continues to think of ideas to please the fan base. Next on the list: H-O-R-S-E.
  • I’d watch … and so would you.
  • written by

    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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