As Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer dropped the news this morning, I felt exactly like those hungry customers at the Krusty Krab. Finally, after weeks of sweating off one Zach LaVine rumor after another, we finally received a report that landed in the Bulls’ favor.
The expectation is that the two-time All-Star will not lollygag when the time comes to strike a fresh deal with the Chicago Bulls. It’s the outcome many of us initially expected, and it’s the outcome that is now being reported in the way we all hoped.
To be absolutely clear, nothing is set in stone until the pen is put to paper in July. And we have to wait to see if others join Fischer in reporting a similar story. Still, considering all the smoke that has billowed into the air since the Bulls season ended, it’s refreshing to see the LaVine narrative come back around.
My hope is that this marks the start of a pretty easy path toward a LaVine signing, thus allowing us to focus far more on the rest of free agency and the even-closer 2022 NBA Draft. After all, the work done in both will be pivotal to ensuring the Bulls improve on last season’s first playoff appearance since 2017. The last thing this organization can afford is any step backward, especially after sacrificing so many assets to build this existing core around LaVine.
With that in mind, I have little doubt we’ll see Arturas Karnisovas pursue veteran talent this offseason. Whether it be via trade or the mid-level exception, the Bulls are a win-now team that showed this season they must have consistently dependable bodies to take the next step. Does a EuroLeague superstar check that box?
In Fischer’s latest article, he reiterated the Bulls’ past interest in Vasilije Micic. The former-EuroLeague MVP’s draft rights are currently owned by the OKC Thunder, and the Bulls have now been rumored to consider him a couple of times.
Micic, 28, led Turkish club Anadolu Efes to the 2020-21 EuroLeague title while winning the EuroLeague MVP and has garnered trade interest from several playoff teams, such as Milwaukee and Chicago, sources said.
One other name I continue to ponder is Thaddeus Young. Karnisovas moved the old friend last summer in the sign-and-trade deal that put DeMar DeRozan in red, but there was always speculation that the plan was to keep Young in town. He played arguably the best basketball of his career under Donovan in 2020-21, and he filled a big position of need at power forward. With the Bulls still hunting depth in the frontcourt, they could do a lot worse than Young, who finished as a plus-defender for the seventh-straight season. Not to mention, he should be able to fit within the Bulls’ limited price range.
Unfortunately, I see two big problems in a potential Young reunion. The first thing to note is that Young was not happy about how his departure from Chicago went down, claiming that he found out online before he received any message from the team. He doesn’t seem like someone to hold a grudge (and he might be especially quick to forgive considering he and LaVine are close friends), but it’s something to consider. Secondly, HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto has reported that Young’s current team hopes to keep him in town:
The Toronto Raptors want to re-sign Thaddeus Young in free agency, league sources told HoopsHype. Toronto gave up a first-round pick in the draft as part of the trade to acquire Young, and the Raptors believe he’s a good veteran locker room presence who can still contribute on the court.
If you’re really into fish, Billy Donovan is the head coach for you. The company Cichild Bros installed a massive aquarium into his Chicago home last year, and they gave an update on how things are going below. For a full 22-minute long look at the setup (which features Donovan himself) you can go here.
I don’t want to be some kind of a buzzkill, but TV ratings just aren’t what they once were across the board, so I don’t know how much stock to put into this:
Zach LaVine has been a frequent guest on Jimmy Kimmel’s famous “mean tweets” series, and he made another appearance in the video released last night. I give the insult a 4/10. Pretty weak stuff, in my opinion.
Happy birthday to one of the most iconic shots in NBA history.
On this date in 1998, Michael Jordan scored 45 points including a game-winning jumper with 5.2 seconds left to win his 6th title.
That's still the last go-ahead FG made in the final 24 seconds of a potential series-clinching NBA Finals game. pic.twitter.com/eEYeQA0zef— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 14, 2022
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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