Training Camp 2016

childukich

2016-17-bulls-players-portraits

2016-17 Bulls Players Portraits

Sam Smith

Steph Curry isn’t looking for tips yet. And no one’s intimidated that he might enter the All-Star Three-Point Shootout. But Dwyane Wade’s getting his three ball warmed up and ready to go.

“My game translates anywhere,” Wade told reporters after Wednesday’s second day of Bulls training camp workouts. “I’ve played with so many different players before. I’m not worried about that. It’s me trying to understand offense, understand what we’re trying to do, get to know my teammates. But I know where my sweet spot is, when to get aggressive. One thing I’m trying to get used to is that three-point shot is going to be open a little bit more for me. And Coach is telling me to shoot it. That’s a little new era for me.”

Forget about Robin Lopez’ shaggy dog look or Doug McDermott’s No. 11. The newest sight among the Bulls to many around the NBA may be Dwyane Wade going from Flash to current fashion, the three-point shot.

There haven’t been many “worsts” associated with Dwyane Wade in his Hall of Fame to be NBA career. Wade’s three-point averages the last few years have been so poor there’s a picture of a man turning away afraid to look on the statistics site for Wade’s percentage. But with a playoff three point shooting surge last spring, it may be that an old guy has plenty of new tricks to show. As George Burns once said, “You can’t help getting older, but you don’t have to get old.” Dwyane Wade continues to find ways to stay young and relevant.

Wade smiled a little at the thought of being asked to shoot the three because, well, as great as he has been, a three-time champion, 12-time All-Star and one of the dominant NBA figures of the last decade, there have been firing squad victims asking for Wade to line up from long distance.

The flashy Wade was known in his prime as an explosive, attacking, leaping player, confounding an entire Dallas Mavericks team in leading his Miami Heat to the 2006 championship. Wade was, if not reckless, a daring player who at maybe 6-4 challenged the basket and the behemoths and often was splayed out afterward. He evolved to a high level offensive sidekick for LeBron James for two more titles with a slithery, effective driving game and a short jump shot long on attitude. That game was good enough, he emphasized Wednesday, to still remain a 20-point per game scorer and among the league leaders the last few seasons.

It also wasn’t so much he can’t make a 23 foot nine incher, but it seemed to work just as well much closer to the basket.

“In the playoffs they take things away, right?” Wade noted about his play. “In the regular season, you play so many games teams sometimes don’t get a long time to prepare for you. So they may try and take one thing away. In the playoffs, they get a long time to prepare for you so you may be doing something and they’re going to take the next thing away. So you have to have counters. For me, a lot of people have talked about me not shooting threes. But no one has been able to take away what I wanted to do. So why would I do something else?”

But then last spring as Wade led the Heat through a pair of playoff rounds, he shocked the basketball world shooting 52.2 percent on threes, 12 of 23. During the regular season, he made seven in 74 games. Then he makes 12 threes in 14 playoff games. And clutch ones. Steph Curry made more threes last season than Wade has made combined since he came to the NBA in 2003.

But as the proud and defiant Wade indicates, he led the league in scoring one year and for seven consecutive seasons averaged more than 25 points per game cumulative. So, after all, why start to shoot threes?

Yes, Wade is bright enough to know three is more than two.

But he also knows a made two is worth more than a missed three.

It’s also a further confirmation for the Bulls that there are many ways to succeed.

It has been much noted that the Bulls three primary players, Wade, Jimmy Butler and Rajon Rondo, have not been exceptional three-point shooting threats in their careers. So Wade said he was pleased to hear that coach Fred Hoiberg wants him to shoot those threes, and Wade says he has no doubt he can do so successfully.

After all, if you were averaging 25 points one way, why make a dramatic change? But you’re never too old to try something new, and Wade also implied the Heat pretty much limited his three-point opportunities in their style of play. No more.

“I have the ability to knock it down,” Wade insisted about the long ball. “I’m not Doug McDermott. I’m not Niko (Mirotic). But I’m comfortable with the shot and I’m going to shoot it. I know it’s going to be there, so I have a better chance of knocking it down. Coach has been on me about it. Shooting it when it’s there, not hesitating. And like I said, that’s refreshing for me because I’ve never been told to shoot it. This is the first time someone is telling me to shoot the three ball. So it’s cool. Getting them up a little bit in practice, getting comfortable with it.’’

And, yes, he agreed he is no Doug McDermott.

The way Wade sees it, actually, McDermott could be the breakout player of this Bulls season.

Though NBA players know one another, no one ever truly knows another until they live with them, sort of like marriages, which, by the way, actually happen to be the leading cause of divorce. Though Wade seems to think this pairing is starting to work out. Now that Wade has been able to watch Bulls players up close as teammates, when he was asked about perhaps an early training camp surprise, he pointed to McDermott.

“I don’t really want to use the word surprise, because we’re all in the NBA,” said Wade. “But one guy I’ve been impressed with so far in camp is Doug McDermott. I think the way he shoots the ball and how fast he shoots it, but (also) the way he puts the ball on the floor as well and shows his athletic ability. Just by playing against him and now seeing his confidence in his game, the kid’s tough. He’s having a good camp and hopefully it will continue because we’re gonna need him. We need him make shots, and we also need him to do what he does, put the ball on the floor, be smart. Just be a smart player. He’s going to have to come in and play the two, the three, the four, different positions. So it will be a big year for him.”

Wade offered some observations on other things Bulls, like his favored introduction.

“Just, ‘From Chicago,’ something like that,” he said. “I thought about the whole Marquette University thing; it’d be cool to have two guys coming out from Marquette University. But I think coming back to the city, to say I’m from Chicago will be good for me. I did it so many different ways in Miami. I did it from Robbins one year, I did it from Marquette, I did it from Chicago. I know what they sound like.”

Wade said in Miami the players didn’t get to decide the order of introductions, and Wade said he doesn’t care, though Jimmy Butler could be introduced last among the starters.

And Wade is becoming first in the hearts of many Chicagoans with his delayed Chicago debut, one the Bulls once believed would come in the 2003 draft.

“I think the biggest thing is excitement for the season,” Wade said about the response he’s received locally. “I think a lot of fans are excited about what the possibilities could be, good or bad. People are already tuning in. We wanna take the ones who are thinking about the good things and make them proud and the ones thinking bad, turn them around and get them on our side. It’s been very good since I’ve been in this city. I get a lot of people saying the same thing, ‘Hey, man, we love that you’re here, wish you were here 10 years ago.’ Some people say we love that you’re here. Some people say it’s weird seeing you in a Bulls uniform. So I get a lot of different things. More importantly, I’m happy that I’m here. I think this organization and teammates, they’re happy that I’m here. And my wife is happy that I’m here.”

So are the Bulls in moving on from a disappointing last season.

“You ask the guys that were here last year, how rotten it was,” said Wade. “You want to hear from their perspective, whatever it was last year from the standpoint of losing. You don’t do that. I come from a different place and a different culture. Things are done differently different places. So I sat down and listened to guys. But the thing is, some of the things they talked about I know are not going to take place. Not while I’m here, not while Rondo’s here, not while Jimmy continues to grow as a leader. You talk about last year, but at the same time last year doesn’t matter. We have a different core, and I think our culture is fairly different. We have guys now, Rondo’s won a championship, I’ve won championships; we demand respect on the court. We’ve got a lot of young guys as well, so they’ll listen. We’re not a team with a lot of veteran guys that are kind of stuck in their ways. They’re all ears, and that’s a good thing for this team right now.

“Last year I averaged 19, the other 21.5,” Wade noted. “I can score, that’s fine with me. I’m willing to do whatever it takes. Scoring is one of those things that comes natural. It just depends on how high field goal percentage I shoot. I’m not concerned about that. If coach wants me to score, then thank you.”

The Bulls are saying their own thanks, one, two and maybe three times as often, for Dwyane Wade.

dwyane-wade-continues-to-expand-his-game

Dwyane Wade continues to expand his game

You’ll know where you stand with Rajon Rondo, who is emerging early in this new Bulls era as both the first true Bulls point guard in decades as well as a unique truth teller.

Rondo is direct, with his passes, which both Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade already have said are so good they catch them by surprise, and with his words. He tends to be terse with reporters, if not offensive, and with teammates as well. So Rondo, the new Bulls, took Jimmy, the veteran Bull, aside this week to deliver a message that needs to be emphasized.

“A leader can’t pick and choose when he wants to lead,” Rondo counseled. “He has to come out every day, every practice; we’re having two a days. If you are down, you need something to get your head right, you have to bring it every day, every day.”

It’s the sort of message that may resonate beyond the Xs and Os for this Bulls basketball team and provide a direction previously often missing or gone awry.

The question of leadership, and especially who is the leader or if there is one and if one is necessary, is an issue that has hovered above the team for several years like a looming storm. It’s been sort of the dark cloud ready to drown the team. It’s also been an odd obsession of media, demanding regularly to know who is in charge among the players.

It often became a divisive issue last season with Joakim Noah hurt, Derrick Rose recovering from injures, Pau Gasol facing free agency and Butler trying to grasp the new role. In reality, a leader generally emerges in proportion to success. A losing team generally is said to have a leadership void. Winners produce all sorts of leaders. Rose before his ACL injury in 2012 was the team’s best player, but a reluctant leader as a quiet person. Noah was outsized and bombastic, but slowed the last few years with injuries and losing his starting job. Tough to lead from the bench. Gasol was often seen as a mercenary merely passing through to take his shot.

So predictably the Bulls became a team without an identity last season and collapsed amidst their own disappointment and agenda, though perhaps inevitable as it truly was a last dance for that declining team.

It’s too soon to say who this Bulls team will be and how they will play.

But perhaps the most encouraging development of the first two days of practices has been the engagement of newcomers Wade and Rondo, who coach Fred Hoiberg said have even taken to stopping practices to do their own counseling of teammates.

“You just want to cut down all the chatter,” said Rondo. “Only a couple of guys should be talking in practice. As far as disrupting, when they do stop practice coach has the voice, then assistant coach has the voice and then the other players.”

It’s an encouraging development from what, at least from the outside, seemed like a contentious group last season battling roles and rules as well as opponents.

Though Rondo has a reputation, perhaps undeserved, for issues with authority, he’s been a welcoming beacon in elevating coaching as much as anyone in camp. He’s reached out for teaching and made that point to remind others that there is a chain of command, that the coaches are in charge and we’re not involved in a wide open democracy here. There are rules and discipline.

It’s a message Butler had to hear as well since last season, as he has admitted, he was enmeshed in the dysfunction while trying to grab that elusive leadership baton in the race for recognition. There were times last training camp Butler sat out as others sat out, sometimes a tit for tat about what leadership meant and how it was viewed and who it was and what that meant.

Wade and Rondo with championship rings and previous Hall of Fame teammates have come in and delivered messages that seem to have gotten everyone’s attention.

“To have a guy like Wade and a guy like Rondo and to hear their voice constantly and to stop practice and to pull the group together and talk it out amongst themselves, that’s been huge in these first two days,” Hoiberg said Wednesday after the second day of drills. “I thought today we were better than we were yesterday. And that’s what you want. You want to make corrections. You want to see that on the floor, not only when we’re going through and teaching but also when we start going live. Today was a much better day. It wasn’t as sloppy as yesterday morning. Obviously, we have a long way to go. But as long as we continue to make progress, we should be in good shape.”

In many respects, Hoiberg may be the ideal coach for this group, a former NBA player and executive who isn’t overly controlling. Hoiberg was criticized for that at times last season, even by Butler. But with strong, independent and successful veterans like Rondo and Wade ,who have played at the highest levels and in the biggest games in the NBA, Hoiberg’s teaching-without-being-overbearing style seems to not only fit well with the veterans but has enabled them to exert needed leadership.

“They’ve stopped, brought the group together and do what leaders do,” Hoiberg said about Rondo and Wade. “They’ve also (kept) the flow of practice going, pull a guy off to the side. Jimmy has done that. Jimmy did a great job last night (at evening practice). It’s about having that respect, being able to have constructive criticism for a teammate and not take it personal.

“Just his attack right now,” Hoiberg added about Butler’s presence, which has been strong on the court.

It almost seems a pressure relief for Butler to have two such successful veterans so he doesn’t have to strain and stretch to determine if and when and how he should lead. Or what it looks like.

“He’s doing a good job of attacking closeouts and angles,” Hoiberg added regarding Butler. “His strength is just off the charts right now. He’s just going through guys. We charted last night that he would’ve shot 10 free throws and that’s in a six-minute scrimmage. So I think it’s his overall confidence in driving the basketball and making plays. His leadership has been really good. I think he took to heart how much of an influence he would have to have on this team. And he’s done a really good job of that so far.”

That it’s been natural with Wade has been no surprise to Hoiberg.

“I expected him to come in and have great leadership qualities,” Hoiberg noted about Wade. “He’s gone above and beyond what any of us have expected. He’s just another smart basketball player. He does a great job figuring out his body and getting himself the type of shape he needs to be in. Now it’s up to us to gradually get him ready for opening night. He’s been out there. He hasn’t taken any plays off. We’ve gotten him in and out when we go up and down. But he hasn’t sat out any of the drills we’ve done.”

Hoiberg mentioned Wade took a charge during the Tuesday night session, and Wade later joked it was his fifth of his career.

“I like blocking shots better,” Wade said with a smile. “Just trying to do the little things. Little things like that matter. I like being around this team right now. The excitement, the energy is there every day we walk in. I’ve learned so much about this game that I enjoy passing on knowledge. Some of the times you have to do it on the court. Some of the times you’re going to have to do it in the locker room. Sometimes you’ve got to use your voice, as well. Coach has allowed myself, Rondo and Jimmy to be those leaders on the team, so I’m just trying to fit in where I fit in.’’

Obviously, Dwyane Wade is not just an interlocking part.

“When you have guys who talk, especially at the defensive end, that organizes your defense,” said Hoiberg. “He and Rondo are great at that. Jimmy is great at that. Taj (Gibson) is a talker. Robin (Lopez) is a talker. Wade makes players better. That’s the sign of great players, when you can make the guys around you better.”

So if smiles and camaraderie were wins, the Bulls would be planning a title rally after two days. Though that’s generally the story of 30 teams the first week of training camp. These veterans know it’s a lot more than happy talk, and Rondo, the great truth teller, added the reality. It’s not about being in love—or even a lot of like—with your locker room neighbor. It’s primarily about respect and professionalism.

“You have to like each other on the court,” Rondo said, breaking out a rare smile for his group media sessions. Rondo, of course, was famously supposed to be at odds with his Boston Big Three, though Rondo’s nature never has been to explain what the media mistakes.

“I just go off my experience,” Rondo said. “In Boston the year we won the championship, guys were so much different in age. You don’t have the same lives off the court. The Big Three hung together and then it was myself , Perk, Tony Allen, the young guys, Big Baby, hung together. It wasn’t we didn’t like each other, but that they had families; we didn’t. It was kind of similar, but I think we are all going to get along. It’s not a matter of who likes and who don’t like each other, as long as (when) we are on the court we have one common goal and we’re playing for one another.”

bulls-veterans-taking-the-lead

Bulls veterans taking the lead

The Bulls hope to rebound this season from a disappointing finish without a playoff appearance for the first time since 2008.

Which is why as training camp practices began Tuesday morning in the Advocate Center, Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg stressed that the starting positions weren’t decided.

Well, maybe one or perhaps two because, well, rebounding and who is going to do it may become one of the biggest issues dribbling into the 2016-17 season.

“I think we’re pretty set in the backcourt with Rajon (Rondo), Jimmy (Butler) and (Dwyane) Wade,” Hoiberg conceded. “We’re going to get baskets out of cutting and slashing and slipping out of screens when teams try to switch on us. I think the big thing with us offensively is we need to be a much better cutting and screening team.”

Then asked about Nikola Mirotic as the starting power forward to complement presumed starting center Robin Lopez, Hoiberg hesitated.

“It’s an open competition,” Hoiberg insisted. “That’s the thing I’m most excited about. Today was a great indication of the competitiveness of the practice. Guys were flying around, competing, talking. They were playing together, playing unselfishly. We’re going to play a lot of different combinations in this preseason. Not only in practice, but we’ll have seven opportunities in these preseason games to see who fits best with who and then plan the rotations accordingly. I ran Taj (Gibson) with the first group today. I ran Bobby (Portis) a little bit with the first group. I ran Niko a little bit with the first group. It’s going to be ongoing and we’ll see who wins that spot.”

Hoiberg even hesitated to award Lopez the starting center position, though it seems unlikely anyone else could jump in. And Butler praised working with Lopez Tuesday.

“I got a wide open layup because he sealed everyone off,” said Butler. “The way he’s crashing the boards, sets incredible screens, and he can shoot it a little bit. He has great hands, nice footwork. He’s going to be big. Everyone is going to love him.’’

There will be times against small lineups, like Golden State’s use of Andrew Bogut last season, the Bulls will go without a center or perhaps Gibson or Portis at center. But Lopez seems locked in to start for now.

“Again, it’s open right now,” Hoiberg insisted about the center position. “But Robin is another guy who has been really, really impressive since he’s been here. His ability to seal in transition, he has great strength. He can pass. He’s always going to defend. And the great thing about Robin is he’s not going to play outside of who he is. He’s going to know what his role is and he’s going to play it.”

But the fifth really is an open question because Lopez is just an adequate rebounder.

Lopez’ career average is just 5.4 rebounds per game, though he didn’t play much his first four years in the league while in Phoenix, and they didn’t much care about rebounding. Lopez averaged a career high 8.5 rebounds per game in 2013-14 with Portland and 7.4 last season with the Knicks. He’s proven exceptionally durable, which is rare for the Bulls. But he’ll be trying to replace two of the best rebounders of the last decade, Joakim Noah and Pau Gasol. Gasol was among the league leaders his two seasons with the Bulls, averaging at least 11 rebounds per game both seasons. Noah in limited play last season in 22 minutes per game still averaged more rebounds than Lopez in his best season.

And even with that, the Bulls were one of the league’s more disappointing rebounding teams last season.

The Bulls were third best in total rebounds. But their differential of plus 0.4 per game was 12th. They were last in the league in giving up offensive rebounds and 25th overall in opponent’s rebounds.

The positive is they have added two excellent rebounding guards.

Rondo is one of the league’s top rebounding guards, averaging 4.8 for his career and six rebounds last season. That was third among guards, behind only Russell Westbrook and James Harden, fourth if Nicholas Batum is considered a guard.

Hoiberg also said again how engaged Rondo was, if not nominating him for The Voice TV show.

“He’s got the best voice on the team,” Hoiberg said, referring to Rondo’s floor directions. “When you have a point guard out there who can get you into something and talk the way he does, that sets the tone for everybody. If you have a guy not only offensively getting you into something, but defensively making sure guys are pointing and talking and getting back and matched up in transition, that’s where it starts. He’s been great. He got us off to a great start.”

Wade has a career average of 4.8 rebounds per game and last season was still pulling down more than four per game. Jimmy Butler averaged more than five rebounds per game each of the last two seasons at guard. He’ll play more forward with Wade at shooting guard. The Bulls arguably can claim the more versatile rebounding perimeter in the game.

They may need it, though it could be asking a lot for Wade to repeat that both end performance and Rondo to run the team and hit the boards like that.

Which likely is why the coaching jury is still out on the power forward position.

With Lopez sort of penciled in as the starting center and the Three not considered that adept at the three, it’s understandable the Bulls would want to balance the lineup by having Mirotic win the starting power forward spot.

With Lopez and Butler up front, the Bulls need someone to spread the court and get the defense to come out of the lane for that cutting and slashing, presumably of Butler and Wade, that Hoiberg discussed on Day One.

But can Mirotic rebound well enough? Will he?

He averaged 5.5 rebounds per game last season in what often was a weakened state after midseason appendix surgery and then complications. Mirotic averaged about 6.5 rebounds the first month and about six overall before his surgery and then fewer than five afterward. He has proven to be a good defensive rebounder at times. Five of his seven double figure rebound games last season were before his surgery.

But if you can’t get the ball off the backboard, you can’t run and push in transition, which the Bulls hope to do.

Gibson has been one of the Bulls best at rebounds per minute and he has improved his baseline shooting range some, though is not a three-point threat.

Portis can shoot threes, but the team probably remains wary of such a major role for a player who wasn’t in the regular rotation much of his rookie season last year.

“I think the biggest improvement with Bobby is his overall consistency,” said Hoiberg. “He had a great summer. We worked a lot on his shooting range, and he showed that in the summer league out in Vegas. But it’s such a big adjustment for those guys who come from college into the NBA, especially from a system like Bobby played [at Arkansas]; it was run and gun, it was press, 40 minutes of hell mentality. That’s a big adjustment. Early on, Bobby struggled a bit. But the big thing about that kid is how willing he is to learn, how much he wants to watch film and get in the gym early. He wants to work on his game, and it pays off. That work ethic that Bobby has I think is his biggest strength, and that’s a reason the kid has a chance to be a star in this league.”

And Butler said the players are in tune and relating as well as they have in awhile.

“I think for the most part, yeah, you definitely gotta like each other (to have success),” said Butler. “If you don’t, and you can say this doesn’t happen, but I feel like if you don’t like a guy you’re not going to pass him the ball. I think there’s a lot of liking on this team. Like I said, everybody wants everybody to be successful, and today we were really over passing the ball. We would get an open shot and we would pass it just so this guy can have it when really you were supposed to shoot it, you were supposed to drive it. Do we like each other too much? I hope so.’’

bulls-focusing-on-the-boards-early-in-training-camp

Bulls focusing on the boards early in training camp

[View the story "Bulls Media Day 2016 Social Recap" on Storify]

bulls-media-day-2016-social-recap

Bulls Media Day 2016 Social Recap

There aren’t many talking about the Bulls this season, but there figure to be a lot around the NBA wondering about them. Especially in Chicago. With more than half the roster new and including two players who have started for championship teams and three long-time All Stars, the Bulls on paper appear to have the makings of excellence. Of course, most people use computers these days.

“I’m excited to see the young players,” Dwyane Wade said to open his first training camp as a Bulls player. “We’ve got a lot of young players on this team. We’ve got some good young talent, guys who seem very eager to learn. For a guy like me and (Rajon) Rondo coming here, I think we’re excited about that. Expectations are higher than when you sign in July. I’m excited about our young players.”

Yes, in addition to Wade, Rondo and Jimmy Butler, the Bulls have a core of promising young players in the likes of Doug McDermott, Nikola Mirotic, Bobby Portis, Denzel Valentine and Jerian Grant. But those players—and everyone else—will be looking toward the core of the team, which is Wade, Rondo and Butler.

Rondo previously alluded to them as the Three Alphas, a designation that seems like it will stick.

The Bulls will rise or fall—and they have plenty of room to go either way—depending on the obvious, which is how the three play together. All are All-Star caliber players with a combined 18 All-Star game appearances, 12 for Wade. They all have the potential to be All-Stars again as Rondo led the NBA in assists last season, Butler is coming off a gold medal summer with the USA Olympic team and Wade was a star even in last season’s playoffs and remains one of the most popular players in the NBA.

“It’s really not the jersey,” Wade said as he wore his Bulls No. 3. “It’s the same material, so it feels the same. It’s a different environment. I was somewhere for so long, I knew where to go. I can walk backwards and get anywhere. It’s just different, but different is not a bad thing. It’s been cool. I’m like the new kid in class. I’ve gotta find my one friend to talk to before I can get more friends, but I’m figuring it all out. Like I said, I’m happy to be here. At this time in my career, this is where I want to be.”

Wade is a transcendent figure in society with his social activism, celebrity family and basketball eminence. He’ll be a dominant figure on the Chicago sports scene, which lacks a star of his sublime worldwide stature. Three championship rings are a small part of his trophy case. He’s got a Humanitarian of the Year award, his memoir was a New York Times best seller, he was named Father of the Year, he’s been appointed to task forces by President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. He was honored by the Wall Street Journal for fashion. Whatever he says and does and when he says it will be news.

But can and will that translate into success for the Bulls?

Wade’s free agency departure from Miami was stunning, though he insists it remained a dream and goal to play for his hometown team. He spoke about it again Monday at the annual pre-camp media session.

“When the Bulls won their first championship, I was like, ‘Oh yeah, I can do that, I can be out there with those guys,’” recalled Wade, who attended Rich East High School. “I could go out in my backyard, I see the snow; it didn’t matter. I’d try to emulate the things that my favorite players were doing. At nine years old, that’s where my vision started. Not only to play in the NBA, but to play for the Bulls.”

The obvious question is how Wade, Rondo and Butler, three players known for handling the ball and sometimes dropping it when it comes to distance shooting, fit and play together. And can they create an identity for the team: Running? Fast break? Defense? Tough? Resilient?

Coach Fred Hoiberg said he sees their strengths as a positive in the ability to have multiple ballhandlers on the floor.

“We’ve got an idea of how we’re going to play,” said Hoiberg. “[Tuesday first practice] will be the first time we get them together as a collective unit, and we’ll put them in a lot of different areas on the floor where we feel they fit. I’m really excited about the multiple playmakers that we’ll have. This league right now is all about breaking down the defense, getting into the paint and making the right plays. Obviously we’ve talked a lot about the rotations and who fits best with a particular player. Try and get those rotations on point and see not only who starts the game, who is playing in the middle. But most importantly who is playing down the stretch. I’m excited about the group; I’m excited about the playmakers. And we’ll see how it all turns out.’’

First, they have to become a team, which isn’t as simple as it sounds, and then they have to develop that identity of what team they will be. At this point, obviously since they’ve never played together, there’s no way of knowing. But it was time to try something different after last season’s rocky 42-40 finish out of the playoffs.

“I mentioned last April (at the post season session) that I didn’t feel like that group had a collective fight to it,” said executive vice-president John Paxson. “Change was necessary. We battled a lot of different issues over the last couple years in terms of injuries. Those aren’t excuses. It was just our reality, and we had to try to fight through it. We’d ridden that group a long way. With a little more luck, we might have had a little more success. That didn’t turn out to be the case. We just felt it was necessary to try to take some steps forward. I think the understated thing we’ve done – signing Dwyane and Rajon are the big noted things and their ages have been brought up a lot – but the reality is we are looking to the future, too, and we have made significant changes in terms of the youth on this roster. We’re excited about those guys. We feel like we have some young players in the fold that will develop and grow into some very good NBA players.

“We’re all encouraged by the blend we have in terms of our vets and the young guys we have on our team,” said Paxson. “We brought in two guys in Dwyane and Rajon who have championship experience. We brought in a high quality starting center in Robin Lopez. And we have two holdovers in that regard in terms of Taj (Gibson) and Jimmy, Taj, who’s just the ultimate pro, and Jimmy, who’s a two-time All-Star and has been our best player. Those are going to be the heart and soul of our team.”

Particularly, Wade, Butler and Rondo. They are three successful, strong willed, independent people and basketball players.

They’ll have to work together, and even if they are committed to that, will their skills fit together? It’s another of the questions that should make this season, at the least, compelling. And perhaps more successful than others may care to admit. Few have prospered betting against their collective pride.

“I think everybody’s looking forward to (how we play together),” agreed Butler. “Myself, Gar (Forman) and Pax. I’m excited. I love to play basketball, anyway. But I get to do it with some new guys, some new faces. I think we have a really good chance. I’m excited about the group of guys we have. Our young guys are super confident with how they’ve been playing. I’m very excited about that. And then obviously Wade and Rondo and what they bring to the table, I can learn from them. The winning culture that they’ve built in this league, what they’ve done, I’m excited because there’s so much growth that I can handle in that aspect of the game. When you look at what Wade has done for his career, future Hall of Famer, I think that I can model the way I do things around him. I’m super excited that he’s here. And I’m sure Rondo will keep me on my toes as well.”

Coach Fred Hoiberg will be tested, and Hoiberg said he understands as well.

“I think the biggest thing that I have to improve on is to get our team to play more consistently,” said Hoiberg. “We had some really good stretches last year. I’ve talked about the success we had against Cleveland and against Toronto, a 7-1 record against the top two teams in the East who were playing in the Eastern Conference finals and we missed the playoffs. That shouldn’t happen. It’s going to be a hard training camp, but I’m looking forward to see who emerges as those guys that show me they belong on the floor.

“I put a lot of pressure on myself,” said Hoiberg. “This is a high pressure job, and I understand that. And again, nobody looked at this thing harder in the offseason than I did, and was harder on themself than I was. I know that I have a job to do, to try and put these guys into position to go out and win basketball games, and that’s my sole focus.”

Sure, there are questions like who shoots and when and how much does this latest Big Three defer.

“When you talk about I guess not being able to shoot three or whatever you want to call it, correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe D Wade has scored a lot of points when it came to putting that ball in that basket,” said Butler. “I’ve done decently the last couple years. Rondo can do that. And if Rondo can’t, he damn sure can get find a way to get the ball to somebody who can. I don’t think putting the ball in the basket is going to be an issue for us. I don’t think that was an issue for us last year. I don’t think we guarded the way we’re supposed to guard last year, so it made it look like we didn’t score as well. I think we’ll be fine. I think when you put good players on the court at the same time, they always figure out a way to put the ball in the basket. Whoever has it going, the object of the game is to win. The Alpha thing, I think we’ll be just fine. Everybody is going to have something to say. As long as everybody is listening and is willing to take some criticism if you’re doing something wrong, just like if you’re doing something right, I’m going to tell you. At the end of the day, as long as we win games it won’t matter.”

There’s that defense, or lack of it, that Butler pointed to and weaknesses last season in rebounding, forcing turnovers and shooting. And that elusive chemistry. The latter looks and sounds better, but most everything does before the season begins.

“There’s only a number of teams that can walk into camp and have real expectations,” said Paxson. “With so much turnover there’s unpredictability, but that’s across the league with a number of teams. But there’s also a lot of excitement and we are excited about it. The proof will be in how we come together and that’s a challenge.”

No one is married to pessimism on so called “media day.” After all, everyone is undefeated and there is promise, happiness and good humor. It’s like a wedding day. What could go wrong?

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All Smiles for New Look Bulls

September 26, 2016 - The Chicago Bulls announced today the signing of free agents J.J. Avila, Vince Hunter, D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera and Thomas Walkup to round out their 2016-17 training camp roster. Per team policy, terms of the contracts were not disclosed.

Avila (6-8, 250) played two seasons (2010-11, 2011-12) at Navy before transferring to Colorado State for his final two seasons (2013-14, 2014-15). He saw action in 115 games (103 starts) in his four-year career and posted 15.1 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 2.8 apg and 1.60 spg in 31.5 mpg. As a senior in 2014-15, he was the only player in NCAA Division I to average better than 16.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 2.5 apg and 2.00 spg while shooting better than .550 from the floor.

Hunter (6-8, 200) appeared in 32 games for the Reno Bighorns during his rookie season and averaged 21.8 ppg, 11.3 rpg, 1.4 apg and 1.00 spg in 31.9 mpg. During his college career at UTEP, he played in 67 games and averaged 13.6 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 1.5 apg and 1.00 spg in 27.1 mpg.

Smith-Rivera (6-3, 215) appeared in 120 games with Georgetown and posted averages of 14.8 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 3.0 apg and 1.27 spg in 32.7 mpg. In his final season, he scored in double digits 28 times, 20-plus points eight times and 30-plus points twice, and was named Second Team All-Big East.

Walkup (6-4, 195) appeared in 135 games with Stephen F. Austin and posted 12.9 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.9 apg and 1.30 spg in 26.2 mpg. In his senior season, he averaged 18.1 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 4.5 apg and 2.09 spg en route to being named an Associated Press All-America Honorable Mention.

The Bulls will open training camp later today with Media Day at the Advocate Center.

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Bulls Finalize Training Camp Roster

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