NEWSLETTER
Totally normal morning.
Nothing to see here.
Not busy at all.
- With a little over 24 hours to go until free agency officially opens, I think it’s safe to say the rumor mill is spinning at full speed. While we may not be dealing with the most star-studded free-agent class – especially with players like Zach LaVine, Bradley Beal, and James Harden expected to stay put – we are still looking at a class filled with high-upside role players.
- Win-now teams like the Chicago Bulls should be plenty active in searching for upgrades to their bench, and the Sporting News’ Steph Noh dropped a couple of under-the-radar names I could see fitting in well on this Bulls roster. Give his latest a read:
- If it’s not obvious at this point, I’d learn how to fly a plane and give Isaiah Hartenstein a free lift to Chicago. I know he isn’t the sexist name on the open market, but he’s a 24-year-old big man coming off a career year and projects to fit snuggly into the Bulls’ mid-level exception. As far as backup rim-protecting options go, Chicago could do a lot worse than Hartenstein, especially when we consider he still possesses upside as a passer and roll man.
- The other two names Chicago should have their eye on are Cody and Caleb Martin. As important as adding size is for this Bulls team, finding more reliable shooting and wing defense is pivotal. Caleb feels like he would make the most sense for the Bulls as the better downtown threat. He shot 41.3 percent from long range with Miami last season, and he also had a decently active presence on the glass with roughly 4.0 rebounds in his 22 minutes per game. However, Cody offers the kind of passing skills this ball-hopping offense could be drawn to. Defensively, they both play hard and provide good size at the wing.
- Another sleeper that keeps popping up in my head is Orlando’s Gary Harris. Officially off a contract that vastly overpaid him the past few years, he feels like someone who could be snatched for a little over the veteran minimum. Harris shot 38.4 percent from behind the arc last season on 5.0 attempts per game. While he doesn’t offer much else on that end of the floor, he does at least provide a consistently active effort on the defensive end. He’s pretty much the epitome of a 3-and-D guy at this point of his career, but that’s also kind of exactly what the Bulls need. Let’s also not forget that Arturas Karnisovas has a history with Harris, who started his pro career in Denver (where he spent six seasons) in 2014.
- Role players for role players.
- Honestly, I like that trade for both teams. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope feels like a perfectly solid add for the Denver Nuggets, while both Monte Morris and Will Barton should be able to bring a level of consistency and a winning mentality to Washington. Does this necessarily the Wizards up the East standings? Eh, I like Barton as another scoring option, but we’ll have to see what else they do over the next few weeks.
- This picture goes hard.
- Dame Time is about to get PAID.
- Basically all Cubs fans have to look forward to right now:
- Speaking of rebuilds …
