Bulls Podcast #39
It’s the Chicago Bulls Podcast 39 hosted by Marcus Couch and Wyse Black. Westbrook to the Bulls – What would you offer? Jabari jabs at Boylen, Coaches Challenge Flag Impact and NBA Summer League Reactions.
Welcome to the Bulls Podcast, coming to you from BullsPodcast.com. This is where we bring you the latest news, reviews, rants, rumors and opinions on the players, coaches and front office of the Chicago Bulls.
We’ve got several topics for this episode. Including:
Bulls Summer League Reactions
NBA introduces the Coaches Challenge Flag
Westbrook to the Bulls? What Would you offer?
Jabari Parker rips Boylen and the Bulls.
Bulls Summer League
The Bulls have entered Summer League in Las Vegas with mixed results thus far. The first game vs the Lakers Summer League team went well with great performances by rookies Coby White and Daniel Gafford. The Bulls won the game tonight vs Charlotte, bringing them to 2-2.
Coby White
Coby White has impressed a lot of people during summer league. He has a lot of improvement needed in a few areas, but overall seems like he will be a great point guard option for the Bulls down the road. He’s not starter material just yet, but he has that capability within him.
Coby had a well balanced 11 points, 5 assists and 7 rebound game vs Charlotte tonight. Coby White has averaged 19 PPG with 40% FG% and 4.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.7 steals in 26.7 minutes per game.
Daniel Gafford
Daniel Gafford has impressed so far and will be a fan favorite this year with those hustle plays and high flying dunks. He reminds me a lot of rookie Taj Gibson. I’m glad we didn’t sign Taj actually. We already have his younger clone right now. In tonight’s SL game vs Charlotte, he got 20 pts and 10 rebounds and some real nice effort and hustle, closing out the game with some key free throws for the win.
Gafford has averaged 11.7 PPG with 68% FG% and 8.7 rebounds in 26.7 minutes per game.
Chandler Hutchison
Hutch is on the SL team and has had mixed performances so far. Hutch has averaged 11.5 PPG with 29% FG% and 3.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 0.5 steals in 21.5 minutes per game.
Justin Simon
I’ve also been impressed with Justin Simon, a 6’5”, 205 lb guard from St. Johns. Simon has averaged 8.3 PPG with 50% FG% and 4 rebounds and 2 steals in 24 minutes per game.
Other Summer League Stuff Worth Noting:
Cameron Payne is the Summer League GOAT
Cam Payne is on fire for the Mavs. He hit 7 threes in a summer league game to close out with 36 points. A player high for Summer league so far. Guy’s been in the league like 5 years and still in Summer League? This is like playing against grade school kids on an 8 foot rim. Cam has averaged 20 PPG in 29 minutes per game and is all over ESPN as some sort of resurged hero to replace Doncic. Little do they all know..
Jaxson Hayes for Nola is pretty good. The 6’11” F/C is going to be one to watch in the NBA. He’s averaging 28 PPG on just 21 minutes per game.
Dylan Windler is the shooting beast we all thought he was. He’s putting up 15PPG for the Cavs.
Kevin Hervey for OKC is averaging a double double. It looks like this Texas G League standout may have a future on the OKC roster.
NBA Challenge Flag
Summer League is also the birthplace of the “Coaches Challenge Flag” to challenge referee calls. During the Bulls vs Hornets game, we saw this put into play and it actually overturned a called foul. This will be interesting to watch during the course of the regular season and could have a monumental impact on how pivotal games end.
If you haven’t subscribed to the Bulls Podcast Youtube channel, it’s something you need to do RIGHT NOW. You can just search for BULLS PODCAST, or go to youtube.com/bullspodcast and Subscribe.
Russell Westbrook on the Trading Floor
Bulls Podcast #38
It’s the Chicago Bulls Podcast 38 hosted by Marcus Couch and Wyse Black. We’ve got free agent signings Thaddeus Young, Tomas Satoransky and Ryan Arcidiacono, Full NBA League-Wide Free Agency Rundown and our Reactions to the Bulls Franchise Breaking News.
Welcome to the Bulls Podcast, coming to you from BullsPodcast.com. This is where we bring you the latest news, reviews, rants, rumors and opinions on the players, coaches and front office of the Chicago Bulls.
We’ve got several topics for this episode. Including:
Free Agent Signings from The Bulls: Young, Satoransky, Arcidiacono, Kornet
Our NBA Free Agency Rundown
Franchise Inside News – Where are we REALLY?
Bulls Sign Thaddeus Young, Tomas Satoransky and Ryan Arcidiacono
Right out of the gate, Gar/Pax and the Front Office struck with an early Free Agency signing by announcing the acquisition of Pacers vet Thaddeus Young. This summer was never going to be a splashy one for the Chicago Bulls. They weren’t going for the headliner signings, trying to lure big names like KD, Kawhi or Kyrie to Chicago in some kind of quick-fix attempt to shoot the franchise back to championship credibility.
When the Bulls acquired Otto Porter Jr. before the February trade deadline, they essentially declared the former Washington Wizards forward their major summertime pickup, just getting somewhat of a jumpstart on things.
Fast forward to June 30 and the start of NBA free agency, with teams looking to make huge splashes. Chicago did bring in Thaddeus Young for 3 years at $41 million to give the frontcourt much-needed depth. Next, on Monday, the team agreed to a sign-and-trade with the Wizards for point guard Tomas Santoranksy worth $30 million over three years. That makes two solid pickups for a team in dire need of some positivity this summer. On top of that, today we completed the free agent trilogy with the Bulls announcing the return of Ryan Arcidiacono for 3 years at $9 Million. All these signing were for 3 years with varied options, but this is our roster going forward for the next few years. Then today we got word of the Bulls picking up 7”1’ backup center Luke Kornet from the Knicks.
Let’s go over each of these signings.
Thaddeus Young: 3 years $41 Million
Thad Young confirmed the announcement by Tweeting to the organization. With this kind of message, it’s clear that Thad Young knows he has his work cut out for him. He seems like he understands the situation and is ready to put in the work with himself and the rest of the team to bring a winning franchise back to the City of Chicago.
Let’s break down a few of his stats:
Young, who just turned 31 years old last week, finished his 3rd season with the Indiana Pacers and was an unrestricted free agent. He’s a forward who has historically played both the 3 and 4 spots, though in recent years in small-ball lineups has drifted more to the power forward position. A stretch option in this role was a definite need off the Bulls bench, and presumably Young will play behind both Otto Porter and Lauri Markkanen.
The shooting has improved for Young in his career but still isn’t truly ‘stretch-4’ level. He upped his attempts and percentages the last few years, but still wound up at roughly 2 attempts per 36 minutes, and hitting at under a 35% clip.
Defensively, Young is generally used to guard the larger PFs. But he can more than hold is own against fellow combo forward options like himself.
And perhaps most importantly, he looks to be reliable, missing only 2 games the past two seasons combined. Plus he looks to possess that ‘good guy’ quality that John Paxson claims to value.
Tomas Satoransky: 3 years $30 Million
We talked about Sato back in March on this podcast, and it must be true that Gar/Pax listen to the show, because they went out and signed one of the guys we’re had our eye on for a while.
Bulls Podcast #37
It’s the Chicago Bulls Podcast 37 hosted by Marcus Couch and Wyse Black. We’ve got NBA Draft pick reactions and evaluations for Bulls picks Coby White and Daniel Gafford, plus a preview of Free Agents for the Bulls to target going forward.
Welcome to the Bulls Podcast, coming to you from BullsPodcast.com. This is where we bring you the latest news, reviews, rants, rumors and opinions on the players, coaches and front office of the Chicago Bulls.
We’ve got several topics for this episode. Including:
NBA Draft Reactions
Free Agent Prospects and Targets Going Forward
All season long we have urged you to embrace the tank! Was it worth it? We’ll be right back after this quick time-out to find out!
NBA DRAFT REACTION
After a feverish amount of trades with Atlanta, Phoenix, New Orleans and of course, the blockbuster AD trade to the Lakers, the Bulls decided to sit this one out and made no trades prior to the 7th pick
Even before the draft, on social media the opinions were flying early and often regarding who the Bulls should pick, and even polls on if the Bulls would get it right concerning their own draft performance. Waddle & Silvy’s poll asking that very question resulted in an astounding 83% voting that the Bulls would screw it up.
In the end, The Bulls selected Coby White as their 7th pick. And we’ve got reactions and possibly a rant about this particular choice and what it does to our lineup with the Bulls.
He averaged 16.1 points and 4.1 assists as a freshman for the Tar Heels.
Obviously, drafting North Carolina’s Coby White means that the Bulls are going to try and pick up the pace in the offense. Coby is as fast as they come in Point Guards. We’re talking Derrick Rose level speed. He doesn’t have quite the shot, but he can dish it out to Zach, Lauri, Otto and WCJ with a quickness, so let’s see what this gets us.
Personally I was open to seeing the Bulls draft Cam Reddish, but I can understand why they went for a point guard of the future in this year’s draft. Reddish actually slipped down to the Number #10 pick by the Atlanta Hawks. One could have made an argument that Reddish was the better pick. Some may have even argued Doumbouya. But, when you take everything into consideration, White was the correct pick for the current state of the franchise.
Wendell Carter Jr was actually present at the draft and personally welcomed Coby White to the Bulls Family on nationwide TV. We’re looking forward to becoming Coby White fans over the next few years as well.
In the second round, Chicago selected Daniel Gafford from Arkansas at no. 38 overall. It was not necessarily a flashy pick, but one which the Bulls can utilize almost immediately. He’s a 6-foot-11 big man with a defensive tenacity matched by few. Gafford comes out of the University of Arkansas after earning First Team All SEC this past season, as well as making the SEC All Defensive Team in both of his seasons with the Razorbacks.
Like our last Arkansas pick, Bobby Portis, Gafford is a long, high-energy big man who produced strong numbers in his final year at Arkansas. In fact, the numbers are eerily similar. Take a look at their final seasons with the team:
Portis: 17.5 points, 8.9 rebounds, 1.4 blocks, 96.9 DEF Rating
Gafford: 16.9 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.0 blocks, 95.7 DEF Rating
The points and rebounds are almost identical, but Gafford blocked more shots than Portis did in his final season.
Another aspect which Gafford has Portis beat is straight-up field goal percentage. Last year, Gafford shot 66.0 percent from the field. In Portis’ final year with the Razorbacks, he shot 53.6 percent.
Now, the one area which Gafford does not compare to Portis is from beyond the arc. In today’s NBA, it certainly helps to have some range as a big man. Gafford has zero outside shot, while Portis has developed his even more as a pro.
Bulls Podcast #36
It’s the Chicago Bulls Podcast #36 with Marcus Couch and Wyse Black. We’ve got Patrick Beverley leaning toward Chicago, Bulls Sign Roy Rogers, NBA Draft Workouts and 2nd Round Evaluations and NBA Free Agent Rumors.
Welcome to the Bulls Podcast, coming to you from BullsPodcast.com. This is where we bring you the latest news, reviews, rants, rumors and opinions on the players, coaches and front office of the Chicago Bulls.
We’ve got several topics for this episode. Including:
Patrick Beverley Leaning Toward Chicago
Bulls sign Houston Assistant Coach Roy Rogers
NBA Draft Workout and Combine Report
Free Agent Rumors from Around The League
Patrick Beverley to the Bulls?
We’ve talked about our admiration for Patrick Beverley from the LA Clippers. Even on our earliest shows utilizing the ESPN Trade Machine, Chicago native Patrick Beverley has always been on our radar.
Last week, I noticed on Twitter that there was a Chicago fan that made a brief 20-second video asking Patrick to come home to Chicago and join our young core. Patrick responded by saying “That’s Real” in terms of the emotions displayed by the fan.
So as your Bulls Podcast co-host, I decided to take matters into my own hands and take it up to the next level myself.
I tweeted “Hey @patbev21, as the @bullspodcast co-host, and SoCal resident, I will personally pay for and drive your moving truck from LA to Chicago if you sign with the #Bulls. #SigningBonus #ComeHome” I also included the gif of a classic moment in Chicago where Scottie Pippen pointed at his Air Jordans and did the finger gesture to “come here” in reference to Jordan’s comeback to Chicago.
He responded with 4 sets of “Bug Eyes” as if he was sort of shocked at a fan saying something like that. And I can tell you, with gas at almost $5 a gallon here in California, it wouldn’t be cheap for me to gas up the moving truck and head 2000 miles East to the Windy City!
Not only did he respond, but hundreds of other Bulls fans responded to that retweet asking him to come to Chicago as well. There were also a number of LA Clippers fans that were stunned at the revelation that Beverley might be considering jumping to the Bulls.
I even had some actor threaten that he would try and hijack the truck and drive it back to Chicago. I had a fun laugh at that one.. Like I wouldn’t be fully strapped up riding 2000 miles? Actors somehow think they do things on screen and it translates to real life? Twitter commenters sometimes don’t think.
Then with the news of the Bulls signing Houston Rockets assistant Roy Rogers, Patrick AGAIN tweeted out a set of bug eyes and said “Coach Roy signs with the Bulls, I see you coach” in reference to his old assistant coach in Houston that he previously played under.
He’s currently in Chicago right now as of the time of this recording. His agent Kevin Bradbury also lives in Chicago. Now if these things are not signs that Patrick Beverley wants to be in a Bulls uniform, I don’t know what is. We may find PatBev in a Bulls uniform sooner than we think, and I might have to get my driving snacks ready for a long drive eastward. But hey, that’s what being a Chicago born and raised Bulls fan is all about.
This is complicated by of all things, Kevin Durant. If Durant bails on Golden State and decides to show up Lebron in his own city and building to join Patrick Beverley and the Clippers, this whole scenario is out the window.
Bulls sign Houston Assistant Coach Roy Rogers
The Bulls have made some headlines in the coaching staff department, hiring longtime Houston Rockets assistant Roy Rogers to back up Jim Boylen for the next 3 years. Rogers was a part of building the Rockets defense and had a big influence on Clint Capela’s development as a player. This is something that can definitely rub off on WCJ and Lauri as they continue to develop their skills,
12 Podcasts I Can’t Miss
As most of you know, I was at the forefront of podcasting back in 2004. The opportunities that arose from Podcasting propelled me in a completely new career trajectory. In less than a year I was not only leading the pack in terms of sponsorship and listenership, I was studying the formula for creating and […]
Bulls Podcast #35
It’s the Chicago Bulls Podcast 35 with Marcus Couch, Wyse Black and Kenyatta Wright and we’ve got our NBA Lottery Results Roundtable and the current “State of the Bulls Fan”.
Welcome to the Bulls Podcast, coming to you from BullsPodcast.com. This is where we bring you the latest news, reviews, rants, rumors and opinions on the players, coaches and front office of the Chicago Bulls.
And we’ve chosen our most frequent guest to drown our sorrows with. It’s Friend of the Show – Kenyatta Wright. He’s a columnist for Hypefresh.co and administrator of the Bullseye Facebook group. Kenyatta, Welcome once again to the show!
We’ve got several topics for this episode. Including:
NBA Lottery Results Roundtable
State of the Bulls Fan right now
NBA Draft Lottery Breakdown
In a somehow unrealistic turn of events, the Chicago Bulls fell 3 slots in the NBA Draft Lottery and will receive the 7th pick in the draft for the 3rd year in a row.
John Paxson didn’t need to be talked off a ledge on Tuesday night.
There was no cursing from the Bulls vice president of basketball operations, no screams of conspiracy, not even an ounce of panic. Rather, Paxson was very calm just minutes after the 2019 NBA Draft lottery, in which the Bulls fell to No. 7 after finishing with the league’s fourth-worst record.
“First of all, it’s not catastrophic,’’ Paxson said. “It starts with what the league did last year in changing the odds. You look at what happened [Tuesday], I mean seven, eight and 11 jumped into the top four spots, and New York, who had the worst record ended up third. I think the league is probably pleased with why they went this route and how it turned out, but for us you always hope you get lucky, but again it wasn’t our turn to get lucky.
“I’m very convinced we will get another really good player at seven. We do our work, we’re going to try and find a guy that does what we like.’’
That’s not all they’re going to try, though.
For the first time in a while, the Bulls’ brain trust will keep a very open mind with this pick. That could mean trading it for a proven player, specifically a point guard.
In the past, the Bulls have been very confident in their scouting, so have relied on the best-available-player mentality.
The Sun-Times reported last month that one scenario the Bulls would explore, and had a dialogue about during the season, involves Lakers point guard Lonzo Ball.
The Lakers were one of the big winners in the lottery, moving up to No. 4, but Murray State point guard Ja Morant, expected to be picked second, will no longer be around to make Ball expendable. Giving the Lakers No. 4 and 7, however, does give them options, whether it’s packaging for a trade or building with youth around LeBron James.
Paxson wasn’t ruling out any scenario.
“I always talk about looking for the best available player, but we’re going to keep a real open mind with this pick in terms of going whatever direction it takes us,’’ Paxson said. “Whether it’s a fit, whether it’s best player, talk about possibly moving it for an established player if that makes sense, so there’s a lot of things we can do, and we’ll explore everything.’’
That’s not what Bulls fans wanted to hear, considering their dreams of Zion Williamson and the No. 1 pick were crushed quickly. Now, a trade or free agency is basically the only path for a change at point guard, especially if the stock of Vanderbilt point guard Darius Garland continues to rise.
Either way, the conversation about what to do with this consolation prize of pick #7 will be a continual debate for Bulls fans from now until draft day on June 20th.
State of the Bulls Fan:
Let’s face it. It’s really tough to be a Bulls Fan these days. Coming off a horrible 20 win season, the Chicago Bulls could not cash in with all the efforts of the tanking that we had to e…
Bulls Podcast #34
It’s the Chicago Bulls Podcast #34 and we’ve got an NBA Draft Lottery Preview, Our Picks to Replace Robin Lopez, Jim Boylen signs an extension, but is he really our best option? and Our NBA Playoff Picks and Playoff Lessons We’ve Learned so far.
Welcome to the Bulls Podcast, coming to you from BullsPodcast.com. This is where we bring you the latest news, reviews, rants, rumors and opinions on the players, coaches and front office of the Chicago Bulls.
We’ve got a lot in store for you this episode. Including:
NBA Lottery Preview
Who will replace Robin Lopez? Our Picks
Jim Boylen signs an extension, but is he really our best option?
NBA Playoff Picks and Playoff Lessons Learned so far.
Come TANK with us!
This was a very prominent week in Chicago Bulls History
* 30 years ago, Michael Jordan hit “The Shot” over Craig Ehlo in Cleveland.
* 25 years ago this week, Pippen Sits Down as Kukoc Stands Tall in Game 3, 1994 Eastern Conference Semifinals
* 8 Years ago this week, Taj Gibson Dunks on Wade in Game 1, 2011 Eastern Conference Finals
After this dunk Taj Gibson was trending worldwide on Twitter, and with good reason. Gibson went up, over and through Dwyane Wade in what was the rudest dunk of 2011
* 8 Years ago this week, Derrick Rose was named as the youngest MVP in NBA history.
In celebration of episode #34, there are many Bulls players that have worn #34.
Charles Oakley, Stacey King, Bill Wennington, Mike Dunleavy and Wendell Carter Jr.
NBA DRAFT LOTTERY
We’re less than a week away from the 2019 NBA Draft Lottery. There are a lot of scenarios that can take place once the ping pong balls start flying on Tuesday May 14th. Ideally we want either the #1 or #2 pick to validate the reason behind our tanking efforts over the season. Horace Grant will be the Bulls representative in the 2019 NBA Lottery.
Let’s go over some of the scenarios that could happen, depending on if the ball bounces our way in the early selections of the draft.
Getting the #1 Overall Pick
Obviously this would be the ideal goal that would make tanking the last 3 seasons pay off. Getting the #1 pick would bring Zion Williamson to the Bulls, immediately changing the franchise. Getting Zion would elevate the Bulls to an immediate contender and probably propel the Bulls to return to the national spotlight when it comes to national TV schedules for years to come.
There is also the option that the Bulls would be able to trade DOWN to the #2 pick and deal away Zion for a prominent Veteran in exchange for the #2 pick and hopefully someone to take Felicio off our books to boot.
Getting the #2 Overall Pick
If the Bulls end up with the #2 pick, we would have the self-proclaimed “Point God” Ja Morant on the roster, fulfilling our desperate need for a quality point guard that can both score and dish out dimes at will.
Getting Picks 3-4
Here’s where it gets interesting. If we get the #3 pick, there is still an opportunity to get Ja Morant, depending on what teams get in with the first two picks. There is an off-chance that Morant would still be on the board if RJ Barrett fits the need of whoever gets the #2 pick.
If we get the #4 pick, it’s likely that we will pick up Jarrett Culver, the Shooting Guard from Texas Tech. Culver averaged 20.5 PTS, 7.1 REB, 4.1 AST, 0.6 BLK and 0.6 steals in his sophomore season.
Dropping in the Lottery (Pick #5 and lower)
If the Bulls fall to #5, it’s likely that we’ll grab either Cam Reddish, Small Forward from Duke, or Darius Garland, the Point Guard from Vanderbilt.
Anything past the #5 pick should be considered a trade piece. There are no more significant Point Guards worth noting beyond the #5 pick. The only other option that might be around in picks 5 or 6 would be De’Andre Hunter, small forward from Virginia or Coby White,
Bulls Podcast #33
We’ve got Bulls vs 76ers Post-Game, Our Off-Season Roster Wish List and a New Game to Play: Keep Him or Can Him? Our Player Picks!
Welcome to the Bulls Podcast, coming to you from BullsPodcast.com. This is where we bring you the latest news, reviews, rants, rumors and opinions on the players, coaches and front office of the Chicago Bulls.
We’ve got a lot in store for you this episode. Including:
Bulls vs 76ers Post-Game
Off Season Roster Wish Lists
Keep Him or Can Him? Our Player Picks.
Come TANK with us!
Last Week’s Overall Predictions:
In the last 3 games:
Saturday April 6th – Bulls vs Philadelphia 76ers (Wyse – L, Marcus – L) Result: L
Tuesday April 9th – Bulls vs NY Knicks (Wyse – W, Marcus – L) Result: L
Wednesday April 10th – Bulls at Philadelphia 76ers (Wyse – L, Marcus – L) Result: L
Off Season Roster Review
Now that the season is over, what is the number one thing we need going forward?
Point Guard – We need an elite level point guard. Someone who can dish it out with a quickness and also be able to create his own shot. We need a better starter to replace Dunn. If we get #2, Ja Morant would be that guy and we could keep Dunn on the bench and sign Walt Lemon as the 2nd backup PG. If we don’t get Morant, can a lesser rookie start at PG? Shaq Harrison is on the books for next year as well, but it’s doubtful we keep him, as he didn’t have a very good year. Then throw in the Derrick Rose return rumors, and this thing gets much more complicated. The NBA draft lottery results will tell us everything as soon as our number comes in.
Center – Rolo may be leaving the team for greener pastures, leaving Felicio as a backup to WCJ next season. We need to solidify the Center role badly. We have a decent rookie in WCJ, but he can’t match up to Elite centers (yet). Just having Carter and Felicio at the 5 leaves a gigantic hole in our offense AND defense. Felicio does not play well with a single player on our roster. Statistically, he’s the worst player in all of the NBA in terms of on/off score. The Bulls are a -37 on/off score with Felicio in the game. That’s twice as bad as the next worse team. But what can we do with him??
Shooting Guard – We have too many shooting guards on the roster. None of the backups are of high quality. Most of those guys we have to end the season are waivers, trades for cash by other teams trying to avoid the luxury tax, or G-League guys. We’ll have LaVine, Denzel Valentine and Antonio Blakeney.
Small Forward – We love Otto Porter Jr, but will Hutch be able to evolve into a solid 3? Do we need another tenured vet to get wins over teaching moments for Hutch? Of course if we land Zion Williamson, we will have perhaps TOO MANY options. But that’s just a common dream among every lottery team in the league.
Power Forward – Who is going to backup Lauri now that Portis is gone? Technically, Felicio and Lauri are the only Power Forwards listed for the Bulls roster, but Felicio is probably only listed as a center because he sucks so bad and no one pays attention to what he does anyway. But this reinforces the point. We have no one behind Lauri to handle the 4 at all.
With all that being established and of all those things listed, what is going to be our biggest weakness that needs to get filled for next season?
Keep Him or Can Him?
Now that the Bulls Season is over, it’s time to put our GM caps on once again. We added a lot of new guys during the course of the season. It’s time to evaluate those “end of contract” guys and see if we vote to KEEP a player on the roster, or CAN the player, sending them packing.
Kris Dunn (PG) 1 year left on his contract
Marcus: CAN, Wyse: CAN
Shaq Harrison (SG) 1 year left on his contract
Marcus: CAN,