Danielle Ralutin: I know the regular season series has ended with our teams, but as a Pacers fan, I like watching us face the Bulls. No disrespect to the Bucks (as hard-nosed and gritty as they are), but the way the Bulls play and the way they carry themselves is something I admire. Even our coach and Tyrese had high praise for this team, and rightfully so. Sending positive vibes to Alex Caruso and Coby White, too.
Sam: No disrespect to the Pacers, but I figure the Bulls would love to find a way to see the Pacers. Some of the Bulls best wins this season have been against Indiana — dumb play of the year prior to the Craig lob this week was Toppin spiking that jump ball out of bounds as the only way the Bulls could tie that game they won in overtime — and even in the Pacers only win of the four the Bulls actually took a fourth quarter lead after trailing by almost 30 before fading at the end. The Pacers have had a good season, but they seem to have peaked during the in-season tournament — remember that? No? Me, neither — and it will be a test of whether that offense first can sustain and survive in the playoffs.
Jon Basilio: I’ve seen numerous articles about the Bulls and how they’re “satisfied with being a middle-ground team; mediocre at best.” Much of it having to do with the play-in and how us clinching the ninth seed is supposedly “the worst outcome for our franchise.” But their tireless efforts have been on full display despite some recent losses and I think that should be recognized. I still believe there’s a chance. In fact, I actually like the play-in approach, especially with how they’ve been playing throughout the season with clutch games and high intensity. What do you think of the play-in? Also, like many fans have stressed: please retain DeMar; he’s beloved by many here in Chicago and I appreciate the experience and knowledge he brings to the team.
Sam: I like the play-in concept as well and don’t sympathize with teams finishing seventh or eighth who might say they should have been in. If you can’t get in sixth place you have nothing to complain about. The play-in is a fact of life in basically all sports now with the way sports has expanded and mostly become local stories. Like in baseball, it’s difficult to keep your fans interested if you are eliminated. So give more teams at least a chance; look, if you are good enough you’ll get through. I doubt Jordan’s Bulls ever said they deserved more byes. It’s a tough road out of No. 9, though I assume the Bulls will be favored against the Hawks. Maybe more so now with Young coming back? Though he does make some wild shots. Indiana, Cleveland, Miami, Philadelphia? There’s still a lot to be determined before someone opens against Boston. Who with all the threes they take can shoot themselves out of games. Don’t we always do the "never say never" thing? And the so you’re saying there's a chance. As for DeMar, the conventional wisdom is he returns for an encore. But no one really knows yet.
Mack Worth: Losing in one week to three teams not trying to win, the Grizzlies, Wizards and Raptors; make it the worst week in Bucks history since they traded Kareem. What the heck?
Sam: And yikes Giannis out again perhaps to start the playoffs? Which also is why that 7/8 playin was an opportunity the way the East is settling in after Boston. The Bucks may even play their way out now after it seems the Cavaliers have, as well. So maybe you get inexperienced Orlando if you are No. 7. How about maybe the 76ers coming out of that playin now that Embiid is back? Seven/two may not be that much of an upset depending on these last few days. Those three losses were rock bottom for a Bucks team with aspirations. We know the Bucks mostly made the big Lillard deal to accommodate Giannis and get him to sign an extension, so it worked. But Lillard pretty much all season has looked like his dog died in Portland and he can’t get over it and wants to be back there. If Giannis is out it’s over; but even if he’s back if Lillard continues to pine for gentle rains instead of brats it’s also over. Start the Giannis rumors?
Tony Reed: Not simply because of his huge game against the Knicks, but I’m hoping Javonte Green sticks with the Bulls next season. I thought he never should have had to leave in the first place.
Sam: I assume he returns since he likes the team, the team likes him, he’s probably inexpensive and he’s definitely loyal and appreciates which team gave him a chance. Javonte fits the Bulls profile of the type of aggressive, high speed player the team likes. He left because he needed surgery and who knew what the result would be or if he could even play again. Though you figured he’d make it back given how much he’s overcome to get here. While we have questions about a number of players returning, my guess is everyone is hoping he chooses to. I’m hoping the Bulls make a fair and significant offer given his loyalty.
Mike Sutera: News: Bronny James declares for the NBA draft. Would any other team draft him to lure LBJ away?
Sam: He could return to college for another season, and everyone believes it would help his basketball career. But if dad and son have conspired to play together next season, maybe you can see full circle coming. I doubt anyone in the lottery uses a pick that significant for young James and then sort of a blackmail to get LeBron. He’s not going to Toronto, Houston, Utah, Portland and Memphis. But how about the Cavaliers with the pick about No. 19 or 20? I guess the Lakers could try to trade up for a pick, though they don’t have much to offer. Supposedly they may get the Pelicans pick, also. As much as everyone believes LeBron wants to finish in LA and get his statue, would it be too tempting to go back to where it all started with his son? The Cavaliers are in full collapse and look like another first round out, which would suggest some major moves. And already there’s been talk about Donovan Mitchell being traded because he can opt out after next season and likely will. Even with LeBron and Anthony Davis, the Lakers are barely a playoff team. Time for a reset for them, also? How about this one? One of the Cavaliers issues seems to be Mitchell dominating the ball and diminishing Garland and the bigs not fitting. So Mitchell and Jarrett Allen since Davis doesn’t want to play center to match LeBron’s $51 million. Mobley moves to the middle in Cleveland and the Lakers have to include shooter Austin Reeves. And now Cav redux LeBron has plenty of shooting around him with also Max Strus and maybe the Cavs flip back Caris LeVert to make the money work. The Lakers have a new star and support for Davis, and Cleveland gets back its star for a final run. And when he’s done the Cavs have plenty of cap room to reconfigure. Yeah, I’m an old softy for those sentimental endings.
Matt Metz: What about we draft Bronny then include him in a deal with Zach to LA where we rake them over the coals.
Sam: The Bulls if they don’t get through the play-in are currently looking like around pick No. 11 in the lottery. It would seem to be too much to sacrifice to make LeBron mad. As much as many would enjoy that. Like the previous Zach-to-LA rumors since he and LeBron share an agency representation there doesn’t seem like much beyond Davis that would make sense for the Bulls. And LA probably already is starting the statue for Davis.
Mortan Mace: Saw an article on the 50 top paid players never to make all-NBA. Has to make NFL players sick
Sam: I took a look and saw the top guys Mike Conley, Gordon Hayward, Jrue Holiday, Gallinari, Tobias Harris, Batum, Millsap. Rudy Gay, our Vooch, Zach, Luol Deng, ‘Sheed, etc. It also shows the recency bias of so much that’s written these days about these lists. A guy who wasn’t even on that top 50 list probably could shut down just about every one of those guys. Derek Harper never was an All-Star in the guard talent rich 80s, but he was one of the toughest players of the era. The Illinois point guard increased his scoring average in each of his first seven seasons and was one of the more feared players in the league, Alex Caruso with an offensive repertoire, though Caruso’s has been improving dramatically. There are just so many forgotten talents like Harper.
Michael Queenworth: Trae came back and the Hawks blew a big lead and a loss; He will be on the market this offseason. I can see Spurs highly interested. Keldon, Devonte, their first this draft, and 2026 first?
Sam: And he comes to Chicago first on Wednesday. It’s been quiet this year between the Bulls and Hawks, but they’ve had some of the wildest games with that four overtimer a few years back, the wild Ayo winner at the buzzer, another earlier when the Hawks won on that Griffin overtime winner. There’s also a history as the Bulls first ever playoff series was against the then St. Louis Hawks in 1967. Hawks in a sweep, by the way. The Bulls remain the only NBA expansion team to make the playoffs, and that season were in first place after beating the contending Hawks on opening night. Though I digress. The way Wembanyama has advanced in this let’s-see-what-he’s-got-Pop’s-not-coaching-this-season year the Spurs figure to have to do something to get Wembanyama in position to compete for something next season. He does need someone to get him the ball in good spots instead of the way he’s wandering around the perimeter so much and shooting threes, and Young is a terrific passer. Terrible defender and we know Popovich does demand that, though Tony Parker wasn’t great. Could be a fit as the Hawks do figure to be going into some form of blowup mode and you figure Young has run his course there.
Kurt Payne: Going forward I think Coby and Ayo would be the 4 and 5-year guys who lead the team as they become the veterans so it's their team and when they bring in FAs or draft kids, they understand who to follow. I remain in the Patrick Williams camp. He does get stuck in the corner, but if DeRozan is getting to his mid range 'spot' or Lavine has been driving to the basket, he's spacing the floor rather than bring his defender into the paint. If Billy told him to get out of the corner I have to believe he would. The non rebounding thing is, if Vooch, Zach and Demar are on the floor who is going to get back on defense? When it comes to P-Will I'd like to hear what the scouts for other teams say about his play, where he would fit at what position on their team and how much interest they'd have in signing him.
Sam: It seems to me that remains perhaps the crucial question for the offseason assuming Williams’ recovery goes well. If the Bulls resign DeRozan and have Zach back, if only to show he is healthy, Williams assuming he returns goes back to that reserve role. Perhaps you take a small step back if you commit to a core of White, Dosunmu and Williams along with Vučević and some rugged role players like Caruso, Green and Craig. But sometimes it’s a step back to go forward. Can you really begin to exploit what you have in Coby and Ayo without giving them the ultimate responsibility in games? That seems to be the big question for management this summer.
Michael Queen: I saw a story about landing spots for Donovan Mitchell mentioning all the big teams like Miami, New York, Brooklyn and Philadelphia. What about the Bulls?
Sam: I sort of threw that one out there last week for fun, but as I thought about it and with the Cavs perhaps in first round trouble and maybe facing a reset I can see them being a team that might take Zach LaVine without seeing if he can play, which I believe he can given the surgery wasn’t major and he’s been active for quite a while now. Heck, I saw him sprinting first to congratulate Javonte Green after that first Knicks game recently. With all these Mitchell to the Lakers, the Heat, the Knicks scenarios, it’s the Cavs accepting filler to accommodate those teams with stars. Forget it. Not happening. Not if you can get an All-Star like LaVine, who probably fits them better than Mitchell does. Because Zach won’t monopolize the ball like Mitchell and is a better shooter. Then Garland can run the point uninhibited and the Cavs still have possibilities with assets to sort out with their bigs. From the Bulls standpoint, they’d add a star talent who can make plays and score. He can opt out after next season, and if it doesn’t work and he walks then the payroll would be manageable with Ball’s money finally coming off. And who knows what happens with DeRozan. I believe bringing back LaVine helps the Bulls next season. But if the Bulls don’t, then maybe there’s something there.
Mary Rodriquez: I think the fans should be a little kinder and give grace to the Chicago Bulls. We might not be where we hoped (again), but at least we’re not at the very bottom like the Grizzlies, Pistons, Wizards, etc. and as a Sixers and Bulls fan, I’m proud of both teams.
Sam: That is very generous of you, though we’d all like to believe the goals are higher than Detroit, Washington and Memphis. Though if you talk about injuries there’s been nothing like what Memphis has endured and they’ve proven reasonably competitive. You can see them getting back in contention next season, so maybe LeBron will want to get back to Cleveland.
Kane Almario: Do you think Jevon Carter regrets signing with his hometown team because of the lack of minutes he gets? I was so excited to see we snagged him and was hoping to see him play more often, but I know each coach and team is different. His three-point shooting looks like it declined compared to his time on the Bucks. I hope we can keep him on our roster, though. Management has stressed the importance of continuity and not giving up on players. I think we need to see what else Jevon can do because he’s a great talent.
Sam: He’s basically got three years guaranteed, so I assume he’ll return. And he finally made some big money, so that makes up for a lot. Sometimes this stuff happens with a free agent. I remember when the Bulls snagged Ron Harper as a free agent coup after Michael Jordan retired to accommodate Scottie Pippen, who was begging for help. But Harper shot poorly and struggled with the offense and went on to average the fewest minutes per game in his career. Phil Jackson that season ended up playing Pete Myers ahead of Harper. But Harper adjusted and became an integral part of the titles after Jordan’s return. I think one thing that happened with Carter is the Bulls didn’t expect this improvement from Dosunmu. He had a poor season last year and prioritizing a player at his position in free agency suggested Ayo was destined for a limited role. But then Coby White emerged and Ayo followed, and suddenly with Alex Caruso’s role there wasn’t a place for Carter. The coaches like to say in training camp they like the competition, but when you have one someone loses out on playing time. It was Carter this season. But he’s got two more seasons on his Bulls guarantee.
Jeff Pierce: Why did Dallas let Brunson go? They must have known how good he was. Usually when teams find a player like that in the second round they don’t let them leave. Plus they replaced him with another ball dominant guard in Irving. Everybody would rather have Brunson.
Sam: Well, they did trade up to get Luka. I suspect their fan message boards are filled with that about Brunson (how about me having heard of a message board?), though they have a history for a franchise that’s often talked about being so generous of cutting corners. They basically gave away Steve Nash deciding he would have a back problem when it looked like he was developing the best pick and roll game in the league with Dirk Nowitzki. The Mavericks did go on to win a title, but then deciding that it was an old team basically broke it up and got rid of Jason Terry, Shawn Marion, Jason Kidd and Tyson Chandler, a breakup more pronounced than really what the Bulls did in 1998 because that Mavericks team still was in position to win again with a 33-year-old Nowitzki. It was the lockout 2012 season coming up and the Mavs were swept in the first round and didn’t get out of the first round for the next 10 years. And for someone like Brunson it was all about opportunity. When you are a second round draft pick as he was with all those scouting geniuses saying he was too small and slow to be an NBA starter you don’t get as many chances. He finally did in the playoffs with Luka hurt, but the Mavs didn’t want to spend and let him go. Maybe that’s why Mark Cuban sold his majority stake in the team, which I assume is to line up a future presidential run in the if-reality-TV-Trump-can-why-not-me?
Parker Lerdal: Will The NBA Coaches make it return of the suits ever since 2019-20 season for the Post COVID for 4+ years by next season?
Sam: Despite my pleadings and embarrassing them nightly with my sharp vest sweater outfits they seem determined to continue the gym teacher haute couture look.
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