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Ask Sam Mailbag: 12.21.18

I was playing NBA 2k19 when the Warriors offered me Draymond Green for Jabari Parker straight up. I at first scoffed but the more I thought about it I came to the conclusion it makes sense for both teams. The Warriors get a younger scorer coming off the bench who could allow the big 3 of Curry, Durant, and Klay to sit longer as they won't be asked to carry as much of the load. Parker has proven he can score on his own and could save them 3-4 valuable minutes of rest a game. The Bulls get the veteran I think we need who is only under contract one more year after this who can help show the younger players what needs to happen to be a championship team and be that team voice everyone would respect and listen to along with being a better two way player that fits under Boylen's system.

Jack Donnelly.

I sympathize with Jabari Parker even though I understand Coach Boylen's decision to bench him.  He is a true Chicagoan and he seems to be a truly good person off the court.  If you were coach, do you see him having a role in this team?  If not, in which team do you see him having a good fit?
Frederick Ong

Proposed Bulls / Portland trade is Parker for Evan Turner.   Portland needs & obtains a power forward for bench scoring & somewhat replaces Turner’s 2nd team ball handling.    Bulls need & obtain a quality G/F wing player that can defend and handle the ball.  Salaries match up though Bulls now have 2019/2020 Turner commitment...but unlikely to pursue or pay for top free agents so need to spend. What are your thoughts?
Wayne Warner

Is LeBron saying it would be incredible if they traded for Anthony Davis ok with the NBA? That is extreme tampering. How do you think Pelican fans feel? I feel he should be fined.
Mike Sutera

Kinda ironic... Gar/Pax (who I love by the way, underrated draft experts), decided to get rid of Thibs for Hoiberg, who was player-friendly, to just get rid of Hoiberg for a Thibs-like coach. Boylen is just like Thibs, worked for championship teams and is about defense, rebounding, possession grinding and then offense will come. Also he's a lifetime assistant who hadn't gotten a chance until the Bulls needed the disciplinarian to take over. I'm loving hearing a coach yell at the team, like the good ol' days right? U don't know what you got til it's gone as someone famous once said/sang. Your thoughts on the direction the team is headed
Adam Garcia

Would be interested in your take on Spencer Dinwiddie. What Bulls saw in him to take a closer look? What they saw and what was happening at the time so that they let him go? Key to his apparent current success.
Peter Laundy

The Bulls weren’t that impressed as Dinwiddie still wasn’t fully recovered. It takes much longer to come back from ACL surgery than the physicians in the Chicago media realize. Then the Bulls got Michael Carter-Williams for Tony Snell, which I thought was a great deal given Carter-Williams was a top lottery pick. Worth a shot. So there wasn’t room for Dinwiddie. Remember, every NBA team could have signed Dinwiddie from Windy City and none did for a month until the Nets with the league’s worst roster brought him for the bottom of their bench. It’s to his credit he remade himself. Good for him. He’s an NBA rotation player. The Bulls likely still would be 7-25 with him.

As of 12/19 the Bulls are tied for the worst record in the league.  Yes there have been injuries but when might we expect to see some type of growth/development as a team?  To wait until next season is simply unacceptable.
John Petersen

Do you think the Bulls would have interest in Markelle Fultz, and should they, or is his shot beyond repair?
Joshua Levin

I know you’ve written about this, even after Wednesday’s game, but not getting Markkanen the ball is becoming odd. Last night, 6 shots when he has made 50% overall and 66% from deep, what is going on?  I am wondering whether or not I’m missing something. Is Markkanen too passive?  Maybe he is not demanding the ball strong enough. Could he not want to take shots?  Is he in danger of (gulp) being labeled Euro soft? I don’t believe this but then the coaches must not see it or the other players think they’re better.  Hard to imagine that on a 7-25 team.  I understand that the other team is scheming him.  So what, happens every night.  Maybe their schemers are better than our schemers. It just seems so perplexing and downright odd.  Unless he is Euro soft but this is not the 80’s.
Greg Young

Current (minor) injury aside, I think we should be looking to trade Portis. I love Carter but he is showing that the state of the Bulls union is that we have a promising, defense-first 4 in Carter and a position need at Center (Lopez is a back-up at this point in his career).  That leaves us with holes/need-significant-improvement at the 3 and the 5. Problem is that it will be difficult to bundle Portis and Parker in a trade because they play the same position though Parker as a starter backed up by Portis isn't a bad upgrade for a team with a hole at 4. What do you think the best case scenario would be for a Parker/Portis trade?
Phil Cox

I'm surprised someone hasn't started the rumor that Boylen was Kawhi Leonard's favorite coach when he was on the Spurs and because of that he wants to sign with the Bulls in the off season.

Victor Devaldivielso

So the obvious question is do they risk messing up the chemistry of this juggernaut squad by bringing Zach back when he’s ready or do they hold him out a little longer?  Or maybe he comes off the bench to start?  Mostly kidding of course.   But seriously hope it is just coincidence and not causal that we have seen the best of LaVine when Dunn is out and the best of Dunn when LaVine is out.  Kinda reminds you of when Iverson and Stackhouse couldn’t coexist in philly back in 1996?  No?

Guy Danilowitz

I don’t really want to talk about this season anymore, so I’m going to ask you about something I’m really interested in and something you don’t mind re hashing: 93 Finals v Phoenix, Paxson hit that huge 3. From memory, inbounds to Michael who brought it up, off load to Scottie then to Horace which left Pax open. Perhaps some of our younger demographic need a reminder of what Mr. Paxson did for this franchise as a player?

Mike Burling