Durant Rumors Heat Up, the Bulls’ Active Offense, What Did He Rank MJ!? And Other Bulls Bullets

Stuck in traffic the past few weeks, the Kevin Durant rumors have finally picked up speed.

Multiple reports discussed the Boston Celtics’ desire to land the two-time Finals MVP earlier this morning. The organization’s willingness to discuss a deal around All-Star Jaylen Brown could end up making them the front-runner to land Durant this summer:

  • If the Celtics can’t pull off a deal, things could get real awkward real fast in the locker room. Not only has Jaylen Brown quickly become one of the better two-way wings in the NBA, but he just played a pivotal role in leading the franchise to their first Finals since 2010. He looks like a worthwhile franchise building block alongside Jayson Tatum, especially in an era dominated by high-end play at his position. But I think it’s fair to say these rumors could have him doubting whether or not the Celtics view him that way:
  • In my opinion, Brown is the kind of proven yet young/high-upside talent you need to trade in exchange for a superstar. Do I understand why he might feel slighted? Of course. But Kevin Durant is Kevin Durant. Rarely in the NBA have we seen a player of his caliber hit the trade market, so the only reason Brown is considered a fundamental piece toward getting a deal done is because he’s really freakin’ good. Now, does that make hearing your name in trade rumors any better? No, especially not after you perform as well as Brown did, but it makes sense.
  • The question now is how will Brown respond if a deal isn’t worked out over the next couple of weeks? One has to imagine this will create some serious tension behind the scenes, which isn’t great news for a Celtics squad looking to improve on their Finals run last season. From a Bulls’ perspective, though, it’s kind of hard for me not to hope that tension sets in. A Durant-to-the-Celtics trade would make Boston even better while also keeping the Nets relatively competitive thanks to grabbing Brown. Conversely, no deal could lead to an uncomfortable Boston locker room and a still-dysfunctional Brooklyn. As someone always evaluating things with the Bulls’ best interest in mind … give me the latter!
  • Interesting stat from NBA University on Twitter …
  • I got to be honest, this surprises me a bit when we consider how injuries forced the offense to become more one-dimensional last season. But it’s a pleasant surprise! I think this certainly speaks to how the Bulls want to play moving forward, which is an unselfish and active brand of basketball. The goal is to have a number of strong cutters and connective passers, and I do think they have exactly that in their rotation. Let’s hope they can stay healthy to show even more of that fun hard-to-guard offense we saw for 40ish games last year.
  • ESPN recently wrote up a post “reintroducing” many of the key players who missed the entirety of last season. Of course, this included names like Zion Williamson, Kawhi Leonard, and Jamal Murray. I know he doesn’t technically fall under this category since he played 17 games last year, but reading through this made me think about Patrick Williams. I’m not sure people fully understand how much time he missed last year and how big of a deal that could have turned out to be. He might immediately stand out as one of the missing pieces of last year’s puzzle when this season starts.
  • Nick Wright on First Things First ranked Michael Jordan the third-best player of the last 50 years. Chris Broussard proceeded to immediately call him out for his lunacy.
  • Don’t make a hot take just for the sake of making a hot take. We all know that man is the GOAT, Nick.
  • I got to admit, I do miss Daniel Gafford jams.
  • IS IT MUGGSY BOGUES!? WHAT ABOUT BARON DAVIS!? IT’S LARRY JOHNSON, ISN’T IT!?
  • Y’all better protect Justin.
  • Extend Willy, you cowards.
  • 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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