While my skin might be ready to shatter thanks to these subzero temps, my heart is as warm as can be.
Today is a big day here at Bleacher Nation! If you haven’t seen it already, our once-bossman Brett Taylor announced that this lovely local website has been acquired. Bleacher Nation will now join Betsperts Media & Technology Group, which is a company that will allow the brand to grow in ways that otherwise weren’t imaginable.
Now, to be absolutely clear, the Bleacher Nation you’ve seen is the Bleacher Nation you’ll continue to see. Not only is every member of the current team staying aboard, but a lot of the growth I mention above is behind-the-scenes stuff. The content, care, and fandom are all going to remain. As Brett made clear, this kind of change (if you want to call it that) wouldn’t have happened if that weren’t the case.
I won’t ramble too much longer about this, but I do want to write a big congratulation to both Brett and Michael Cerami. For some reason that I’ll never fully understand, they trusted me to come aboard and build out this side of the site. I’ve learned so much throughout the process and have grown immensely as a content creator. I truly believe I wouldn’t be where I am right now without the guidance and freedom to be creative that they have offered me. The two of them deserve everything that is coming to them with this news.
Lastly, I want to give a shoutout to everyone who has stopped to read a Bulls article in recent years. It continues to be mind-boggling to me that people will go out of their way to read the words that I type. And I want those same people to know that my goal is only to continue to develop my skills and provide more insightful material moving forward.
Anyway, I should probably start to write words about this crappy basketball team before Michael yells at me. Thanks again, and I’m so excited to be a part of BN’s next step!
The trade rumors continued on Thursday. One report stated that executives around the league believe DeMar DeRozan could seek a trade this offseason. All things considered, I thought this report was all bark and no bite, and I explained exactly where here. I also think it’s clear that DeRozan agrees, as the All-Star posted quite an interesting video on Instagram shortly after the rumor spread.
After reports surfaced on Thursday of DeMar DeRozan possible asking out this offseason, he posted this.
No player will admit they’re thinking about demanding a trade, so it’s possible that DeRozan is just trying to throw people off his scent. But I also believe he isn’t planning to go anywhere anytime soon. Would he consider asking for a new home if the Bulls entered tank mode? Maybe, but the Bulls would also likely plan to trade him anyway in that situation. In short, I just don’t think this is something that really needs to be worried about right now. As long as they continue to try to build a competitive team, I expect DeRozan to stay fully engaged.
The Chicago Bulls injury report is getting uncomfortably long. Heading into tonight’s matchup with the New York Knicks, Alex Caruso, Javonte Green, and Derrick Jones Jr. each remain out with differing injuries. Caruso, who had to exit the Bulls’ last game, is currently dealing with a concussion AND a shoulder injury. For a Bulls team that has already lost two games to this physical Knicks team, the absence of three versatile and switchable defenders certainly spells trouble.
The good news is that Goran Dragic will be able to return tonight after missing Wednesday’s game. With Caruso out of the lineup, I think it’s possible that we see Dragic get his first start of the season. There have already been calls for head coach Billy Donovan to use his playmaking ability more alongside the team’s All-Stars. Tonight could be a good opportunity to see what that looks like.
Chicago needs to guard the 3-point line with their life tonight. While the Knicks, technically, remain one of the poorer shooting teams in the league, their starting lineup turns into five Steph Currys against the Bulls. They hit at least 17 3-pointers in each of their two battles with Chicago last week, and Chicago can’t simply hope the law of averages comes into play tonight. They need to put real pressure on the perimeter from the jump to ensure this group doesn’t get into a deadly rhythm.
I’m planning to do a solo post on this next week, but Nikola Vucevic is quietly having a very solid season. If the Bulls do end up wanting to evaluate the trade market for him, they could be pleasantly surprised with his value.
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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