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Sam Smith

The number 11 was good for a moon landing; not so much for the Bulls achieving the impossible Sunday in the 2024 NBA Draft Lottery.

That’s because the Bulls based on their 39-43 regular season record had the No. 11 pre-lottery position. Their hope was shooting for the moon, like Apollo 11 did successfully in 1969, in this year’s NBA Draft. But after the smoke cleared, the Bulls remained at No. 11 for the June player dispersal following the Draft Lottery.&nbsp;

Eleven is a prime number, thus divisible by itself and one. Though it wasn’t this time for the Bulls in their 11th hour hope to be in position to acquire an elite talent in this year’s draft.&nbsp;

The number 11 often is associated with veterans because of the 11/11 Veteran’s Day to commemorate the end of World War 1.&nbsp;

The Bulls do well most games with their veteran No. 11, DeMar DeRozan. But with DeRozan expected to return with a contract extension and Nikola Vučević, the Bulls could still use more of those kids.

So with the No. 11 selection in this year’s NBA Draft, the Bulls select...

...Ja'Kobe Walter of Baylor, a 6-5 shooting guard for the all-time Coby/Ja’ Kobe backcourt.

Or another potentially good shooter. Or a wing like Tyler Smith or Ron Holland from the G-League, or a point guard like USC’s Isaiah Collier, or a big man like Kel’el Ware of Indiana, Kyle Filipowski of Duke or the G-League’s Tyler Smith? Bronny, anyone?

There’s going to be a lot of speculation to come the next six weeks.

The Atlanta Hawks, just ahead of the Bulls in the No. 10 spot, drew the lucky combination and fast broke all the way to No. 1 for the 2024 NBA Draft.

It was bad news again for the teams with the poorest records as the cursed Detroit Pistons again dropped the maximum four spots, the same as last year, from No. 1 to No. 5. The Washington Wizards in the second spot remained No. 2 and will select there. Charlotte with the third best odds fell to No. 6 for the June draft. The Houston Rockets in the preliminary ninth spot with the draft pick from the Brooklyn Nets moved up to No. 3 for the draft.

The San Antonio Spurs, who were at No. 5 this year and last year jumped from No. 3 to No. 1 to select Victor Wembanyama, moved up a notch to gain the No. 4 position. Portland dropped from fourth best odds to No. 7 for the actual draft. Toronto fell out of the draft as it’s No. 6 pre-lottery position went to the the Spurs at No. 8 to give the Spurs two top 10 selections.

Portland also has two picks, Nos. 7 and 14. But they still don’t have to extend a pick to the Bulls from a previous trade unless they get a non-lottery pick before 2028.

The so called experts have theorized this draft to not be among the best. Though that’s probably because there’s not an exciting, can’t miss No. 1 pick, like Wembanyama, Anthony Edwards, Zion Williamson or LeBron James. But there seems like a depth of talent at least through the middle of the first round. So it’s up to the teams to separate the basketball wheat from the underachieving chaff.

Here’s a look at an early projection for this year’s NBA draft to be conducted in Brooklyn on June 26-27.

1. San Antonio Spurs. Alex Sarr, 7-1, 215. Australia (France)

He’s probably as close to a consensus top pick for this draft who’s got some Wembanyama in him with a long reach. He’s also mobile and athletic. But what’s with this French assault? Who knew they knew basketball? Je ne comprends pas. That’s right, I don't understand, either. You figure this could be the start of something new in Atlanta with likely Trae Young probably on the market and a reshaping of a roster that shouldn’t have been this bad.

2. Washington Wizards. Zaccharie Risacher, 6-9, 205, France.

No team probably needs more than they do, and given the District of Columbia is an international city, why not the French wingman? They seem highest on their No. 1 pick from last year, France’s Bilal Coulibaly, who was their lottery representative. Assume they move Kyle Kuzma and are stuck with Jordan Poole (for LaVine?), but they’re a ground up operation for now. Risacher is a good shooting athletic wing, which we say about just about every 20-year-old these days.

3. Houston Rockets. Donovan Clingan, 7-2, 280, Connecticut.

Alperen Şengün came on strong last season as a most improved candidate, but has had injury problems. They’ve loaded up on guards and wings and could use some size in a Western Conference growing larger with the threat from the Minnesota Timberwolves. The NBA again is returning some to the you can’t have enough big men theory.

4. San Antonio Spurs. Dalton Knecht, 6-6, 215,Tennessee.

The conventional wisdom is they need a point guard to work with Wembanyama, which is true. Though with all the future draft picks they have and this season also at No. 8 they can acquire a veteran. What they’ll most need around a player getting so much attention, like Shaq did and LeBron does, is perimeter shooting. Knecht has some size and toughness and a sweet shot.

5. Detroit Pistons. Reed Sheppard, 6-2, 185, Kentucky.

There’s a team that can call conspiracy. Consecutive worst seasons and falling to fifth again undercuts all those break-it-up strategies because the lottery is so random. They’ve been accumulating talent, but little of it who can shoot. He’s a bit on the small side, but an excellent shooter and tougher defender for his size.

6. Charlotte Hornets. Stephon Castle, 6-6, 215, Connecticut.

Another team with a new coach and basically a start over mentality. Like with Atlanta with Trae Young or Washington with Jordan Poole, anyone want LaMelo (another Zach trade possibility?). They’ve got basically Brandon Miller from last year’s draft and need 14 other guys; or 16. Castle would be a good start as a hard playing guy with good size and time to improve his shot.

7. Portland Trailblazers. Matas Buzelis, 6-10, 215, G-league Ignite. Serbia.

They’ve got guards aplenty with not much size, and not going anywhere. He’s got some big ceiling possibilities as an exceptionally fluid, athletic big man.

8. San Antonio Spurs. Rob Dillingham, 6-2, 175, Kentucky.

Maybe take a chance at a point guard with their second pick who at least can be a solid backup. Or maybe more as he projects with some similarities to Tony Parker, whom they tried to trade for a veteran until they couldn’t and then won titles with him. The Spurs are getting scary.

9. Memphis Grizzlies. Cody Williams, 6-8, 190. Colorado.

No team had more injuries, so they’ll be returning almost an entire roster. The brother of Oklahoma City’s Jalen is a versatile wing player who can be there if not everyone returns.

10. Utah Jazz. Nikola Topić, 6-6, 200. Serbia.

They’ve got a load of draft picks coming, and with Danny Ainge quiet there could be big changes. They had the most trouble with someone to deliver the ball, so point guard is a start.

11. Bulls. Ja'Kobe Walter, 6-5, 195, Baylor.

The Bulls have The Coby, so why not Ja’Kobe? I can have fun with that, and the Bulls maybe can smile if they can draft a shooter like Walter. He’s got size and a nice shooting stroke, and while the Bulls could use some size and speed, they really, really, really could use shooting. So time to take a shot?

Got a question for Sam?Submit your question to Sam at&nbsp;asksam@bulls.com

The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Chicago Bulls. All opinions expressed by Sam Smith are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Chicago Bulls or its Basketball Operations staff, parent company, partners, or sponsors. His sources are not known to the Bulls and he has no special access to information beyond the access and privileges that go along with being an NBA accredited member of the media.

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Sam Smith's Mock Draft 1.0: Who will the Bulls select at No. 11?

The Bulls coming off a sub-.500 season and a knockout in the play-in tournament certainly could use a player like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Klay Thompson or Domantas Sabonis.

All of whom were selected with the No. 11 pick in the NBA draft.

Which is what the Bulls have for now, and probably still will during the new two-day June 26-27 NBA Draft in Brooklyn. Though that could change 2 PM CT on Sunday at McCormick Place when the NBA conducts its annual Draft Lottery. Rookie Julian Phillips will represent the Bulls on stage. The teams with the three worst regular season records will each have a 14 percent chance of winning the lottery.

Those teams this year are Detroit (again), Washington and Charlotte. The cursed Pistons last year also had the worst record, but fell the maximum four places to fifth in the lottery. The Spurs jumped from third—the same as they did in 1997 to land Tim Duncan—to first to get the right to select Victor Wembanyama.

The largest jump to No. 1 was in 1993 when Orlando moved from No. 11 to No. 1 the year after they got Shaquille O’Neal in the lottery and draft. Orlando in 1993 selected Chris Webber and immediately traded him for the rights to Anferenee Hardaway and future No 1 picks. It was the beginning of the greatest dynasty that never occurred because of injuries, free agency and the return of Michael Jordan. The two moves from No. 9 to No. 1 were the Bulls with Derrick Rose in 2008 and the Cavaliers in 2014. Andrew Wiggins was the No. 1 pick, but when LeBron James accounted a return to Cleveland the Cavaliers traded the pick for Kevin Love. The Charlotte Hornets had No. 13 in 1999 and moved to No. 3.

The Bulls have a two percent chance of getting the No. 1 pick and about a nine percent chance to move into the top four. This is not so much the weak draft that many have suggested, but it is one essentially without a standout and certain No. 1 selection. Like last year with Wembanyama or in 2008 when the Bulls selected Rose. Being able to draft a franchise player like the Cavaliers did with James in 2003 or the Minnesota Timberwolves with Anthony Edwards in 2020 can assure a team returning to a title contending timeline.

This is not that draft... with an array of athletic, young and many European prospects generally considered among the top picks in the draft.

If there is a consensus No. 1 pick in a draft perhaps the most uncertain since Anthony Bennett went first in 2013, it’s probably Alex Sarr, a 19-year-old skinny seven footer from France (sound familiar) who needs to develop. Three of the others mostly mentioned in the top five to eight in this draft include 6-6 Nikola Topić from Serbia, 6-11 Matas Buzelis from Lithuania and 6-9 Zaccharie Risacher from France. Having seen little of them is hardly reason to exclude any since NBA Most Valuable Players lately often come from overseas with the likes of Nikola Jokić and Giannis Antetokounmpo. And Dirk got one, also.

But they are, for now, project players. And it doesn’t seem like the Bulls are going that route. Nor probably should they. They need some ready-to-play draft selections, and if it were me, and even if the Bulls moved into the top four, I’d be interested in 6-6 Tennessee shooting guard Dalton Knecht.

This is such an uncertain draft that some of these early projections have him top five and others down in the 10 to 15 range. He’s a pure shooter and maybe not the greatest athlete, but good enough. The history of these draft lists of so called “best player available” are, let’s say, perhaps somewhat disingenuous. Because every draft redone five years later has maybe five lottery picks still in the top 14. So how can basically everyone have virtually similar identifications of the best players—and then select that “talent” in order—and then just a few years later there are eight guys in the top 15 who weren’t there on draft night?

Knecht may never connect or project as a star, but he meets the Bulls biggest need for shooting. He’s got good size and is a tough shot maker. He’s 23, which discourages many scouts on the notion he’s close to his ceiling. I say good because he’s ready to play in the NBA.

Another player like that at least seemingly ready to play if not a star projection is 7-2 Connecticut center Donovan Clingan. He’s a tough big guy. He may not have much offensive potential, but he moves well and would be good insurance and an eventual replacement for Nikola Vučević. Most early projections have him somewhere between No's. 5 and 15.

Then there’s a bunch of guards who have some possibilities, if not exactly. Like Connecticut’s Stephon Castle, whose shot isn’t great, and Kentucky’s Reed Sheppard, whose shot is but he is smallish. And Kentucky’s Robert Dillingham, who also isn’t the biggest. And I guess we see why they were down on with John Calipari with all that talent.

So if the Bulls get lucky with the ping pong balls and move into the top four, they’ll have some big decisions to make. Ready to play? Hope he becomes a star?

If the Bulls remain at No. 11, history with the likes of Gilgeous-Alexander and Thompson shows you can hit big. Though recent history isn’t so promising.&nbsp;

The Bulls had No. 11 last year and it went to the Orlando Magic from the Vučević trade. Orlando selected Jett Howard, who rarely played this season. The No. 11 selections the previous two years were Ousmane Dieng, who doesn’t play for Oklahoma City, and James Bouknight, who doesn’t play for Charlotte. Though some of the previous No. 11 selections have included NBA stars or reliable regulars like Malik Monk, Myles Turner, Reggie Miller, Allan Houston, Derek Harper, Nick Anderson, Fat Lever, Kiki Vandeweghe and Robert Horry.

The Bulls, however, have generally not done so well when they had the No. 11 selection in the draft.

Perhaps their best was Will Perdue in 1988. The current Bulls TV analyst was a competent, hard working backup center on multiple title teams, but he perhaps contributed most when he was traded for Dennis Rodman in 1995. The Bulls in 2014 traded up with two lower No. 1 selections to No. 11 to select Doug McDermott. The Denver Nuggets used those selections for Gary Harris and their center of the future, Jusuf Nurkić at No. 16. Then at No. 41 in that draft the Nuggets took a flier on another European center, Nikola Jokić. 

The Bulls did well in the 1985 draft, sort of, at No. 11 when they selected power forward Keith Lee. Then immediately traded him on draft night for No. 9 selection power forward Charles Oakley.&nbsp;

In the 1970s, the Bulls were having financial problems and lost most of their top draft picks to the ABA, including 1972 No. 11 pick Ralph Simpson from Michigan State, who became a five-time ABA All-Star. The Bulls had the No. 11 selection in 1970 and selected Jimmy Collins, who went on to a brilliant coaching career at the University of Illinois and Illinois/Chicago. But he was an NBA bust and subject of a famous Dick Motta story as then coach Motta was lobbying in that draft for a small New York guard who went in the second round (No. 19), Nate “Tiny” Archibald. Motta for years afterward would introduce then Bulls scout Jerry Krause as, "the man who talked me out of drafting Tiny Archibald.”

The process begins Sunday. Gentlemen, start your excuses.

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Everything you need to know about the Bulls' chances in the 2024 NBA Draft Lottery

Mike Sutera: What a meltdown by the Magic. They need Zach. I wrote you about a month ago speculating about a trade of Zach for Anthony Black and maybe Moritz Wagner. I'd love Black. But I can see the Magic going with a guy like Monk and a vet PG.

Sam: We were waiting to see who lost that series for the first of many speculated Zach destinations. I’d ruminated a few weeks back about maybe Mitchell because he has just one year left and then an opt out and that Cleveland isn’t exactly a free agent destination if you are not named LeBron or have him there already. Now that the Cavs if not for long have moved on—after a first round loss is when teams first panic because it’s usually an unsuccessful season—you assume they ride it out with Mitchell, or at least try. Especially since he basically was their entire offense. Which exposed the Magic even if they are following the model of the modern NBA with size, athleticism, though not quite enough shooting yet. Which they need. Zach could provide that, and Orlando showed they need a third scoring option. But also like with the Phoenix Suns they most need a point/facilitating guard. The Magic has a cart load of cap space and could absorb a lot of Zach’s contract, which I assume would be the Bulls dream scenario assuming moving Zach is the offseason priority, which is the common wisdom in most media reports. The issue the Bulls face, obviously, is it’s a risk at least for now for a team to take on three years of LaVine’s contract without having seen him play coming off surgery. I think Zach with his shooting and athletic style would fit with them and greatly elevate a team like Orlando, and I think they’d still have a chance to add that veteran point guard to run things a bit, a Mike Conley-lite type. But with finally making the playoffs, they’ve been deliberate and don’t face much pressure to improve dramatically next season and probably will try to wait for Anthony Black and add like you speculate around the edges of Banchero and Wagner.

Mitchell Metz: The Cavs survived but Mitchell and Garland are a bad fit together.  Either you keep Garland or you keep Mitchell and have him be the PG. 

Sam: That’s why they’re done in this round. As that series went on I expected Orlando to win. Not that missing Allen was that big an issue as the Cavs probably matched better going smaller with Mobley at center. The Cavs’ issue is Mitchell is so ball dominant that he does often take Garland out of the game, and Mitchell is a volume scorer needing a lot of shots. But the Cavs’ truth is they just didn’t have enough scoring otherwise, or enough that they had to revert to a buyout Morris to help save them. The insider conventional wisdom is that Mitchell wants to opt out after next season and Brooklyn is holding space once Ben Simmons comes off after this season. So big decision for the Cavs, obviously. I assume they’d like to try to extend Mitchell, but if he signals he’s gone then I guess they have to look for a trade partner and my point has been I think Zach fits with Garland because Zach isn’t running an offense. But again the uncertainty with Zach and that several big names could be on the market with questions about Jimmy Butler, Paul George, Julius Randle, Bradley Beal or Devin Booker, Damian Lillard, et al. Cleveland could ride it out a year and then offer the sign and trade to recoup something or follow the Branch Rickey better to move a year too soon thank a year too late. Keep an eye on that space.

Mike Queensworth: A DeMar sign-and-trade for Brandon Ingram would be amazing. Pels get a certified bucket getter down the stretch on a short-term deal and Bulls get a young guy who can get better. Bulls have Coby, Zach, Ingram (one year left 36)?

Sam: That’s a scenario that would interest me, though everything coming from the Bulls for a long time has sounded like DeMar remaining over Zach. I do think DeMar has a better sign-and-trade market given his health despite the age and you can go somewhat lower on the contract. The Pelicans’ management breakdown post season sounded a lot like the Bulls’ with a reference to patience having expired and they even mentioned the end of continuity. With reports they don’t want to extend Ingram it seems like they have to be all in on Zion—good luck with that given his issue staying healthy—but like the Bulls they have to try something else. Ingram does miss a lot of games, a lot really, but he’s a smooth 6-8 and could give the Bulls some needed size, and short risk given the Bulls also have to be looking at the summer of 2025 with Ball’s contract expiring as perhaps the target time to make the real substantial changes. Like with Mitchell. it might be worth the one year trial to examine the merchandise for a test drive and even if it doesn’t work out, you then have lots of flexibility and cap space to make other changes. If you commit long term to DeRozan, that’s likely gone. Even if it’s the reported two years with DeRozan, that still could complicate 2025. Even more than LaVine, to me the big offseason question for the Bulls is DeRozan’s future.

Brian Tucker: Do we now talk about the Clippers finally landing Zach LaVine? I’d take Paul George’s expiring deal if they’re ready for a split. I doubt it works that way, but I’m looking at all these teams out after the 1st round as potential trade partners. Fun! Because we’re not likely to get a good return of a star player or draft picks, my top preference would be a few role players in exchange for Zach. Second preference would be a 1 year bad contract. Either way, it makes sense that this is the route AK will take, and hopefully it is successful. In the end though, the Bulls really do need a star player to build around, and maybe they should think about the one year reset and tanking for a chance at Cooper Flagg in the 2025 draft, who looks like he could be something. Could they be so bad if they trade Zach and AC and don’t sign DeMar, while also keep filling the UC because Coby and Ayo are fun to watch? Call it competitive tanking?

Sam: And Patrick Williams? That rebuild path has been suggested by a lot of media, which probably dooms it right away. I don’t see this management looking for a reset like that even if it seems short-term and makes some sense. I’m not opposed to that kind of small step back, but they have often signaled they do not intend to pursue something like that. I believe them. Obviously, the tanking for a certain player is a big gamble and one the Bulls failed to get lucky on four consecutive lotteries. Though they do have a younger base now than they did then and don’t have to go full 20-win. The complication, especially as you watch these playoffs, is the path in the NBA now seems to be with younger, taller, athletic players. The biggest name veterans like LeBron, Durant and Curry are long out of the playoffs for teams like the Thunder, Magic, Pacers, and teams on the rise like the Rockets. So can the Bulls even afford to double down on players in their 30s and generally undersized at their positions and not particularly athletic? Or risk that fall off the .500 cliff to NBA irrelevance? And then does recruiting become even more difficult? They’re going to have to pick a lane, and I can’t even guess now what that will be. I’m also anxious to see.

Matt Worth: Is it the Miami Jimmy Butler era tipping point? There was a report: “There have been murmurings this year that Butler and the Heat may no longer be singing from the same hymnal. Butler, famously, does things his way, and Miami’s organization, famously, does not brook much individualism.” Jimmy and Thibs reunited again in NY as Jimmy even alluded to on a podcast. And has Herro played this last game in Miami? This was Riley on Tyler Herro: “He’s been fragile… Maybe someday he will surprise everyone and play every game.” And on Jimmy:” Pat Riley clearly wasn’t amused by Jimmy Butler’s comments about beating Boston or NY if he was healthy. He says he doesn’t know “is that just Jimmy trolling. But…. if you’re not on the court... you should keep your mouth shut.”

Sam: Jimmy back to Philadelphia to finally play with Embiid? Let the rumors begin. Though I also have this queasy feeling—and I am not a conspiracy theorist—that Pat Riley is cooking up one of these schemes again like when he and Dwyane Wade supposedly became enemies and Wade went off to get the big free agent contract, and what do you know Wade before long was back in Miami and dancing with Riley on a cruise and getting his long goodbye tour while still collecting from it turns out the Bulls even though as I recall the Nuggets had even offered him more money. Anyway, back to reality, or at least the NBA’s version despite who’s winning in these playoffs, the 76ers seem still a believer in the three stars formula. They also have cap room to absorb a big contract. Could the Heat be ready to reset? After all, it’s back to back eighth place finishes, and despite the playoff run last year they were three minutes from losing that play-in game to the Bulls. Jimmy’s 35 to start next season and more than most he has put in heavier minutes in his career. Jimmy’s got one more season at $48 million and a $52 million opt out, and it doesn’t seem like Miami is going for that extension. He misses a lot of games, and his agent says he’s not pacing himself and couldn’t play, which may be a greater concern. It seems like a Wade redux could be coming, and Jimmy may just be going. We all know Riley, who is an elite executive, isn’t going to just sit around and see if things get better.

Wayne Warner: If AK requires Bulls to not return same roster and not to be over cap, then seems logical. Let DeRozen walk as if sign him (even with trade) then over cap Match offer for Williams but then trade him. Then have the 4 guards in White, LaVine, Ayo & Carter; 5 wings in Caruso, Ball, Terry, Phillips & Bitim; 3 bigs in new power forward, Vučević & Sanogo and their round 1 draft pick. Roster changes as DeRozen, Williams, Drummond & Green no longer on roster… and Ball is essentially new, LaVine didn’t play much in 23/24, and bigger roles for Terry & Phillips. Just do not understand how Bulls can sign DeRozen to a big contract,  trade LaVine… as have to get back salaries that match Lavine… right?… so then over the cap.

Sam: That is the big guessing game and the musical chairs. I think they have a bit more flexibility than you suggest, but yes if they reup DeRozan for big money it would seem they have to basically come back with the same team that they said doesn’t work. There have been rumors about maybe trying to trade Vučević, which seems far fetched, and obviously the seemingly mutual agreement that it is time to move on from LaVine. If they can trade into cap space they have loads of potential flexibility. But that’s difficult. Williams isn’t expensive and I’m higher on him than most and would like to see him get a full chance at small forward. But if DeRozan returns, that’s out as DeRozan plays close to 40 minutes a game and then maybe you’d try to move on from Williams. I don’t see how you can judge him for a new contract if he comes off the bench another season or plays out of position at power forward. I assume they carry Ball’s money one last season and then move on. It would seem the big summer to make a mark is 2025 since both White and Dosunmu would then have one season left on modest for this era contracts, Ball, presumably LaVine and perhaps DeRozan would be off the books, and unlike this year it’s considered a deep draft class in 2025. Though the Bulls lose their pick in 2025 if it is not top 10 from the DeRozan trade. Also, they still need Portland to make the playoffs before 2028 to get that first, and the way the West keeps improving that unfortunately seems unlikely. So 2025 could be a big change summer and maybe you basically take a step back for just one season in 2024-25 while giving some of the young guys a chance to grow further. But not so much if DeRozan gets that big extension. If Benny hadn't wasted all that popcorn I could pull up my recliner and have some while I watched to see how this plot unfolds.

Chris Granner: Obi Toppin would sure look good dropping those corner threes in Bulls red! 

Sam: I've mentioned him previously as a potential free agent, and he fits the profile of one of the Bulls primary needs of a 6-9, athletic guy who can run the floor and make some shots. These playoffs continue to show more of that than ever seeing teams like Minnesota, Dallas, Orlando, Boston, etc. - the need for youth and size to have success in this NBA. That small ball, shooting thing was OK as long as you had Steph and Klay. Lacking that, as Pat Riley famously said, rebounding equals rings, and it’s still mostly a game for tall people. Or at least to make sure you gave a few. Minnesota loading up big seemed aimed at Jokić. And is working. It seems most likely Toppin remains since Indiana doesn’t have a huge payroll even with having to sign Siakam. And by the way, what the heck is Toronto up to giving up Siakam and Anunoby, who are modernizing both their new teams. Anyway, Toppin is erratic. Against the Bulls this season, he was one of 10 on threes in the four games and probably still projects as a backup. In part because he maybe doesn't have the highest basketball IQ. There’s the between the legs dunk in the Game 1 loss to the Knicks. Never a great idea in the playoffs with every possession so vital, but mostly useless on the road because that sort of dramatics perhaps is justified to engage the home crowd. The road doesn’t get you the momentum. And then there was his jump ball spike at the end of that improbable Bulls overtime win in March when there were 11 ways the Pacers could win and only one way the Pacers could lose, and Toppin provided that. But he is 6-9 and athletic, and that’s a good thing.

Ateeq Ahmed: On the Bucks. Do you think Bucks move Dame or retool around him and Giannis? By the way, was the game ball when the Pacers knocked out the Bucs the one the Pacers took from Giannis back in December. 

Sam: Nice. Giannis gets the ball from his 64-point game, but home again after the first round, and injured again for just about every playoffs. Which no longer seems coincidence having occurred that many times. He turns 30 early next season going into his 12th season, so he isn’t a young guy anymore. The Lillard trade was obviously to get Gannis to re-sign, so they’re obviously not doing anything with Giannis given he was hurt again and Lillard missed a lot of time. So you figure the Bucks run it back with the notion that Doc Rivers needs a full season to be comfortable with this team. But if the Lillard trade was a success for enabling them to re-sign Giannis, it was a failure on the basketball court with Lillard turning 34 this summer and more frequently unavailable. He's missed about a quarter of his team's games the last five years and the Bucks decimated their defenses to acquire the defense-challenged Lillard. Is there a Jimmy Butler trade there given how badly Miami wanted Dame and he wanted South Beach last year? Back to Milwaukee for Jimmy, where it all started for Jimmy at Marquette? A defensive stopper who took out Giannis last season? Jimmy's last stand? You gotta love the NBA offseason.

Chad Lankford: I am not a huge fan of LeBron the person and he will never pass MJ in my biased judgement as a lifelong Bulls' fan, but I recognize his greatness as well as only the marginal drop-off as he has aged and nears 40. That said, I wonder if the Bulls dump LaVine and Williams to highest bidders, resign DeRozan for the 3 years he desires, extend Caruso for say 3 years, draft Bronny in second round, and sign LeBron for 3 years (after opt-out) at a slight discount for the opportunity to "play" with Bronny. Or perhaps a trade of LaVine for LeBron during or right after the draft was my thinking. LaVine would like to be in LA and if LeBron knows the Bulls will or already have drafted Bronny, then he might accommodate such a trade to the Bulls. 

Sam: LeBron had his chance in 2010 to play in Chicago with Wade, Rose, Noah and Deng and turned it down. I doubt playing his kid will change his ideas about the Bulls. I am interested to see who draws Bronny if he remains in the draft, which I doubt. But LeBron supposedly has suggested the kid is on his own and it’s no longer a package deal. Of course, anything involving LeBron and Chicago makes no sense because if the Bulls resign DeRozan because even if they dumped both LaVine and Williams into another teams’ available cap space without taking anyone back—which is likely impossible—LeBron still would have to take about a $30 million pay cut. He’s not leaving LA, especially since he's now working on selecting the next coach. Though the best chance to move LaVine may be to the Lakers because LeBron’s buddy’s agency represents Zach and I’m sure LeBron would rather have Zach than D’Angelo Russell among several others there. Russell and Hachimura probably would get it done if LeBron signed on to a Zach deal. It likely wouldn’t be the Bulls preference, but if it comes to the Bulls are moving Zach no matter what it’s anyone’s guess what they’d get back.

Phil Flushing: The Suns are a mess. Beal is untradable. But maybe they can fill out their roster really nicely by dealing Booker. For: McBride, Donte, Randle, Robinson.

Sam: Be tough after the Knicks win the title? The Suns have that huge payroll and I’m not sure of the rules on whether they can take back multiple players in a trade with that second apron and all. But I agree this belief as they spun it post season that they can come back with those three and now that they’ll be comfortable all is good, well, that’s a stretch. The Beal deal was a banana peel. They’ve always needed a point guard which neither Beal or Booker is. That chemistry and effect of those Knicks Villanova players has been remarkable. It’s the perfect Thibs roster. Good for them for figuring that out.  I wouldn’t trade Durant, so I might take a serious look at something like that trade you suggest if I were the Suns. But the Knicks getting better? That the nightmare.

Allan Olson: Do you think Derrick Jones Jr. would have made the Bulls a playoff team if he’d stayed with the Bulls?  And why did he leave—was it just money?

Sam: No. I have no idea why he left. I think he actually ended up signing for less money. I was sure last summer he was opting in and Drummond was opting out. So, ooops, missed on that one. The Bulls have Jones Jr; his name is Javonte. Their issues are elsewhere.

Pete Zievers: It's a good development for basketball that the superteam concept has receded. For starters, there's a chance that money gets spread more evenly amongst the players. It gives other players an opportunity to showcase and get hot. When I was a kid I used to like to pick out that cool backdoor flip from Boerwinkle to Weiss or the work-a-day regularity of a Bob Love face-up. Point: every game had something a little different even though the team itself had a definite personality. Contrast that to superteam play where Curry dribbles around like crazy then launches one. I get that works out statistically... he's the best shooter and 3 things happen when you pass with two of those being bad. Still when the game was played that way I became an NBA fan. It wasn't so much that the stars hooked me, though Chet Walker amazed me with the many subtleties and his general sense of what he was doing. Such a good, good, good basketball player well worth watching the whole 48 for the comprehensive nature of his game. And of course, Jerry Sloan. That said, it was wonderful to see Gar Heard or Kennedy McIntosh or Cliff Ray or Rowland Garrett or Mickey Johnson make a play. It wasn't at all Scalabrine time. These were capable players showing and contributing towards the success that team enjoyed. It was easier for me to relate to these guys. Maybe it was just me or the fact that I was a little kid, but there you are. I'm thinking now that every basketball team needs a best player and that best player needs someone to complement him or her. But with a diminished emphasis on "we gotta have huge star power and as many as we can load up" it gives the other players a chance to breathe a little bit and consequently the game itself breathes a little bit.

Sam: Those are some good names. Though many of readers probably will have to look it up. It’s a get-off-my-lawn, I’m-keeping-your-ball-if-it-goes-in-my-yard debate, but for years we’ve had to listen to this New York lecture from the self proclaimed smartest fans that they know basketball better because they witnessed the 70s Knicks when no one averaged 20 points and everyone could shoot and pass and dribble and the ball moved around and everyone cut and moved and that was basketball. And not this star thing of Wilt or Kareem or eventually Michael. And then New York basketball became a point guard averaging 40 points. But hey, as we know, it really is mostly all about the ability to hold up a No. 1 foam finger. Nothing wrong with that. Oh, and by the way this Jalen Brunson. Wow! Fifth in MVP voting, and talk about who’s the most unlikely among that group. With what Brunson means to winning you’d place him among Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards, Jokic and maybe Doncic and Giannis. He’s part of the face of a dawning new era in the NBA. Wembanyama? Sorry, not yet; not when you’re a big part of winning 20 games. 

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Ask Sam Mailbag: Thoughts on Zach LaVine, potential trades, playoff reactions, and more

Bulls.com

The NBA announced today that Chicago Bulls guard Alex Caruso is the recipient of the 2023-24 NBA Hustle Award. Caruso becomes the second winner of the league honor for the Bulls since the introduction of the award in the 2016-17 season, joining Thaddeus Young (2020-21).

The NBA Hustle Award recognizes a player that impacts winning on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor on a nightly basis through statistics not always seen on the traditional box score – including deflections, loose balls recovered, charges drawn, screen assists, contested shots and box-outs, among others.

Caruso continually made his presence felt on both sides of the court for Chicago this season, ranking among the league leaders in a variety of hustle statistics. Along with posting career-high averages in scoring (10.1 ppg), rebounding (3.8 rpg), steals (1.7 spg – third in NBA) and blocks (1.0 bpg) through 71 games during the 2023-24 campaign, he ranked first among all NBA players in deflections per game (3.7), seventh in total loose balls recovered (73) and seventh in contested three-point shots as a defender (221). Among all NBA guards, he ranked tied for ninth in charges drawn (12) and 13th in total defensive shots contested (357).

Following an NBA All-Defensive First Team selection a year ago, Caruso set career highs in three-pointers made (136), steals (120) and blocks (70) this season, becoming the first player in Bulls history to record such minimums in a single season. He was the only NBA player with 100-plus steals and 70-plus blocks in 2023-24.

Caruso becomes the sixth winner of the NBA Hustle Award in its eight-year history, joining Patrick Beverley, Amir Johnson, Marcus Smart (3x), Montrezl Harrell and Young.

alex-caruso-receives-2023-24-nba-hustle-award

Alex Caruso receives 2023-24 NBA Hustle Award

Elias Zimianitis: I like this organization and I like Artūras' reflections. The proof is in the pudding. No judgement on individual players; just judgement on the results of the team. It didn’t work. Something needs to change. Let’s see what happens. I’d like to see them with a little more nastiness in all areas. A team that purposefully pushes to a win without thought or hesitation. A power forward who rebounds, defends and makes his presence known on both sides, would be great. Three-point shooter off the bench that could put pressure on the defense leaving them alone. If you were to guess at which event would happen in order, rank 1. Trading LaVine, 2. Trading/letting go of DeRozan, 3. Trading or matching PWill, 4. Holding onto 2 of the big three, 5. Lonzo playing at all with the Bulls this year?

Sam: The Miami game was sort of a wakeup call of that we’ve got all great guys mantra, and perhaps work in a jerk here or there. The Bulls were bullied badly in that game, and that does resonate with playoff ball when teams increase their will. The Bulls were not able to and have to examine that as well. The obvious needs are that shooting and size/athleticism at power forward; the problem is the names. It seems apparent from everything that was said and not said that LaVine seems scheduled to walk the plank first if they can accommodate that. Unless they move on from DeRozan, it’s difficult to see how that much changes. And there’s no indication they intend to move on from DeRozan. I expect Patrick Williams back for a last make-or-break run, and not so much Lonzo for now.

Morae Villaroso: What are your thoughts/feelings on the Bulls coaching staff current reconstruction? And what do you think these early moves suggest about either management and/or the team’s commitment to improving the roster as well as winning?

Sam: I believe they are committed to improving and changing the roster, and presumably the results, but I doubt this has any big effect. I saw some staff changes attributed in media reports to the Bulls public relations staff, and it is fairly common to change assistants when things don’t go well. If not a great response. It usually means the head coach wants more of his guys since Chris Fleming, who is well respected in the NBA and was a celebrated international coach before being an assistant with several NBA teams, was a holdover from the previous coaching staff with Jim Boylen. I don’t want to diminish the job because most assistants work harder than the head coach with studying film and game planning and advance work for much less money, but they also serve as sort of a comfort food for the coach with the personalities he’s most comfortable with. A head coach should be able to have his guys. Sometimes there are holdovers like Fleming or coaches that the organization has asked the new coach to retain. The head coach is the buck stops here guy and major decision maker. As for Mo Cheeks, he’s been hinting about retirement for several years. The important thing to remember is none of this should be taken to believe they were the problem or that change addresses the issues facing the team.

Jose Ayala: I’m sure you get this question from a lot of fans and here I am, about to ask again. I believe I read in one of your previous Mailbags that the Bulls tried to acquire D. Rose at one point during the offseason when he was a free agent as a Knick. Do you think he’ll ever come back to Chicago and the Bulls at some point while he can still play, even if it’s just a veteran role for the young guys? Imagine if Ayo, Coby and DT were mentored by DeMar and Rose. And, if he were to come back, would he even want to? I’ve seen interviews and podcasts where he said he still feels somewhat haunted by the Knicks trade and the way he was treated by the fans and media. He wanted to end his career as a Chicago Bull and I really, really hope he gets to.

Sam: It doesn’t seem like this management team wants to revisit much of that Bulls past with Coby White after this summer or into next season probably the only remaining player from when the new management took over, and they weren’t sure they wanted to keep Coby for a long time until his breakout this season. With his declining minutes last season, the rumor was Coby wouldn’t have minded a change like Markkanen got. That’s not unusual with teams, especially the way the Bulls were committed and successful with the Zach/DeMar/Vooch/Lonzo quartet. If Lonzo and Zach stayed healthy, Coby probably would have been gone, and no one would have complained. But they didn’t, he got his chance, and now he’s probably the most important Bulls player on the roster going forward. Life works out that way. You need an opportunity. Coby got his, but credit him that he improved and took advantage, and not everyone does. Derrick says he’s anxious to get back to playing next season with what should be a good Grizzlies team again after leading the league in injuries. It would seem at this point given his age and injuries, there’s probably not a roster spot on the Bulls for Derrick, though I can see one of those one-day contracts to retire as a Bull and perhaps a post-playing career community role with the team given his popularity. I expect him some day to be added to that Ring of Honor. And I still believe the combination of youngest MVP, multiple All-Star, two-time gold medal winner with USA Basketball, college Final Four combines to eventually make him a Hall of Famer. 

Alexa Marie: It was expected that Maxey would win Most Improved Player, but I felt the award should’ve gone to Coby (despite his poor performance against the Heat). Tyrese is already good enough; Coby quite literally doubled in stats and it shows how much he’s improved on the floor. He was more than deserving.

Sam: Must be tough for you these days when people call your name out loud. The votes were in before the play-in, so that game was irrelevant. As unfortunately was the 42-pointer against Atlanta. Maxey was the betting favorite all season for whatever that's worth, and that Coby got that close in the end — and actually was selected on more ballots — suggested strong support. And when it’s that close it’s like a game ending on a last shot. Both were good enough to win, but only one does. What probably hurt Coby was the Bulls inability to get over .500 since voters usually break ties by going with the player whose team was better on the notion that he impacted winning more. I think that's also why DeRozan finished second in Clutch Plater voting despite better advanced stats. Historically votes have gone that way for NBA awards. I’m not sure even why Şengün was on the ballot as a finalist since he didn’t play the 65 games. Actually, I might have picked Jalen Brunson over even those two. Both Maxey, who did become an All-Star and Coby who is on the verge, made that jump from player to star. The more difficult jump is from player/star to superstar since there are so few of them, and Brunson did that since he probably will be top five in MVP. I think Brunson got overlooked for most improved because he was in the MVP conversation. But leading that team as he has without another All-Star or anyone even close with Randle out to second place in the Eastern Conference was a remarkable achievement.

Mike Sutera: Orlando’s got 47 mil in cap spaceGot the perfect 2 guard for them, Zach. Don't want much either Anthony Black (Next Lonzo); And Mo wagner.

Sam: You may have something there as that’s the kind of deal that probably makes sense if not what sounds so great to us for a two-time All-Star. But Bulls management in the end season media conference emphasized change and that it didn’t work and it was the end of that Big Three and all that. If DeRozan resigns and they can’t trade LaVine because he’s coming off injury and Lonzo is at least working out that doesn’t sound like any change. So they seem to have to do something. The emergency of Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu, if not as athletic/electric scorers as LaVine, does give the Bulls some replacement cover. One concern I have regarding losing LaVine is the Bulls paucity of three-point shooting and he’s been the most accurate and with the most volume the last few years. It’s been apparent watching these playoffs the young Magic need a scorer and a veteran, though if they keep up with Thursday’s blowout results maybe that changes. But it would seem Zach could fit just right as their guard corps is pretty weak. Fultz and Gary Harris are expiring, Ingles is done and the rest are relatively small. Zach would seem a fine fit, and the teams have a trading relationship. The pause would be the risk Orlando is taking. The sense I get is Zach is doing well physically and will be ready to go and is in his prime. But it’s still a $135 million contract remaining and if he shows up at camp and can’t play that’s a job killer for any GM. Black didn’t play much this season and was overmatched when he did, but he’s a big guard who is athletic and a lottery pick. Not sure they’d give up Moritz and upset his brother. I assume they substitute someone else, but that might be the most you come up with. I’m sure the Bulls will try some big name swaps first — spoiler alert and it may be obvious that I am for bringing Zach back and using him and his talents, though I seem outvoted on that — but it may come down to someone like Orlando with cap room and especially if they are out in the first round and needing to take a risk to take that next step.

Mari Mendoza: There’s narratives that the Bulls are the laughing stock of the NBA and have been for quite some time. I personally don’t believe that. Especially given how hard we’ve worked and fought through adversity this season. Are we underdogs? Yeah, I think so; but definitely not “laughing stock” worthy. What do you think about these headlines, stories, etc.?

Sam: It’s the price of underachieving no matter the circumstances and you just have to take it until you can deliver an I-told-you-so. The Miami loss was a disappointment that fed a lot more of that because not that I would have picked the Bulls against Boston, but I could see them playing the Celtics much better and making it a longer series than predicted like when as an eight seed in 2017 they shocked the top-seeded Celtics winning the first two in Boston before Rondo got hurt. If Boston is making its threes no one beats the Celtics. But they don’t always and will also shoot themselves out of games and lose concentration in some games. And the way DeRozan has played and White and Dosunmu coming on as they have with Vučević who has had some big games against the Celtics, I thought the Bulls would be a better matchup than many anticipated, and you gain your credibility in the playoffs. Of course, I didn’t think Miami could make 23 threes as they did in Game 2. I know the Bulls can’t. Another reminder of how many of these games change on three-point shooting. The Bulls failing to get to the playoffs the last two seasons has allowed others to pile on. For now they just have to take it.

Clayton Marlow: I feel like we’ve let the team down these past few years as far as this core goes. Yes, I understand everyone was upset and disappointed that the season had to end then (rightfully so), but I would honestly hate to see anyone go. Hearing DeMar hint at retirement and Alex expressing his frustration really brought my spirits down; like being here isn’t what they want anymore after trying for the last three or four seasons. Maybe (and hopefully) I’m wrong, but that’s just what I’ve gathered after listening to the postgame pressers.

Sam: I didn’t take it that way. I think they still were a bit mystified why they weren’t more successful and being around them the last two seasons I genuinely believe they are convinced they still can do it together. I think the results forced management to if partly for public respectability to acknowledge some level of failure and that change is needed, if not any sort of drastic or dynamic revolt or revolution. We’re all anxious to see what it will look like. The early indications remain — even as there are some differences of opinion given the level of expected change — that both DeRozan and Caruso will return for another run.

Jaelyn Moretti: I'm not saying the Bulls should rebuild, but it's evident something needs to change in order for this team to be considered a contender or playoff team. We have all the pieces in DeMar and impressive improvement from Ayo and Coby, but for whatever reason, we can't stay consistent. I thought we would win this Miami game  after reflecting on the disappointing season last year. Have any of the media personnel for the Bulls (ex: Kendall Gill and Stacey King) considered coaching the team? I assume Billy and management are under contract next season, but I think the Bulls would benefit from their player experience.

Sam: Stacey talks about it at times, and then we ask him to reminisce about his Oklahoma days. I like to use for coaching Johnny Kerr’s bon mot about five guys running around with his paycheck; it is a players’ game. But don’t underestimate the work and the intricacies required to be an NBA coach. Since I go to most games I don’t hear them postgame much. I assume they are pointing out errors since they know the game, but a bit more delicacy is required in this era than you might think. The modern NBA player is talented and just as committed, but he’s not as open to condemnation as he once was with the independence of these huge, long contracts. There’s a lot more communication and psychology in coaching than ever, and there always was plenty of that as we recall Phil Jackson and how he talked about who he could yell at to send messages to someone else. And even if there’s no coaching school or degree, the men (and increasingly women) who do the jobs go through massive apprenticeships more like the artisans of colonial times to learn their trade for years before getting a chance to practice it for real. Stacey and Kendall do fine jobs broadcasting, and are right where they should be.

Kelli Esporado: I’m convinced that the Bulls front office is okay with us being the way we are. We’re capable of beating what people classify as “good teams” and have flashes, but I’m starting to think we’re just a performative bunch at this point; and that’s rather unfortunate and disappointing because we’re much better than our records show. I’ve always had a genuinely fun time attending Bulls games, but it can also be frustrating, especially when we’ve competed the best we could and still come up short.

Sam: They said they are not, and we have to take them for their word and then see what they will do this summer to back that up. But I believe them even if they don’t ask me to. I know the frustration of rooting for a team and seeing someone else celebrating so often. After all, I grew up in Brooklyn where we invented, "Wait ’til next year.'" We all hear often about these teams satisfied with selling tickets and making money, and it always is inaccurate, though a good venting exercise. No one with that kind of money who wants to maximize it stays in sports. They’ll start a hedge fund or any other number of investments. You stay in sports because of the love of the games and the thrill of the chase and competition. Losing satisfies little of that, and when it comes to management, losing means unemployment at some point. The complication is there generally are 30 groups of people (NBA at least) of relatively similar intelligence and skills all trying to be the only one that succeeds. There aren't many businesses like that where there’s a winner and 29 losers.

Sydney Bautista: I’m going to be honest: Unlike the media, other fans and even those who cover the Bulls, I don’t think this core has “hit the ceiling.” I’m tired of people saying that because this roster has remarkable talent (even though I was a bit concerned about Vooch this season). We’ve proven time and time again that we’re capable of beating “good” teams, but I don’t blame the players for being frustrated (or however they’re feeling) because they have every right to be. We’ve had issues staying consistent and base our games based on the type of team we face. But we also need a new coaching staff. One that isn’t afraid to be gritty and brutally honest. We’re too good to be this mediocre. I’m just rambling out of disappointment at this point.

Sam: Not an Allman Brother, however, eh? Tryin' to make a livin' and doin' the best I can; and when it's time for leavin’ I hope you'll understand; that you were born a ramblin' man? RIP Dickey Betts. Ah, I do digress. Well, they are changing some assistant coaches, but as I’ve noted there’s not as much brutally honest as you might think (or hope). Not from Thibs, either; sorry. This is some of the confusion many of us have since I was among the many who at least projected 42 or 43 wins this season. But there are some obvious flaws with the lack of three-point shooting which becomes ever more apparent the more playoff games you watch. We like this Bulls team because they compete seriously, don’t give up on games and don’t take off to rest like most of their peers around the NBA. But we also can’t ask them to make up for some obvious deficiencies no matter how hard they try. That’s what management acknowledged post season and I suppose we’ll see the response this summer.

Wayne Warner: I am in camp to not bring back (need a small shakeup) the unrestricted free agents- DeRozan, Green, & Drummond but bring back Williams. Seems that first part of next season will be determining how the returning injured players, LaVine, Lonzo (hoping for 16 min per game), Williams, Phillips, & Bitim plus the 1st round draft pick fit with the returning guys - White, Vučević, Ayo, Caruso, Dalen, Carter & Craig. Then after evaluation, be more active in trade deadline deals. I’d rather see a sign & trade of DeRozan to a contender over the cap…and a trade of Caruso to a team that has too many young players so needs a veteran wing defender. I like Caruso but his contract & skills can get Bulls some upside young talent / draft picks. I like the three guard rotation of Ayo, White & LaVine for next two seasons. And over the tax in 25-26.

Sam: I tend to favor that Zach angle, but in reality I can’t see it occurring. Like most have noted, both sides with the Bulls and Zach seem to have run their course together. Plus, the Bulls have high value for DeMar’s relationship with the younger players, and that means a lot to teams. I’m not for the blowup/meltdown for draft picks, and management clearly is not. Though your halfway angle has some appeal. You have a core of sorts with White, Dosunmu, Williams and Vučević, and it would seem you could get something pretty good with a DeRozan sign and trade and Caruso with his value (I can still see him getting a late Olympic team call with bodies going down in these playoffs; c’mon, Kawhi is limping already). The positive with DeRozan is so many positives of clutch scoring, shot making when everyone else can’t, getting to the line. But at some point you have to trust the kids and let them have the ball. It’s sort of like having a boyfriend or girlfriend you know you’ll eventually part with, but you don’t want to be alone so you hang in there. Sometimes you have to make the sacrifices for the future. Though it seems for now like a return of DeRozan and a two-year window as his and Vučević's contracts will expire—assuming DeMar accepts two years— after the 25-26 season. And by then with Ball off the books after next season, the Bulls would presumably have big salary cap space along with draft picks after the 2025-26 season. And in the meantime fill in around the edges with reserve shooting and some size and hope you stay healthy and the East isn’t that deep, and you know the rest. Hey, maybe? Though also maybe take a short step back without DeRozan and Caruso to get some of those needs now and you have a No. 1 pick this season now at No. 11 and maybe add a pick in trade and maybe miracle Portland gets into the playoffs before 2028 and you start with a style of play you can sustain with youth and speed? It’s perhaps the Bulls biggest offseason decision.

Brian Tucker: I question how much change can happen because of Lonzo Ball.  Obviously they had the injured player exception for him and didn’t use it because the team isn’t good enough to go into the luxury tax. So basically the Bulls are starting next season with 20M less than everyone else, which limits what change can be made without taking a significant step back, which I doubt AK is interested in. Maybe Lonzo plays again, but that’s nothing we can count on. I think AK tries to go after a useful player like Donovan Mitchell, though you have to wonder how willing they are to go for Zach. They paid quite a bit to get Mitchell and are finding success with him. I don’t think AK is willing to take a step back. Like a trade with Brooklyn to get Ben Simmons’ expiring contract to set the team up well for 2025 free agency seems like a viable rebuild strategy, where they could quickly rebuild with a lot of cap space and some good young talent. Not only is that 40M off the books but so is Lonzo’s 20M. Can sign a max player straight up with no trading needed. Okay, wake up time. I’m guessing DeMar wouldn’t want to come back under those circumstances.

Sam: I was thinking about the Cleveland possibility and Mitchell for Zach as free agents don’t go to Cleveland if they lost the first round, but they looked pretty good against Orlando. Ooops, ’til Thursday. So not giving up yet. That’s also the point with Ball; while the Bulls probably knew he wasn’t coming back, that $20 million on the cap left them at the starting blocks with everyone running. That’s a setback. I know there’s this narrative about the Bulls not paying players, but they gave four guys $20 million deals (and Zach double) and hardly any other team does, and certainly no one who’s in the middle. Maybe not cheer that, but it’s not for lack of spending. Remember, a billionaire owner whom many point to wanting like Mark Cuban got rid of superstars Steve Nash and Jalen Brunson because he didn’t want to pay them. The Simmons scenario is one you hear occasionally as it meshes with huge contracts coming off the books, and suddenly if you don’t have the money of LaVine, Ball and DeRozan with a competitive core that includes White, Caruso, Dosunmu, Vučević, maybe Drummond, Terry, Phillips, Craig, et al and some picks you have a reasonably competitive group and the possibility of being a major player in trade/free agency and the draft to remake your team in a year and maybe two at the most. Like you said, wake up. Likely not happening.

James Wallace: The Bulls were as good as I think you could hope. Injuries hurt. A bad start to season. But they worked hard and were often fun to cheer for. White is an example, I think, of how much better players can be with another year in college before they go to NBA. Learning on the job is rough in the NBA. The Bulls are getting a bit old. DeRozan had a great year, but does he want to end his career with a middle-of-the-pack team when he could be a difference-maker for a contender? At this point in his career, will money really decide it? Vooch is good, and moving him seems hard. LaVine is very good, but how many injuries does he need to recover from? If you try to trade him, who wants a very expensive player with a long history of injuries? Coach will have a hard time fitting him in next year. White and Dosunmu have shown significant improvement, but the Bulls could still benefit from a quality point guard who can shoot threes and lead the offense. In the upcoming draft, I would suggest targeting Jared McCain of Duke. He's a three-point shooter and a smart playmaker, which could be a great addition to the team. Current projections say he should be available when the Bulls draft, but I think this is a weak draft. I’m not sure Williams will get much interest as a free agent. He looks like a great basketball player but shrinks when he walks on the court. Caruso is a great versatile player. If Williams had his inner motor, what could he be? I would like to keep Caruso as a second-team guard and small forward. But you would be crazy not to consider offers. Most of the rest of the team are average to slightly below-average NBA players. This means they are very good if you want an average NBA team. This will be a tough offseason. Hard to trade older players. Free agent decisions for DeRozan and Williams are tough. Help from the draft looks weak, except I like McCain of Duke. I wrote before that I thought Sanogo was a smart pick at that point in the draft. Wish he had an outside shot; he could be another Draymond Green, but he doesn’t. Hoping some current Bulls player will come out of a phone booth like Superman is unlikely.  

Sam: And hardly anyone even knows what a phone booth is anymore. Imagine, our parents never had any idea where we were; of course, they didn’t care. But that was another issue. Anyway, valid points, which is what makes going from the .500 neighborhood to a gated one more difficult than just spending money. Coby has proven good enough to be a quality NBA point guard in this era, but you are correct that he’s not really a point guard and probably never truly will be. Most point guards in the NBA are scorers these days, so he fits there. He will move the ball and in unselfish. But he doesn’t have the gene. And that’s one of those you either do or don’t; you don’t learn point guard. Like you don’t learn quarterback. Either you are or aren’t. Coby misses a lot of open guys or guys moving to where they can get a better shot. He tries not to, but it’s hardly his fault. I’m not much up on the draft yet, but I took a peek at a few mock drafts and guys are all over the place. The Tennessee guy I like for the Bulls, Knecht, seems to have been noticed and moved up. In May 2017 after the lottery I projected this guy Donovan Mitchell for the Bulls at No. 16. The mocks had him low first or second as too small. By draft time, he blew by the Bulls to 13. These things change. Several of those mocks have the Bulls taking a point guard like the Connecticut guy, but then I saw one mock where he projected to six. Be a good year for the Bulls to luck into top four.

Adam DeBortoli: I propose the following trade scenario: Pistons accept the team option on Fournier. Bulls send LaVine and Ball to the Pistons. Pistons send Fournier to the Bulls. This opens the necessary cap space for the Bulls to sign DeRozan ($40MM/yr - 2yrs) and Williams ($15-18MM/yr) while staying below the luxury tax threshold. Management finally moves off LaVine. Detroit adds a veteran scorer in LaVine to improve the team and teach their young players. Ball adds depth if he is able to play. This seems like a win for both teams since it improves the Detroit roster and helps the current and future cap sheet for the Bulls. Both DeRozan and Vučević would come off the books in 2yrs, which opens cap space to resign White and Dosunmu once their contracts are up. The future success of the team would solely depend on how well White, Dosunmu, and Williams develop and perform.

Sam: There are some possibilities regarding Ball because he can’t play. He’s on insurance until he does and thus most of his salary is covered by insurance. Everyone wants to send Zach to the Detroit gulag, eh? The problem with that is more severe than speculation about a makeup trade with the Magic. The Pistons clearly need something, though unlike Orlando they do have a good shooting guard prospect in Ivey. They have plenty of cap room to absorb a big contract, but given their recent history of this current debacle you can’t be the GM who uses all his cap room on a guy who what if he comes into camp and isn’t ready to play? A team like Orlando is on the cusp and maybe someone like Zach gets them to the next level and it’s worth the risk. Detroit isn’t very close and a mistake could doom them for the rest of the decade. It’s why the circumstances with Zach are going to be quite the tightrope for the Bulls. You have to hope they keep their balance.

Jocelyn Casas: Part of me wonders what would’ve happened if the Heat had won against Philly, especially with a semi-healthy Embiid. We’ve seen a few times this season, however, that both teams take it personally when they lose to us. We got blown out by the Sixers the last time we met and I just knew the Heat would come more prepared. What do you believe would’ve occurred had we went against Philadelphia?

Sam: Like I’ve speculated I felt the Bulls would have been a better match for the Celtics. Though it’s easier to sit home and believe you are better than what you experienced. Which likely is why it’s time for change. Seeing the Bulls play as seriously as they do and win impressively against some top teams and appreciate the effort and character of the players, maybe at times we do get seduced into believing they are better than they are. I thought the Bulls got a huge break when Philly hung on and won that play-in game against Miami as Jimmy went out and it seemed obvious at that point that you were facing Miami without Butler. I packed for seven days when the Bulls went to Miami. And how did that one go? Like they say, you have to play the games. Though that perhaps was the one the Bulls really needed to wake them up to the change Karnišovas said now is necessary. The playoffs are about turning up your game, and when that was called for, it was Miami who did so with tough, aggressive play that belied the Bulls resilience that we so admired and they talked about so much. Like against the Bucks in this group’s one playoff appearance a few years back, they sadly weren’t up to raising their game for the playoff challenge. Perhaps it’s unfair because they just got the one-and-done play-in and no time to make the adjustments and respond to the more physical play. As we saw and embraced, these Bulls did rise to occasions. But when their reckoning arrived they were either unprepared or unable. And not a simple answer to blame Zach this time.

Bruce Roberts: We start off 5-14, not only losing, but playing horrible, boring, isolation basketball. Some hope arrives! Billy’s message about a different style of basketball, going downhill, sharing the ball and improved defense starts to take hold. Zach LaVine seemed to get the message. He makes key passes and his defense improves. There is definitely hope and then, …... LaVine requires season ending surgery. Despair and depression. However, despite losing LaVine we continue to play better basketball. Wow the Bulls are fun to watch. The narrative shifts to LaVine being a hindrance to playing winning basketball. The ball is moving, we are improving passing the ball and going downhill and we seem like we can be a .500 team. Patrick Williams appears to be reaching the potential we hoped for. Things look promising then ….. Patrick Williams goes out for the season with an injury. The season again seems lost. Out of this cloud blossoms spring flowers of Coby and Ayo. They are terrific and we are playing some excellent basketball. We make the play-in and play a terrific game against Atlanta. This is the high point of the season. Two days later we play a horrible game against Miami. This is a depressive low point. Lithium is required! Toward the end of the superb performance against Atlanta the ESPN broadcasters predict Coby and Ayo will not be able to get to the rim as easy against Miami. I agreed with the ESPN announcers. Miami was going to collapse the middle and protect the rim in a manner that Atlanta was terrible at doing. Sadly, Coby and Ayo repeatedly get blocked at the rim, missing open shooters and the Heat win by being more prepared with a better game plan. I am optimistic that next year Zach LaVine can fit our new, improved playing style. Patrick Williams was on the rise and Coby and Ayo are much improved. Keep the team together!

Sam: Check out Artūras’ post season conference. It doesn’t seem like radical change, but you can’t do the four times is a charm thing. Your point about the Miami defense is the salient one and speaks to not being able to exactly be as is and the break glass in emergency need for shooting. Playoff defenses are mostly about clogging that lane and you have to make threes, and even more so now the way the game is played. It’s actually to the Bulls credit they did as well as they did being outplayed on threes virtually every game; that meant they had to make up for it with effort, steals, extra possessions, defense, etc, all those things you like that are so difficult. But you play at such a disadvantage and ask so much of your players to continue to play like that. I know there were the injuries, but the Bulls also may have had one of the healthiest cores in the league with DeRozan, White and Vučević all among the league leaders in minutes played and rarely missing games with Ayo added to that and Caruso not going down for any length of time. I’m not sure you can continue to count on that with the playing time demands. Change is at least in the air.

Alex Romano: I watched the End of Season Press Conference with AK and while I'm not as vocal about my feelings towards the front office like some fans, I was admittedly surprised to hear what he had to say. He also looked visibly nervous answering questions; but I do appreciate his accountability and honesty about this roster. I've heard some fans say that "it was about time" he noticed that this roster wasn't clicking, but in my humble, personal opinion, I don't blame him for giving this core at least one more shot. Unfortunately, things happened that were out of the teams control (season-ending injuries in 'Zo, Zach, P. Will and now Julian and OB) and Billy did the best he could with what he had. Even though I saw this coming, it still hurts me to see this roster go, in all honesty. I've become especially connected with a number of guys on the team; just by watching them play and learning more about their lives off the court...it's all been really special. Watching us lose the way we did in Miami was a tear-jerker, too. But at the same time, I don't blame any of the guys for feeling the way they do. Listening to everyone postgame -- especially Donovan and DeMar -- they looked and sounded the most disappointed out of everyone. I still believe in management and don't think we're tanking. I think that fans, like myself, just want the team to be playoff contenders and for it to be better than it is. We also want to see the changes being executed rather than it being all talk. I hope the Bulls do DeMar right by working out something. Whether that means building around him, whatever it may be because he's done so much for the team, the organization and the city of Chicago. From being a great mentor to the younger guys, a determined teammate, recieving all these amazingly deserving accolades and generous with his media time -- all things you've highlighted in your features. because he is more than deserving. However, if he does decide to go elsewhere, I understand. What are your thoughts/feelings/analysis, etc. on his words?

Sam: I’m not sure why, but Karnišovas always seems nervous speaking to media and that's why I believe he rarely does so. I haven’t spoken with him much as he mostly limits himself to his group, but he always seems to have a nice whimsey about him and does seem very likeable. So I’m surprised at times to see those sessions. I agree with them about not rebuilding, but I did think they made a mistake in running it back exactly as is because they had obvious holes in shooting and size and especially shooting that it would seem could have been addressed. Though everyone is trying to get shooting and size, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they tried hard but just couldn’t; it’s not like they’d say so. My concern with Demar is at 35 years old, players who have played his many minutes are more vulnerable even if he seems in better condition than almost everyone in the NBA. At this point with two play-in outs, Karnišovas had no other choice than to say what he did and I feel like he handled it well. Now it comes down to as they like to say about the players, the execution. Other than that old coach’s joke when asked about his players’ execution and he said he was for it. I do agree like you and understand the frustration that they did look like and often played better than their record; and yes blah blah blah we always are told you are what your record is. I do hate that one.

Hailey Carrio: I know it’s still early to talk about this (or maybe not), but do you blame the fanbase for lobbying and acting the way it is, or has over the last few seasons over this roster? I personally like the team; I don’t understand why Zach gets so much hate from people. Vooch has been inconsistent and his 3-pt shooting this season was quite honestly disappointing. It made me wish Drummond was utilized more even as a backup. I am glad he acknowledged his faults. Do you actually think we could get at least a couple of free agent players like Klay? What do you think about Goga Bitadze and liked what I read.

Sam: Never blame the fans, and I know the team doesn’t. In many respects they appreciate the criticism because it demonstrates passion remains. Always better than apathy. I’ve never fully figured out the Zach reaction, either, because I know he’s mostly widely appreciated by the media for his availability and candor, and of all the players whom the Bulls have acquired since the start of the 2017 rebuild, only DeRozan has been more celebrated, and just barely since Zach was a two-time All-Star and USA Basketball gold medalist. If you didn’t know the name and said your team was getting that you’d be thrilled. There’s the defense rap, but DeMar and Vučević aren’t better. He called out Boylen when we all knew he was right; the only time he clashed with Donovan was because he wanted to play more. He played through a lot of injuries and held off surgery to be with the 2022 playoff team. He’s been active in the community and a solid family man. He led the team in shooting threes. Hey, Hollywood types are always divorcing the seemingly perfect mate. People, eh? I think the change talked about will be in the form of a good free agent with the salary cap exception, though Klay probably returns to Golden State in the end at quite a luxury tax cost. Goga is a backup center type; the Bulls have greater needs. Though I’d miss making references to one of my favorite Smokey Robinson songs, Going To A Go-Ga.

Kitty Mota: I know DeRozan has become the focal point of this season (and rightfully so), but I wanted to ask about Caruso and Green. Do you think they’ll be offered contract extensions or renewals, seeing as Caruso is on an expiring deal and Javonte resigned with us recently? I think they’re both deserving and hopefully fans get to see them again in a Bulls uniform.

Sam: Actually, Caruso has one season left on his contract while Green out of the G League is a free agent. I assume Green returns as he likely won’t cost much and he’s a loyal guy and the Bulls have been the most loyal to him. Caruso has that year left on what was a deal of about $9 million a year. He had desperately wanted to return to the Lakers where he won a title, but they never went above $7 million — one of many huge mistakes they still regret like the Westbrook trade over DeRozan; yes, they basically built the Bulls — and a player who came the way Caruso did has to take the most money. Now that he’s established himself as a top defender in the league he could be asking for double that after next season. So I guess that’s when the rubber hits the road, the time to deliver the goods, it’s all over but the shouting, time to get to the point, or the shooting guard. And tell Auntie Em to let Old Yeller out. Somebody stop me!

Ask Sam will appear occasionally through the new two-day June 26-27 NBA Draft and then resume next season.

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Ask Sam Mailbag: Regular season reflections, potential offseason moves and more

It was Vooch who almost a year ago—perhaps innocently and perhaps not so—threw down the gauntlet, which historically was the metaphor for a challenge. Bulls center Nikola Vučević, during Montenegro’s Olympic qualifying tournament last August, told Yahoo Sports about the 2023-24 Bulls, “We know we can do better, and we have to do better. We know it's kind of our last chance as this core of guys to do something.”

And so if the third time is a charm, the chain holding it all together may have snapped Friday night in Miami with the 112-91 loss to the Miami Heat in the play-in tournament encore which ended the Bulls season.

No matter what any of the players, coach or management said in the wake of such a disturbingly uncompetitive defeat for the chance to make the playoffs, it’s too soon and too raw to take too much seriously. It’s an inherent flaw in our media landscape even more so now with the demands for immediate conclusion in order to move quickly onto the next one.&nbsp;

We expect participants to exert themselves to their physical limits, and then minutes later to be calm, logical and reflective about their futures.

Bulls players and coach Billy Donovan mostly went through the boilerplate of predictable responses and analysis after the game, that the shots just didn’t fall, the injuries were too much to overcome in the end, the group held together and there’s enough there to reach their eventually goals.

But Vučević’s point eight months ago was perhaps the most salient.

If you try something three times—or at least two and a half—and you get similar results, and the results are unsatisfactory to you, then has it run its course?

Which is something of the klaxon for management. The noise is getting louder after the Miami crucible.

“Sad, disappointing for us because that was our goal this season, getting to the playoffs,” said Vučević. “We didn’t achieve it again, which was a big disappointment. Up to the front office now. We have a lot of stuff happening this summer they have to look at and decide, guys in free agency. It’s too early to discuss things like that in mid-April, just trying to process this now.

“We are aware it hasn’t worked out the way we wanted it to and we haven’t achieved the results we wanted,” Vučević acknowledged. “We’re very aware of it; that’s clear. That’s on management to decide and see what they want to do moving forward, what they think is best for this team to have more success. There’s a lot of stuff the front office needs to take care of this summer. They have to look at and see what worked and what didn’t and try to fix it and be better. Our job as players we should have been better as a team and done better and played better. We didn’t, and now it’s on them to decide what they think is the issue.”

For his part, Vučević had a good season, except as he noted with his 29 percent three-point shooting. Though he did make a lot of clutch threes. He averaged 18 points and 10.5 rebounds after precisely 17.6 points and 11 rebounds in each of his first two seasons with the Bulls. He’s been exceptionally durable, especially in this appointment playing NBA, playing 76 games after 82 last season. He’ll be even more vital to the team since Andre Drummond is a free agent. The 6-10 Vučević has two years left on his Bulls contract.

“I think we do have enough on this team to have a better result,” said Vučević. “For whatever reason, we are not able to do it. We have the talent, we have the players who can do it. The problem is we just haven’t been able to put it together consistency to be able to do it like we need to to be a good team. We show flashes here and there, we do it for a couple of games and then it kind of goes away. That’s been our issue, something to be fixed.”

No one is about to point fingers. Certainly not in this group of high character people.

Though there certainly are areas to address. After all, it’s basically a sub-.500 record for two and a half seasons since Lonzo Ball’s first knee surgery. So as Vučević intimated last summer, the proof is in the results.

It’s difficult to even speculate now because of the free agency of DeMar DeRozan, Drummond and Patrick Williams, the former two able to leave without Bulls input. There’s also been the trade speculation around Zach LaVine and to a lesser extent Alex Caruso.

The Bulls appear to have two significant areas to address, three-point shooting and wing/interior size. The NBA has evolved to a league heavily dependent on three-point accuracy. The Bulls have lost several games in which they appeared to outplay their opponent, but faced defeat with a deficit of three-point successes. Especially when Patrick Williams was hurt and needed surgery, the Bulls played even smaller often with Caruso at “power” forward. It often led to large second chance deficits even with Drummond’s impact in his limited playing time off the bench.

Age is mentioned at times with DeRozan approaching 35 and Vučević, 33, but both have been among the more consistent and reliable players on the team. But they probably need to have their minutes per game reduced, especially DeRozan after leading the league in minutes played. Even seemingly healthy players at that age have had devastating injuries with overwork, like Kobe Bryant, Klay Thompson and Dominique Wilkins. Eventually even the seemingly indestructible Michael Jordan needed knee surgery in his mid 30s when he went to Washington.

The biggest offseason question will be whether to resign DeRozan.

He’s said repeatedly he wants to return on a new contract, and he has been the team’s most valuable player and most reliable scoring option, especially with LaVine sidelined and his future uncertain. If DeRozan returns, you’d think he needs to play shooting guard to also give the Bulls more size by enabling Patrick Williams to play wing/small forward.

Williams is a restricted free agent, meaning the team can match any offer and retain him. He might not get an offer coming off surgery, so he could return on a one-year qualifying offer and then become an unrestricted free agent. The Bulls can always offer their free agents bigger deals as the home team.

Of course, the putative shooting guard is LaVine. Which is the rub.

The belief like with Williams is teams would want to see them play first before making a commitment. But there always are teams, especially when they underachieve and perhaps are eliminated in the first round after expecting more, who might be willing to make deals not normally expected. A player like LaVine could have great appeal to a team that has difficulty attracting free agents if the Bulls are moving on. There has been no firm indications yet they plan to, and the LaVine/DeRozan combination was working beautifully those first few months with Lonzo Ball.

Ball hopes to return next season, his final Bulls contract season assuming he opts into his contract, as expected. But after being out so long without playing and undergoing multiple surgeries it seems a lot to ask him to return at a high level of play. The Bulls would be wise to have low expectations and high hopes with Ball.

Depending on whether the Bulls can fit Williams in and finally give him a fulltime look at small forward, the position he says he’s best at, the team would need a replacement power forward. Even Caruso admitted after Friday’s loss the demands were too much for him at power forward at his size and weight.

The Bulls had their problems with quantity three-point shooting teams, but also the so called young and athletic teams. It’s likely why they suffered some losses against the so called bad teams. Many of those teams feature high jumping, active athletes while the Bulls with DeRozan, Vučević and Caruso, and to some extent Ayo Dosunmu, aren’t a high flying circus. Perhaps Julian Phillips will eventually help.

But there are possibilities in free agency, trade, sign and trades; it figures to be an exceptionally active transaction summer in the NBA.

The Bulls don’t need a star at power forward. Maybe athletic free agent players like Nic Claxton or Obi Toppin types. Favoring more style than finances, the latter which are premature for now, perhaps players like Tobias Harris, Taurean Prince or Miles Bridges types. The Bulls also could use maybe to put it delicately an enforcer type. There’s no fighting anymore in the NBA, but sometimes you need someone the other guys are looking over the shoulder for, like the Morris twins used to be.

For shooting, there are a range of players in salary and skill who could be or are free agents and have that range, like Klay Thompson, Malik Monk, Buddy Hield, Luke Kennard and Doug McDermott, players who more fit the Jamal Crawford/Eddie Johnson heat-up-quickly sixth man scoring and shooting role.

Like Vučević suggested, three seasons should provide an answer. But despite the disappointing closing game, the Bulls could be just a few musical chairs away, at least initially to a playoff position, without rearranging the entire orchestra.

“Obviously, looking at my season as a whole the one thing that sticks out is my three-point shooting percentage was not great,” Vučević acknowledged. “I’ll look at that and see the reason why. Did I overthink or whatever it was, see where to get better and improve. With us the consistency never got constant. We let a lot of games slip we had a chance to win. Close calls where we had a chance to get to .500 and never were able to get over the hump and the bad start dug us a big hole and that was hard to come back from.”

So just about that nine games under through November to at least make it five over afterward, which would be good enough for the playoffs in the Eastern Conference, and maybe find that athlete and that shooter, and figure out Zach and DeMar, and Patrick and Andre, and...

Better just give them some quiet time for awhile.

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Nikola Vucevic acknowledges disappointing season: "Up to the front office now."

It felt like all that was missing Saturday in the Advocate Center was Bulls Executive Vice-president of Basketball Operations Artūras Karnišovas with a skull in his hand mimicking the Hamlet skull soliloquy.

Alas, poor Bulls Big Three, I knew them well.

But not likely anymore because in the wake of the Bulls 112-91 season-ending play-in tournament loss Friday to the Miami Heat, Karnišovas Saturday signaled the death of the three stars alignment the Bulls put together in 2021as their potential championship representation.

But after consecutive losing seasons, the failure to make the playoffs since 2022 and injuries that often have limited Zach LaVine, Karnišovas effectively declared the end to the LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, Nikola Vučević triumvirate.

“This group, something doesn’t work,” Karnišovas said during the press conference. “I have to find ways to find a group that’s going to make improvements. We’ve done it for a couple years now and it hasn’t worked. Everything is on the table. It goes without saying that the conclusion of the season fell short of expectations regardless of injury, status. Any season where we don’t end deep into the postseason requires close examination, which has already begun. I can talk about all of our players through a positive lens, but in totality as a team we didn’t meet expectations. We’re not here for the play-in. It’s a team game and we have to make changes to fix things. I take full responsibility for where we are right now. I know that our fans aren’t satisfied with where we finished the season and neither am I. 

“Analysis will start right now and go into free agency,” Karnišovas declared. “I think we’re going to be pretty aggressive the way we showed before (summer 2021) going into the draft and free agency. We obviously can’t roll (out) the same team again and expect different results. We definitely understand that even with some of the positivity with the clutch wins and overtime wins, we’re still at 39 (wins) and at the play-in. We have to somehow generate an additional 10 wins. Even with injuries we suffered this year, we need to change things. I’m thinking about winning and that’s why I am here. I am not here to stay in the middle. The formula we came up (with) three years ago, I thought it was working. Until couple injuries and we’re going to have to find these answers in this offseason. Obviously, the results are not what we wanted and I totally get it and it’s on me to figure it out. There’s a lot of great things in certain individual players, and a lot of young guys who took a step forward and it’s positive but in totality as a group it didn’t work. Going into this offseason, we’re going to be more aggressive to look to improve this team. We’ve been creative in the past and going into this offseason basically everything is on the table, so we are going to look at everything.”

Karnišovas didn’t specifically discount the possibility of a rebuild, but it didn’t sound close to that path with indications of new deals with DeRozan and Patrick Williams. Both are free agents, Williams restricted, and Karnišovas indicated there is mutual interest regarding returns. 

Karnišovas also said he is confident in coach Billy Donovan and the work he has done and was indecisive on the return of Lonzo Ball. Karnišovas continued to emphasize substantial changes in the roster and being aggressive in the trade and free agency markets for the first time since the summer of 2021.

He indicated because of injuries, inconsistent performances and changing rotations his goal of continuity didn’t work as Donovan reiterated after Friday’s loss. Karnišovas didn’t specially mention LaVine, who has been subject to trade speculation.

Karnišovas also said he views the need to increase payroll into the excess salary cap luxury tax only if the team is on a sure trajectory to a top-four spot in the Eastern Conference and thus a first round playoff series with the home court.

“I won’t be satisfied until we bring a championship to the city of Chicago,” Karnišovas said. “That’s why I was hired, that’s why I am here, and my mission remains unchanged. It's a result-driven business and I'll be evaluated based on results and I expect that. Diving into this off-season I put an emphasis on turning this program around. I like what Billy has done here the last four years. Billy is someone you build a program with. He’s a very good coach and even a better human being. He’s obviously a great leader, great coach and I’ve got to do a better job to help him, to find a group. We put emphasis on cohesion this year and I think this group kind of bonded. In totality it didn’t work and I have to find these answers. We established a winning expectation, we defined a profile for the Bulls player, and we put an emphasis on player development. It is also on me to facilitate Billy with the resources he needs to build a team that can be successful consistently.”

— On DeRozan: “DeMar’s been great for us for three years. He’s been invested in the city of Chicago and has been really great to our young guys, so both sides are interested in continuing so we’ll see what happens in free agency.”

— On Williams: “The disappointing thing is we lost Patrick for the season, and the last three months. I wish we could’ve seen this team with Patrick on it. We lack, obviously, size without him. The both sides are mutually, they want him to be here. We’ll approach free agency as always.”

— On Ball: “He’s improving. We’ll see where he is at next couple of months (if) no setbacks we’ll see where he is at in terms of on court and basketball side so we’ll figure it out. We’re just going to wait and see his progression the next couple months. He’s progressing well. Everything is looking with no setbacks.”

— On paying the luxury tax: “My approach looking at the luxury tax is if you can prove that your team is going to be in the top four you go in the luxury tax. It just makes no sense to be in the play-in if you’re going to be in the luxury tax. As long as I can put a team together that is going to be competing top four in the East, that’s when you start to look at retaining guys and go in the luxury tax.”&nbsp;

So much for these Bulls’ players gibes, their gambols and their songs, the flashes of merriment. Yes, for the Bulls the game’s again afoot. Once more into the breach for Artūras.

Got a question for Sam?Submit your question to Sam at asksam@bulls.com

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Artūras Karnišovas addresses media following play-in tournament

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End-Of-Season Presser: Artūras Karnišovas

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