NEWSLETTER
How did I spend my morning? Watching the 2016 World Series Game 7 on MLB Network – i.e. the best way possible.
• Sometimes it can be hard to appreciate a player’s defense. After all, no one can deny it’s a scorer’s league. However, if you can do what Kris Dunn did this season, it’s very possible to carve out a long-time role in the NBA. We’ve seen frontcourt players like Bruce Bowen, Tony Allen, Avery Bradley, Marcus Smart, and Patrick Beverley (among others) extend their careers and grabs some nice sized contract for being defensive specialists. Dunn is on the brink of joining that list, as long as he can replicate this season on a fresh contract next season. But, unfortunately for him, that will be a lot harder said than done.
• While I believe he can keep up the defensive intensity, it’s hard to imagine he finds himself in a favorable situation. Thanks to the league’s suspension (and thus salary cap hit) it’s hard to know whether or not a team will invest in a player like Dunn this offseason. If the pandemic never hit (and he never got hurt at the end of the season), I could’ve seen Dunn land a longer-term deal at a little less than $10 million a year. Now, that doesn’t feel at all in the realm of possibility, which kind of sucks for him. The best-case scenario puts Dunn on a playoff-caliber team, one where he can focus primarily on his defense and get the recognition he deserves. The Bulls lack of relevancy and poor play certainly took a number of important eyes off of him this season. In fact, if Dunn had been on a contending team, I think he could’ve pretty easily landed on an All-NBA defensive second team … but I digress. While I wouldn’t mind seeing Dunn return to the Bulls next season, it’s just probably not going to be the best situation for him. The Bulls will have to rethink how he fits into the rotation with Coby White as the team’s starting point guard. The team probably shouldn’t run a three-guard lineup of LaVine, White, and Dunn – especially if Otto Porter is healthy. At the end of the day, accepting a $7.1 million qualifying offer from the Bulls is definitely not a bad move for Dunn financially, but it could result in a less-fruitful outcome. If he wants to officially move-up into the “elite defensive guards” conversation, moving to a different team might be his best bet.
• Anyway, to further grasp just how good he was this season, watch this video.
• The Athletic reports that Jerry Reinsdorf is expected to lay off a handful of baseball operations employees in the White Sox organization sometime soon. The other day, Reinsdorf told USA Today that he was losing money somewhere within the nine-figures range. The majority of the losses are said to be on the baseball side of things, but any lost money can have some kind of impact on the Bulls basketball operations. For more on all this, check out our post from the other day. My fingers are crossed this isn’t used in any way to deny further front office changes.
• Look back on Coby White’s first season in the Windy City.
• I wrote this for Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley. Can someone make sure they see it? Thanks.
Here’s a Bunch of Jim Boylen Quotes That Prove He Isn’t the Guy for the Job (Fun, Right?!)https://t.co/54vDt67fKK
— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) July 17, 2020
• Coby should have been made out of all fire emojis.
https://twitter.com/chicagobulls/status/1284261641459204097?s=20
• HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE BEST NAME ON THE TEAM!
Join us in wishing Adam Mokoka of the @chicagobulls a HAPPY 22nd BIRTHDAY! #NBABDAY pic.twitter.com/XEPyA5Qkcc
— NBA (@NBA) July 18, 2020
• RIP.
The world lost a Civil Rights leader and an American icon yesterday. #RIPJohnLewis https://t.co/H0TDih4pmw
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) July 18, 2020
