So … We’re Not Going to Rebuild, Right? Bringing Back the Mid-Range, Knicks Retain GM, and Other Bulls Bullets
Brett with an A+ tweet this morning:
I feel like Jorge Soler is going to be at an unfair experience advantage if there is baseball in 2020. pic.twitter.com/uHrHDlhekn
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) April 29, 2020
That’s why he makes the big bucks.
• Let’s make one thing clear: The Bulls front office is going through a full rebuild … not the roster. Sure, it’s very possible that Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley decide to blow things up, but Karnisovas made an effort to say he doesn’t like to use the term “rebuild” when he accepted this new role. Of course, part of that could be to ease fans’ nerves, but he also has an incredibly young roster with solid potential at his disposal. An avenue exists for these Bulls to be competitive quickly. No, that doesn’t mean this young core as we know it today will be the same in three years, but I think all of these players can be used to help the Bulls get to the place they want to go (whether it be on the court or in the trade market).
• Also, it’s simply not in Karnisovas best interest to rebuild. The Bulls are positioned to have max-level cap space in 2021 with Otto Porter off the books and a bunch of guys still on rookie contracts. It’s been utterly painful for Bulls fans everywhere to watch this franchise whiff time and again on big-time free agents. When Karnisovas and Eversley each took this job, I’d imagine they both knew this would be one of the more important and challenging areas to fix. When push comes to shove, talent is often what can win players over. If the Bulls want to have a legitimate shot at being a front-runner in the 2021 free agent race, they’ll have to prove their team is ready to become a consistent playoff threat.
• The second most important factor in signing a big-time free agent is to show them they can build a brand. A historic franchise in a top-3 market should have massive benefits, but the previous Bulls regime managed to tarnish the team’s reputation enough where those two things haven’t mattered. In a lot of ways, this is why I think the former Nike executive and 76ers senior VP of player personnel Eversley could be the right guy for the job. He should possess the skillset needed the help bolster this team’s reputation and convince guys that Chicago is the right place to become a household NBA name. Plus, it doesn’t hurt to have a sales pitch from an outside-hire instead of a homegrown soul – I came to Chicago to be great, you can too.
• Remember Luke Kornet? Yeah, he’s still a person. The Daily Herald’s Mike McGraw wrote about how Kornet can find himself a more concrete role with the Bulls in the future.
• LOL. The Knicks may have been the first to revamp their front office, but the Bulls are doing it WAY better.
Sources: The Knicks will retain Scott Perry as general manager on a one-year deal.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 29, 2020
• I have to ask, do you ever think the mid-range will come back in style?
https://twitter.com/BR_NBA/status/1255267463773683714?s=20
• I completely understand why 3-pointers are the way of today’s game, but the NBA has experienced plenty of shifts in play-style over the year. Even still for many young players out there, a mid-range shot is a relatively high-percentage bucket. Part of me just thinks there is going to be a player that comes into the league down the road that re-fuels the mid-range game. I’m sure it’ll be a while before that happens, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it did. I mean, it’s only a matter of time before we’re bored of endless 3’s.
• Charles Barkley has takes:
"[Jerry Krause] didn't take [the Bulls] apart. Anyone who thinks that is a fool. That was all orchestrated by [owner] Jerry Reinsdorf. The notion that the little man broke up the Bulls is asinine and absurd." – Charles Barkley on @dpshow
— Andrew Perloff (@andrewperloff) April 29, 2020
• My take: Yes and no. Reinsdorf deserves criticism, but so does Krause.
• *round of applause*
Still can’t believe they left this Michael Jordan reaction scene on the cutting room floor… pic.twitter.com/qnaOy00UNg
— Jordan Maly (@JordanCMaly) April 28, 2020
• Zach LaVine is going to breakdown his historic game later tonight on NBATV!
49 points
17-28 shooting
13 threes (Bulls record)@ZachLaVine joins @NBATV's Film Room to talk through his career game tonight at 7 pm CT. pic.twitter.com/iJzW3igMC1— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) April 29, 2020
• Good stuff!
Coby, Zach, the hero we all deserve Horace, @Will_Perdue32, @KendallG13 and many more! We’re pumped for this. #BeChicago https://t.co/46Oa0Y9Jc2
— Bulls Talk (@NBCSBulls) April 29, 2020
• I went on my friend Jeremy Werner’s podcast to talk about my days at Illinois and – of course – Bulls basketball. Check it out! #ShamelessPlug #SorryNotSorry
#illini Inquirer Podcast Ep. 82: Elias Schuster
I caught up with recent UI grad @Schuster_Elias about his path to covering the #Bulls, going to UI during a really bad #illini stint, front-office changes, "The Last Dance" and NBA outlooks for Ayo & Kofihttps://t.co/DoQLbdDXne
— Jeremy Werner (@JWerner247) April 28, 2020
