Sam Smith

Dennis Rodman, making his return to the scene of his Bulls glories in the United Center for the first time in 13 years, was overcome with emotion about his affection for Chicago after appearing in the first part of the AEW Collision wrestling program Saturday.

“It’s amazing,” Rodman said backstage after the event that continues in the United Center on Sunday night. “Chicago’s been love to me. I get so emotional because they love me so much... can’t speak now...”

Rodman then paused in an attempt to regain his composure and continue in a brief interview being conducted for Bulls.com by wrestler and promoter Jeff Jarrett.

“Thirteen years since I’ve been here,” Rodman then added. “So much love here. I respect these people so much and thank God they love someone who worked their ass off. I hope the city of Chicago would love me as much as I love them.”

It seemed apparent the affection was mutual during the Saturday segment known as AEW (All Elite Wrestling) Collision. Wrestling stable, The Acclaimed, sent out a message Saturday after Rodman’s ring contretemps saying they will defend Rodman at Sunday’s pay-per-view conclusion, AEW All Out.

Rodman, of course, was the famed 6-6 “Worm” who made the Bulls’ skin crawl when he was a member of the two-time champion Detroit Pistons. But after the breakup of the Pistons’ run and a misguided stay with the San Antonio Spurs, the Bulls traded for Rodman before the 1995-96 season to replace the previously departed Horace Grant.

Bulls fans immediately warmed to the eccentric Rodman, who acted out both on and off the court. But he also filled the interior void and helped the Bulls win three championships between 1996 and 1998.

Rodman’s life then often spiraled to an ill-advised supposed diplomacy with North Korea, substance and legal problems and occasional forays into television and politics. 

Now 62, Rodman was sporting a salt-and-pepper goatee and rings in his lower lip and three in his nose. He was wearing dark glasses for the late night appearance, a black baseball cap turned backward, a grey tee-shirt crowded with images of himself, black slacks and white clogs. He didn’t seem ready for any public submission hold despite so many two counts over the years.

Rodman said he hoped the team someday will retire his No. 91 Bulls jersey to hang with those of Jordan and Pippen. He then reminisced enthusiastically about becoming a Bull 28 years ago.

“It was amazing for the fact Detroit and the city of Chicago, we battled so many years, the Bad Boys, and all of a sudden I’m with Chicago,” Rodman recounted. “I couldn’t believe it. Like wow, someone told me they are trading me for Will Perdue. I’m like, ‘Really? OK.’”

Rodman with his movie and television experience drew out his response with an exaggerated gasp as if to suggest, ‘Could you believe it?’&nbsp;

Life’s sleeper hold just can’t seem to silence Dennis Rodman.

“So once that happened my energy just went up higher,” Rodman said, gesturing upward with his hand. "The old days were gone for me. Phil Jackson, I love him so much. Phil Jackson, Toni Kukoč, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Steve Kerr, man, what a family and the city of Chicago just captivated us. And we did one thing. Our job was to win for the city; it wasn’t personal. For the city.

“That’s what I wanted,” said Rodman. “Ain’t about the money. It’s for the city.”

And with that he was gone. But never really counted out.

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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The Worm is back! Dennis Rodman returns to United Center for the first time in 13 years for AEW appearance

Like that famous Scott Skiles response about what Curry could do to grab more rebounds. “Jump,” Skiles said.

“I was, ‘Oh my god, man,’ but, you know, our relationship started out funky because I remember when they hired him, me and Jamal (Crawford) are at the Berto Center eating lunch and we were bashing him and saying, ‘I heard he’s this,’ ‘I heard he’s that.’ And he’s standing behind us the whole time. And he’s like, ‘What’s up, fellas?’ And I’m, ‘Oh, my god.’ I knew it was going to be bad.

“But he was a good coach and at the time what we needed because he snapped us into shape and made a huge turnaround,” Curry was saying this past weekend while taking a break from greeting fans at the Bulls Fest at the United Center. “It helped we had Ben Gordon, who was something else. Lu (Deng), Kirk (Hinrich), one of my favorite teammates of all time. We really did have a special group there.”

But back to the stories, there was the shocking 2001 draft when Eddy was sure he was going to the Clippers—and thrilled about it—to join his best friends Quentin Richardson and Darius Miles.

“I blame Tyson (Chandler) for (the Elton Brand) trade,” Curry was saying with a laugh, clearly on a roll now back a few decades. “I wanted to go to the Clippers so bad. Q, my best friend, Darius Miles like my big brother from AAU. I didn’t care about being No. 1, so I was hurt when they picked Tyson. We had been sort of enemies. I could have gone to Memphis. (My agent) Arn Tellem said Memphis was interested, but if I said I didn’t want to go there I could go to Chicago. So I said Chicago (Memphis selected Pau Gasol). Then when I heard Tyson wasn’t going to LA, I was more happy he couldn’t go to LA than he was playing with me. He wanted to play at home; I wanted to play with my guys. And now we were both coming to Chicago.”

Which was even more difficult for Chandler.

“Scott would get on Tyson so bad,” Curry recalled. “I remember a practice he dropped a pass and Scott stopped play and grabbed the ball and started throwing it at Tyson, coming closer and closer and throwing it and saying, ‘Catch the ball son,’ catch the ball son,’ and throwing it harder. Crazy. I’m thinking, ‘What’s going on here?’”

Still, Curry wasn’t discouraged. Bulls general manager Jerry Krause traded 20/10 Brand to recreate his twin seven footers, Mr. Inside and Outside, for a presumed return to Bulls grandeur. You didn’t have to convince Eddy.

“I was so young and just dumb,” says Curry. “I thought we could do it. Like, ‘Man that’s easy; we're better than those guys. I’m way better than Horace Grant. I’m better than (Luc Longley).’ That’s just how we were thinking. We were so young. You don’t realize ’til years later when I was out of the league. ‘That was why I was there? To save the franchise?’ It’s so hard to win in the NBA, to get to the playoffs and win, especially if you start from the ground up and have youth and coaches coming in and out all the time.”

Yeah, Eddy’s got stories; everyone’s got stories in the NBA.

But maybe nobody has a story like Thornwood’s Eddy Curry, teen basketball prodigy, a seven-foot basketball star—Illinois Mr. Basketball, McDonald’s All-American game MVP who was coordinated and talented enough to also be a star gymnast—who once was robbed at gunpoint in his home a few years before his former girlfriend and mother of his daughter were both murdered in their home by the woman’s boyfriend, Curry’s infant son left to survive the shootings. And then his basketball career careening toward destruction, facing personal bankruptcy after NBA salary earnings estimated at $70 million, the classic cautionary tale of athletic hubris and excess; and immaturity in Curry’s case.

But Curry’s flight may well be something of mythology, too, the way he has risen from the ashes of what seemed like both his career and life to become—are you ready?—a mentor for young NBA players, a motivational speaker and as charming and inspiring an adult as he was a naive and overwhelmed kid.

Curry was one of the featured former Bulls this weekend at the celebratory Bulls Fest. He looks pretty close to his playing weight, bearded with hair loosely falling along his cheeks to frame his expressive face. His eyes are bright with the same insouciance we may remember from 20 years ago, if also now knowing where the landmines are planted.

“I really kind of made my new life talking about my journey and my trials and tribulations,” Curry says. “Speaking to NBA players, young athletes trying to come up who may encounter some of the things I did, trying to help them make better decisions, trying to help them deal with everything that comes with being a star or standout athlete. It’s tough; a lot of pressure comes with that, pressure from your family and friends.

“Some of those guys are my kids’ ages (six children between 13 and 22), but the same things I had, the same things I struggled with, saying no to family, setting boundaries and dealing with relationships, dealing with friends. Who’s my real friend and who is not my real friends? They are dealing with the same issues and now with social media. A lot of stuff happened in my life. It was in the papers, but a lot wasn’t. Now it’s crazy dealing with that, helping these guys understand they are the ceo of their company. Don’t be your worst enemy."

There’s a lot of head shaking about guys like Eddy Curry. He knows what they’re saying, ‘If I had $50 million...’ But they have no idea. Like Hillary Clinton wrote, It takes a village. Many pro athletes are from extended families and grow up in crowded neighborhoods where friends often take them in or help them out. And then you make it out and big and you feel an obligation to so many who helped you when you had nothing, when you needed so much. And then if you’re just a big kid like Eddy with a big heart, it’s just so difficult to say no. And so many just see you coming. It’s not so difficult to understand when you stop to look under the hood.

After the NBA following seven productive years with the Bulls and Knicks, Curry kicked around a few NBA teams and in China, and then a 2020 eloquent and powerful piece in the Players Tribune detailing his crises was what Curry calls his emancipation.

He admits to being ambivalent about the project. But upon its release during the 2020 NBA All-Star weekend in Chicago, Curry realized the impact his truth, as he called it, had not only on freeing him from his own bonds of guilt and shame, but the inspiration for others to begin to face their own problems. That began Curry’s work with the NBA and the Players’ Association as well as with groups to speak with and advise athletes about the potholes on the road to fame and riches.

Curry knows now neither he nor the NBA were ready for teenagers coming directly from high school to the NBA, which again is being discussed for the next labor agreement. But if it comes to fruition, Curry also believes the NBA has learned from his and other’s mistakes from that era.

“Now I get to see all the programs for players, stuff that was not available then,” says the 40-year-old. “They left a lot up to the individual teams. Now it’s a universal effort to get the guys the type of health care they need and that includes mental health. That was something we had no idea what that was. I had no idea I was being affected by mental health, that I could speak to someone or how to speak to someone. We are tackling that now and guys are embracing it and saying, ‘Yo, I need help.’ Part of what I do now besides the financial talks is to let the guys know the help is there whether through the NBPA or through the NBA. You have an impartial person who doesn’t want anything from you but for you to be the best you can be. That’s a really cool position to be in and cool thing. I applaud the NBA and PA to trust guys like me to relay that message and try to help overcome what’s going on.”

It’s a therapeutic calling Curry has embraced as something of his own reckoning, though he admits he sometimes wonders what if. Not that it haunts him anymore, and he did have a 10-year NBA career, which is not common. But when asked about that one thing, he says it’s the conversation with then trainer Fred Tedeschi that late March afternoon in 2005 when the Bulls were having one of the great turnaround in NBA history and perhaps delivering their promise.

With Skiles driving a gritty bunch and Curry emerging as a reliable offensive force, the 2004-05 Bulls were on the way to one of the great turnarounds in league history with a 28-win improvement.

And that was with Curry, the team’s leading scorer, sitting out the last 11 games of the season and the first round playoff loss to Washington.

“The one thing that always sticks out to me, I never should have told Fred Tedeschi I was feeling an irregular heartbeat; I wish I said my stomach hurt or anything,” Curry admitted. “Even if I wasn’t comfortable playing I could have gotten out of playing without telling him exactly what I was feeling. We were on a great roll. I was finally at a really good place with the Bulls; we were at a really good place. I just felt like, ‘Man, I threw a wench in everything.’ In my mind, I knew it was nothing. I didn’t feel any pain, any shortness of breath, anything scary going on. But there is an irregular heartbeat, so let me tell Fred and I thought, ‘OK, I’ll be back to normal and then they’ll let me play.’ I know hindsight is 20/20. It turned out to be nothing, a really benign thing. If I could have really shut up who knows what would have happened.”

But you couldn’t blame the Bulls and the NBA. The heart arrhythmia deaths of Reggie Lewis and Hank Gathers had shaken the basketball world. So the Bulls sought medical reassurance and Curry sat. He wouldn’t play for the Bulls again. Instead of the long contract extension both sides were contemplating, Curry became a free agent and signed with the Knicks. Part of the compensation for the Bulls was a future draft pick they used for Joakim Noah. But the departure of Curry when he and Chandler finally were showing the promise—Curry would average almost 20 for a season with the Knicks and Chandler would become an All-Star and champion with Dallas—set the Bulls back, eventually leading to the free agency acquisition of Ben Wallace, Skiles’ firing and the team out of the playoffs two seasons after that miracle rise.

If not for all that, he says with a smile, the Bulls would never have gotten Derrick Rose.

“Sitting in the locker room with Scottie (Pippen), Jalen Rose, seeing MJ walking by, hearing the United Center music, hearing them say my high school’s name when I was introduced, that was epic, the highlight of my life besides my wife and kids,” Eddy says. “I had a heck of a time (in Chicago).

“My 18th (wedding) anniversary (was this week),” Curry says. “Throughout it all, it’s been Patrice (a former Bulls Berto Center staffer), the ups and downs, and downs and downs, she’s been the constant. Being able to focus on her and my family and her giving me the opportunity to put things right, it made basketball secondary to me. I’ve had to have the worst conversations with my wife, the person I love most on this Earth (their blended family includes Eddy’s infant son who survived the double murder). So me talking to someone else is nothing, especially when I found out there is healing in that for myself and the someone else I’m talking to.

“When I first left (the Bulls) and came back I was being booed and stuff. But now anytime I come here there’s so much love. I love any chance I get to come home,” says Curry, who now lives in Texas. “Some day I’d want to move back to Chicago.”

Especially now that everyone knows the story and Eddy finally knows the score.

catching-up-with-eddy-curry-i-had-a-heck-of-a-time-in-chicago

Catching up with Eddy Curry: "I had a heck of a time (in Chicago)."

Get ready for the first-place Bulls through the first month of the 2023-24 NBA season?

It could be — perhaps less from the offseason additions than the serendipity of seasonal paradigms — since the Bulls schedule has them home for 10 of their first 15 games and in that stretch lining up in something of a unexpected syzygy of not such heavenly bodies as the Bulls play their first five games against teams that were .500 or below last season. And then the sixth game against a Nets team that was sub-.500 after trading Kevin Durant at the February deadline.

Of course, those teams like Oklahoma City for the opening game October 25 in the United Center and then Toronto, and then a road trip to Detroit, Indiana and Dallas could be saying the same thing about getting the sub-.500 Bulls early in the season.

But at least for the Bulls it’s an opening schedule that provides an opportunity for a fast start and some momentum that could carry them well into the season.

Because with a less daunting first half of the season that has fewer road games than in the second half, and the additional motivation of the new play-in tournament throughout November and into early December, the Bulls can make a case for being in the mix in a new NBA era basically without the super team component.

While the Bulls didn’t make big name additions in the summer, they appear to have addressed a pair of significant needs with the kind of physical, hard working players who can validate a kinetic style of play that could be troublesome for opponents.

This NBA following a Finals of play-in Miami against overlooked Denver looks more like the NBA of the late 1970s when several team-oriented groups like Seattle, Portland and Golden State, took turns holding the championship trophy before the age of dynasties came along with the Lakers, Celtics, Bulls and into the 2000s with Miami and San Antonio.

The Nuggets will be the favorite because they won the last game.

But perhaps half the teams in the league can make a case to at least be capable of reaching the conference finals, the final four of the NBA. And once a team does that from even the play-in like Miami did last season, anything is possible with one sprained ankle.&nbsp;

The last five seasons featured different champions each season. If it’s a sixth this season, it will be just the second time in league history for six different consecutive titleholders since that late 70s period into the early 1980s before the Lakers and Celtics began to trade titles.

The Bulls will throw their hats into that ring with having retained their three All-Star-level players in Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vučević. Their primary free agent additions were well received role players in Jevon Carter, who likely is the favorite to start at point guard, and Torrey Craig, a rugged frontcourt addition who could back up several positions. The Bulls have declared Lonzo Ball out for the season, so they finally seem to have closure to move onto once again a defined style of play.

Here’s a look at some of the highlights of the 2023-24 Bulls schedule:

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Sam Smith breaks down the can't-miss Bulls games this upcoming season

There are some phrases that deliver valued advice.

If at first you don’t succeed, skydiving is not for you. Never take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same day. If you loan someone $100 and never see them again, it probably was worth it.

And then there are some that have been just plain frightening for Bulls fans. Like, dad, meet my fiancé, Dennis Rodman. And, we can fix this; we’ll rely on free agency.

And sometimes the latter also proves prescient, which we can witness this weekend when Pau Gasol, who became one of the most prized free agents for the Bulls, will be enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

The honor goes to Gasol primarily from his brilliant international basketball career for his native Spain’s national team and two championships with the Los Angeles Lakers. But after the Bulls won a spirited competition for his amalgam of talents competing against the Spurs and Thunder, Gasol had a career renaissance in two beguiling seasons with the Bulls and helped lead the team to its last playoff series win.

Gasol was an All-Star in both his Bulls seasons, his first All-Star selections in four years, started the 2015 All-Star game opposite his brother Marc in an historic NBA first, was All-NBA, scored a career best 46 points, led the league in double-doubles and became the fourth player in league history older than 35 with multiple triple doubles in one season. He joined his former teammate and close friend Kobe Bryant in that category.

“I came to the Bulls to rejuvenate myself, reenergize myself, to be motivated again,” Gasol said early in his Bulls tenure. "I wanted to be challenged and I wanted to be in a winning situation. The time with the Bulls was fueled by the difficult time I had in L.A. the last couple of years, injuries, coaching issues, and trade rumors (part of the annulled Chris Paul deal). It fueled me.”

Gasol after leaving the Bulls in the summer of 2016 navigated a path to a hoops archipelago in San Antonio, Milwaukee and Portland before a final act back in Spain helping FC Barcelona to a Euroleague finals.

Gasol, meanwhile, remains close with the Bulls organization. Managing Partner Jerry Reinsdorf and team president Michael Reinsdorf will attend Gasol’s Hall of Fame induction along with former basketball chief executive John Paxson and health director Chip Schaefer. Former Bulls player and current team ambassador Toni Kukoč will be on stage in Springfield’s Symphony Hall as the presenter for Gasol at Saturday night’s ceremonies.

“His agent was Arn Tellem and Arn and I have been good friends for 30 years or more,” Jerry Reinsdorf recalled about Pau. “Arn told me he was one of his favorite clients and urged me to get to know him. So when he came I introduced him to my friend Allan Muchin (Lyric Opera board of directors) and Pau become a regular at the opera. He said, ‘I’ve got to take you.’ Fortunately, it never happened. But we developed a relationship, went to dinners. I realized this was a guy with interests beyond basketball, a renaissance man who you could feel comfortable with talking art, politics, sports, music, movies, literature. We went to a Johnny Cash concert together. I’ll fly out to LA to see him for lunch at times. He’s a guy who is comfortable to be with and humble while being so accomplished.”

Despite being overshadowed with the Lakers by good friend Bryant, Pau’s resume and felicitous compendium of basketball skills ranks Gasol among the most accomplished in the game.

Gasol was a six-time All-Star and four times All-NBA while also being one of the most decorated international players ever with three European titles, five international player of the year awards and multiple tournament MVP honors with four medals in Olympic and World Cup competitions.

Not bad for a gangly kid from suburban Barcelona who was inspired by the 1992 Dream Team in his hometown, but whose benevolent and altruistic nature initially led him toward a medical career and subsequently gives back as an international United Nations ambassador and philanthropist for child health causes.

Springfield is honoring his basketball, and Gasol will stand proudly in a notable class that includes Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Parker, Gregg Popovich, Dwyane Wade, Becky Hammon, Jim Valvano and Gene Keady. If not arguably transcendent.

“He’s one of the most skilled big men in the history of the game,” says former Bulls and Lakers assistant coach Jim Cleamons. “Pau was before his time in terms of his skill set and athleticism, his ability to play multiple positions as a big. He was a bridge to the next generation. All these years, there still hasn’t really been a second version of him. Dirk Nowitzki maybe close, but then again still not as polished as an athlete.”

Though it took some time for more than the basketball cognoscenti to notice as the kid who didn’t speak much English was breaking in where they historically didn’t speak much basketball, in Memphis, Tenn.

“There are videos of me playing at eight or nine or 10, and you’re not thinking this kid is going to amount to much or become a great basketball player,” Gasol related. “But you see the intensity, the passion, the effort. Those were important factors allowing me to push and keep working and getting better. Yes, obviously, the genetics helped. It didn’t matter if it was Memphis or any place in the U.S. or Canada; I was in the NBA. I’m there fulfilling my dream, playing with the best players in the world and trying to prove and establish myself at a time when there was a lot of doubt from a lot of people. No one knew who I was, this very young kid from Spain, the third pick in the draft. Not many people thought I would succeed. But I was able to start playing a lot of minutes right away and got an opportunity to prove myself.”

Gasol won Rookie of the Year playing in every game for a recently transplanted Grizzlies team from Vancouver that won 23 games and just 28 his second season. But as Grizzlies coach and Class of 2005 Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Hubie Brown pointed out, the margin of defeat fell from 11 to three. And then improved by 22 games to win 50 games in Gasol’s third season.

“I don’t think early on he got the credit the way he could score from the top of the circle down,” said Brown. “He could post up either side and had all kinds of moves because he was so well schooled at such a young age in Spain. He was our closer and accepted that, performed extremely well and then we win 50 games and have one of six best records in the league because of him being able to play at such a high level and deliver in the clutch. And he wasn’t timid. He’d talk to coaches and offer them suggestions. He was a such a joy.”

The joy, however, began to dissipate with injuries to Pau and a lack of Grizzlies playoff success that began to draw piercing criticism even in Memphis. It propitiously at the same time had been the summer of Kobe Bryant’s distress, demands to be traded—even to the Bulls—amidst a Lakers’ decline with three seasons without a playoff series win.

“Kobe had some real concerns about the makeup of the team going into that season,” recalled then Lakers coach Phil Jackson. “He put in a trade request and didn’t play preseason, didn’t play in the last practices. Chicago was involved (in the trade talks).”

But then came the mid-season trade that shook the NBA.

Schaefer, the longtime trainer and athletic performance director for Jackson with the Bulls and Lakers, walked into the team hotel lobby that morning of Feb. 1, 2008 and ran into broadcaster John Ireland. Schaefer had heard the news. With a grin, Schaefer said, “I just had the wildest dream. I dreamt we traded Kwame Brown for Pau Gasol. Isn’t that nuts?”

Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak had packaged Brown with two first-round picks, backup point guard Javaris Crittenton and Aaron McKie, the latter who had to be lured out of his job as a 76ers assistant so the salaries would match. Kupchak also shipped to Memphis an overweight center notable only because of his last name, Gasol. Which eventually changed the tenor of the trade. Still, the Lakers got the Gasol who mattered to them at the time.

Pau's first game with the Lakers he had 24 points and 12 rebounds.

“When he got traded to the Lakers, I was in Miami and said they’re going to win a few championships,” recalled Shane Battier, Gasol’s Memphis teammate. “I thought, ‘Kobe and Pau? It’s over for the league.’”

“In Pau’s first game with us, the first timeout Kobe comes back to me and says, ‘I’ve got a big guy who can play with me,’” recalled Jackson. “We had been reluctant to trade for people because of the details of the (triangle) system. But Pau adapted quickly with no problem being an astute student of game and the fact he knew what was going on and his sense of timing, a great passer, ran the court, could catch the ball. Kobe won (his only) MVP that year.”

Boston’s magical run with Kevin Garnett led to the Celtics’ championship in 2008. But with Gasol ordered to the weight room with Schaefer following those playoffs, the Lakers went on to consecutive championships.

Nothing is forever in life, or sports, and so that paradigm shifting run came to an end for the Lakers and for Pau Gasol’s scoring average along with games played began to plummet toward a career nadir after the 2011 championship. Trade talk increased. It’s a business, correct? 

But the lightness in his step and life returned for Pau with the winds of change that brought him to Chicago for his last big NBA run. Pau averaged 18.5 points and 11.8 rebounds his first Bulls season as the Bulls became a 50-win team again for the first time since Derrick Rose’s injuries.

Gasol’s rebounding with the Bulls was a career-best and his scoring average was second-highest in the previous six years. His second season with the Bulls he still averaged 11 rebounds per game and 16.5 points. But the Bulls fell into transition with the departure of coach Tom Thibodeau and a new style of play under coach Fred Hoiberg.

Gasol moved onto the Spurs, but never again approached his scoring and rebounding averages with the Bulls. He retired in 2021 after that season in Spain. He then also became a member of the International Olympic Committee and has discussed front office positions with various NBA franchises. Though now he primarily travels for his Foundation’s charitable work.

“No way you could have imagined (this kind of career),” acknowledged Gasol. “There was one Spanish player who played in the NBA before me, and he played briefly, Fernando Martin (24 games in 1986-87 for Portland). I thought it was unreachable, pretty much, at the time. It has been an amazing career. When I think about it, I am moved by it; everything I have been able to accomplish, the experience to share with people.

“I worked hard and put everything into it,” said Gasol. “The passion and love for the game is what also allowed me to do the things off the court as well. I loved the challenge. My ambition and my confidence in my abilities has taken me far. I’m also very thankful to my family for the way they have supported me throughout and in the critical moments of my life and being a part of my success.”

The Bulls and Chicago were fortunate to have been part of his story.

Best Free Agent Signings in Bulls History

Led the team to its last playoff series win in his first season with the team after being named to start the All-Star game at center. Led the team in rebounding, blocks and three-point shooting. He was second to Jimmy Butler in scoring and scored his career high 46 points in a career renaissance.

Following a career detour to San Antonio from Toronto and off the media and public radar, he became a starting All-Star and the most clutch player in the NBA with numerous game winning shots that likely helped solidify his eventual place in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

Although then Bulls general manager Jerry Krause signed a point guard just about every season for the next five years after acquiring Paxson, the tough Notre Damer persisted and in the 1991 and 1993 Finals made some of the biggest winning shots in franchise history.

Often criticized for who he was not in 2010 when the Bulls lost out on free agents LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, he averaged 15 points and nine rebounds in four seasons with the Bulls. That also led to the team leading the league in wins two consecutive seasons.

Initially considered a bust after he signed the then biggest free agent contract in team history to replace the retired Michael Jordan, Harper reinvented himself after knee injuries and became a defensive mainstay for the 1996-1998 champion Bulls.

The trio was added along with Boozer in the wake of the failed attempt at James and Wade. The result was a team that swept James and Wade in the regular season before losing to them in the conference finals. The depth, size and Bench Mob became a popular strength.

The shooting specialist without Stephen Curry’s elan set Bulls records for three-point shooting and made the series clinching shot in the 1997 Finals in taking the clutch shooting baton from John Paxson.

The physical forward from the gold medal winning Argentine 2004 Olympic team became something of the face of the rugged Baby Bulls of that era and helped lead them to the historic playoff sweep of defending champion Miami in 2007 after being named the team’s player of the year the previous season.

Among the many desperate replacements after Derrick Rose’s serious knee injury, Robinson had one of the greatest playoff games in franchise history in a triple overtime thriller contributing to the miracle 2013 playoff run against the Nets. Belinelli similarly made cutch shots throughout that playoff run and in the clincher highlighted by Joakim Noah’s classic Game 7 in Brooklyn.

He was a valuable role player and veteran physical presence for the first two championship teams in 1991 and 1992.

remembering-pau-gasols-time-as-a-chicago-bull-as-he-prepares-to-enter-basketball-hall-of-fame

Remembering Pau Gasol's time as a  Chicago Bull as he prepares to enter Basketball Hall of Fame

Bye bye, so long and farewell;Even when it looked like the Bulls were beginning to gel.So see you in September;See you then that NBA Summer League is through.The Bulls had a 3-2 good time;Even if they didn’t remind anyone of Showtime.So they’ll see you in September;When they’ll also be ready to reduce the Heat to an ember.

     — Original lyrics 1959 Sid Wayne and Sherman Edwards; update Sam Smith 2023

Bulls Summer League 2023 concluded Saturday afternoon in Las Vegas with a Bulls 90-85 win over the Washington Wizards summer schoolers.

Javon Freeman-Liberty again led the way for the Bulls, this time with 24 points and a clutch three-pointer with 1:06 left in the game for an 80-76 Bulls lead. He added a couple of free throws and a pass for an Adama Sanogo slam dunk against desperation Wizards pressure in the closing seconds.

Dalen Terry had his best game of the five with 20 points and four of five threes including a rebound and clever long pass to a court-running Sanogo for anther dunk following the three by Freeman-Liberty. That gave the Bulls the required breathing room to finish with a 3-2 record.

Summer League will conclude Monday with a title game. The Bulls were previously disqualified with a second loss.&nbsp;

Sanogo had 15 points and nine rebounds in 19 minutes. Rookie Julian Phillips started and had five points and two rebounds in 22 minutes. Brazilian point guard Yago Dos Santos off the bench had 13 points and three of four threes.

And so the next time we’ll see the Bulls will be the opening of NBA training camps September 27.

Here’s a look at who might be, should or could be around based on the Summer League experience and my view of the blend of performance and the needs of the Bulls varsity.

He had his poorest game of the tournament Saturday with four points in 18 minutes and zero for four on three-pointers. That dropped his three-point average for the five games to 32.4% after it mostly hovered close to 40% earlier. He was 39% in the G League this season. The Bulls guards rarely seemed to look for him or run any actions for him. But he fits the Bulls greatest need of a classic catch-and-shoot long distance shooter in the model of players like Cavs free agent addition Max Strus, Miami’s Duncan Robinson and Luke Kennard of Memphis.

The Bulls, according to basketball chief Artūras Karnišovas speaking on a Summer League broadcast, added free agent shooting in guard Jevon Carter and forward Torrey Craig. Neither are high volume stand still shooters, though they shoot well from three and are top defenders. The 6-foot-6 Darling from Canada fits the offensive profile the Bulls lack with size, a pure shooting stroke with a quick release and an ability to score off the dribble. He finished Summer League averaging 11.2 points despite the offense mostly operating through Dalen Terry and Freeman-Liberty.

This Summer League for the Bulls was primarily directed toward the development of Terry and to help the judgment of where the 2022 first round draft pick fits on the roster; and if in the regular playing rotation. With his highlight game Saturday, Terry finished Summer League second to Freeman-Liberty in scoring at 12.6 with both averaging just under 30 minutes per game. After shooting below 30% in the first four games, the final game pushed Terry to 33.8% overall and 34.8% on threes. He averaged five rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.8 steals.

Terry was a mixed bag with the ball as he had difficulty finishing, but he passed well off the dribble in the lane. His defense was the best among the players by playing the lanes and disrupting ballhandlers. He shot reasonably well if left alone to square up, but had problems when challenged by rushing his shots. He did, however, make a case for the rotation, at least the way it lines up for the Bulls now. Though there are roster spots still open.

Point guard: Coby White and Jevon CarterShooting guard: Zach LaVine and Alex CarusoSmall forward: DeMar DeRozanPower forward: Patrick Williams, Craig and Julian PhillipsCenter: Nikola Vučević and Andre Drummond

That doesn’t account for Ayo Dosunmu and Javonte Green. The Bulls have some salary cap exceptions, and there are free agents still available who could fit given the team’s lack of height like Christian Wood, Kelly Oubre, T.J. Warren, Markieff Morris and Frank Kaminsky. Or a player with a year left for the injury exception like Kelly Olynyk, though his salary might be just a bit too much to fit.

It seems like there could be an opening as a backup small forward that might fit Terry. He could be a defensive presence to follow DeRozan, someone who could help change the pace and tempo of the game and combine with Caruso and the new arrivals for the sort of defensive pressure that Bulls coach Billy Donovan prefers because the Bulls often are left to make so many difficult shots for scores.

He was by far the best player on the Bulls Summer League team. No one really was even close. He averaged 21.2 points in a team-high 27.9 minutes and made the most clutch shots. He shot 49.3% overall and a brilliant 46.2% shooting from three-point territory. He was in the top 10 among all Summer League players in scoring and shooting for those attempting at least five threes a game. His analytical rating was top five. The DePaul and Windy City product ran the team with poise and aplomb, but probably faces that dreaded numbers game with the Bulls.

Remember, they also have G League MVP Carlik Jones coming to training camp. Jones was hurt and couldn’t play in Summer League. Freeman-Liberty supported Jones for Windy City. Plus, the Bulls just added Carter and resigned White and have Caruso and still to be determined Dosunmu. Perhaps Jones and Freeman-Liberty compete for a roster spot in training camp. Perhaps Freeman-Liberty has opened some eyes in the basketball world since he is tough, can make a shot and run a team, which is the kind of player the Bulls most seemed to be missing last season with Lonzo Ball out. Maybe Freeman-Liberty, a popular player from Whitney Young High School, makes it difficult for the Bulls; a good problem to have. 

The rookie second round pick sat out the first game to settle contract issues and then averaged 8.8 points in 23.8 minutes. He shot 44% on threes, but averaged just three rebounds, zero assists and less than a block.

He seems like a prime candidate for the Windy City Bulls to develop what looks like it could be an appealing game. He showed the expected burst to the offensive boards with his advertised excellent leaping ability and a surprisingly nice shooting stroke despite questions about his three-point shooting in college. He didn’t rebound well on the defensive end, which is a concern for the Bulls given their lack of size up front. Williams had been hoping to move to small forward this season with a taller player moving in at power forward. That doesn’t seem the plan for now, though some roster decisions still have to be made. It seems like it would benefit the inexperienced Phillips to play against NBA-level competition in the G League since he doesn’t look ready for a rotation spot with a veteran team facing playoff urgency.

The big man after a rough start showed promise with a clever inside game, good feet and hands and active on the offensive boards. He averaged 10.2 points and 8.4 rebounds in 18.4 minutes. He shot 65.7% after making all seven of his attempts Saturday mostly on follows and runouts. He didn't make a three pointer in the five games. His problem is his size at maybe 6-foot-9, though not a high flier. He gets position well and is strong. Which can have some success in Summer League. It’s more difficult against interior NBA players, either taller or more athletic. He appears to be a smart, hard working player who should see some development with Windy City. 

Dos Santos has a nice finish to Summer League in Saturday’s win with some long threes and highlight point guard play. But for the Bulls he’s too small in what’s become a crowded position. He did shoot 44% on threes in the five games. Henri Drell from Windy City and center Jontay Porter showed flashes, but too much inconsistency. The mystery man was tough luck Justin Lewis, who was showing some nice power play inside after his ACL tear from last summer. Then he sprained his ankle early in the second game and sat out the rest of the Summer League. If he gets another chance with the Bulls, it will most likely have to start again with Windy City.

It was a good time, but this isn’t totally down time.So at least for now, it’s just bye bye, so long and farewell.Until that regular season bell.

a-final-look-at-the-2023-summer-bulls

A final look at the 2023 Summer Bulls

There’s a story, perhaps apocryphal, about the time Sam Snead and Ted Williams were arguing their sports. Snead is regarded as the best pure ball striker in golf history and Williams the best pure hitter in baseball. So Williams is saying how there’s nothing more difficult than hitting a baseball. Here is a round ball coming at you 90 miles per hour and with a round bat you have to hit it squarely.

Snead in his gentle Virginia drawl agreed it sure has to be hard, but then impishly added, “But we have to play our foul balls.”

And so begins yet another challenge for Bulls All-Star guard Zach LaVine living out his Walter Mitty sporting fantasy this summer as he goes from being one of the best players in the NBA post All-Star averaging 27 points on 40% three-point shooting to being the star of the Major League Baseball celebrity softball game with a towering home run and SportsCenter Top 10 highlight home run robbing catch and now to test his nascent golf skills in the most competitive celebrity golf tournament, the American Century Championship beginning Wednesday. It is being played at the Edgewood Tahoe golf course.&nbsp;

“I think golf is the one of the most skill-based things I’ve tried,” said LaVine, who grew up training to be a baseball player. “You want to be extremely athletic in sports. For me, I can get away with something and make up for mistakes with being athletic. With golf it’s different. Sports require size and speed and strength. But you can’t outathletic golf, which is why it’s such a hard sport.”

Also because it’s the sport that defies all logic.

You hit down to make the ball go up and you aim left to make it go right. Though LaVine shoots right handed in basketball, he does pretty much everything else left handed. He swings his golf club and bats left handed. So for him it’s aiming right to make the ball go left. In the upside down world of golf, you also play for the lowest score and the winner buys.&nbsp;

There’s nothing really like it in sports.

LaVine’s father Paul, a former pro athlete, trained Zach to be an athlete with the early priority on baseball. Zach said he swings lefty because his father wanted him to have the edge running to first base coming out of the batter’s box.

 “I try to tell you why do you think I drive left so much,” LaVine said with a laugh.

“I usually pick up things because of my athleticism,” the 6-foot-5 LaVine said. “Baseball, basketball, football growing up was easy to pick up because of my athleticism. With golf, I can hit it far and can hit it hard, but that doesn’t equate to having a good golf game. You need the right technique, the right skills and the right path. And then you still might not have it unless you putt the ball well. It’s so challenging, which is what I love about it.”

Nevertheless, LaVine wades right in for his first appearance in the nationally televised American Century Championship. There’ll be the familiar faces like Charles Barkley and comedian Ray Romano, and plenty of athletes like Ray Allen, Aaron Rodgers, Pat Mahones and celebrities like actor Don Cheadle. There’s former Cubs like Dexter Fowler and Jon Lester, former Bear Bruain Urlacher and 2021 champion, former Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro.

LaVine said he never played golf before 2020 when Covid shut down the NBA and sports.

“I picked up a club for the first time during Covid; a lot of people did,” said LaVine. “I think that’s when golf got to be such a bigger thing for athletes. Now I have to say I’m addicted to it; I love it. I love basketball the most, of course, my first love, but I’m addicted to golf now.”

LaVine says he shoots in the high 80s and low 90s for about a 15 handicap. So even if he knows so many in the field will play much better, he says he’s excited for the experience, and, after all, he’s comfortable in front of large crowds.

“I’m not nervous,” LaVine says. “I’m not expecting to go out there and be a professional golfer. I guess you could say I’m a little anxious, but I don’t have to go out there and do what I do in basketball. I just want to go out there and have fun. I want to post some good scores, but I’m not expecting to be Tiger Woods.

“What’s crazy is I hit the ball a ton, but my iron play is the best,” says LaVine getting into Golf Digest instruction mode. “I often take a four iron off the tee, the little fairway finder. Or I’ll take my five wood or three wood off the tee. I’m not the most accurate driver. I can hit it 300-plus, but it might be in another fairway (beware galleries). So I usually take a long iron or hybrid off the tee to keep me in the play. And then I can usually make up the distance with my iron play. My short game isn’t bad, and then I shoot for two putts. So I have to practice there. I need the practice, but I love to play so much I’ve just been playing.”

It’s all been fun and quite the week for the former NBA two-time Slam Dunk champion coming off the softball game back home in Seattle to the big celebrity golf tournament.

You actually can begin to make the case that LaVine may be the best athlete in Chicago sports history given his baseball skills, the obvious basketball excellence and now taking on golf in such a public venue.

We usually attribute that greatest honor to Michael Jordan for basketball, playing professional baseball and being a good enough golfer he played in the prestigious Western Amateur.

It’s not that deep a field for Chicago athletes.

Bo Jackson was toward the end when he came to the White Sox. Dave DuBusschere played baseball and basketball, but only briefly for the White Sox. Former Bull Scott Burrell also was a baseball player, but briefly a Bull. Frank Thomas maybe because he probably could have been a pro football player. Jeff Samardzija had a good run with the Cubs after Notre Dame football. Zach’s got to be in the conversation.

“Growing up me and my dad were always talking about both sports,” says LaVine. “He said at a certain point you have to make a decision; what do you really want to pursue? Baseball was my first love. So it was fun for me to go out there in the softball game. My wife was saying it looked like I was trying to live out a second dream. It almost felt like I was in a video game, walking out with the crowd, the emotion, that atmosphere for baseball. It was a lot of fun.

“It’s also why Mike didn’t get enough credit for what he did in baseball,” LaVine added. “Michael Jordan out of nowhere goes to Double A and bats .213 with a 10-game hit streak (actually .202 with 13 games). You can’t do that unless you have great skills. He was good. I don’t care what anyone says. You can’t just pick up baseball out of nowhere and hit a 90 miles per hour fastball and a curve; that doesn’t happen.”

Nor it seems does someone go from starring in basketball to starring in Major League baseball’s All-Star weekend to a high level, albeit amateur, golf tournament.

Teammate Alex Caruso, who is about a five handicap golfer, played last year in the Tahoe event. He said he was a bit nervous with the fairways lined with spectators, yet did reasonably well with rounds in the 80s. But it’s not like playing back home with your buddies. Caruso has a conflict for this weekend.

“AC told me the air in Tahoe is light, that you’re going to hit the ball farther than you think, but to attack everything,“ said LaVine. “He did say you’ll want to be in the fairways.”

For LaVine, like the old saying in golf goes, it’s been nothing but fairways and greens these days, a new family, a new home and a summer to remember on the playing fields. His attitude was positive and upbeat in Las Vegas watching the Summer League Bulls team along with teammate DeMar DeRozan, who he happily embraced. LaVine spoke to the players in the locker room after the first game and greeted fans warmly.

“Athletically, I feel I’ll be able to figure golf out if I get enough reps into it,” LaVine says. “I sometimes think about baseball and if I’d have had a good career like I have in basketball. But now we’ll see what I can do with golf after basketball. Golf is interesting because I’m so used to playing sports with a team.&nbsp;This you are by yourself. So for somebody like me who is competitive, it’s a great way to relax and still be mentally sharp. I know a few guys playing, Kyle Lowry, of course. I’ve always been a huge Raiders fan and Davante Adams and David Carr are there. I know whoever I’m paired with I’ll have a good time.”

And maybe even produce another highlight. It seems like Zach LaVine has been doing nothing but that.

zach-lavine-more-than-a-basketball-player

Zach LaVine: More than a basketball player

Life, we often hear, can be so unfair, like basketball, which is supposed to be a meritocracy. But, of course, it isn’t. Because then Whitney Young and DePaul’s Javon Freeman-Liberty would have an NBA contract instead of perhaps facing another season with the Windy City Bulls in the G League, the place where the players are considered generally just good enough to dream.

Freeman-Liberty, like just about everyone playing in the NBA Summer League where the Bulls Saturday lost 87-80 to the Memphis Grizzlies, has that NBA dream. And in again being the best player on the floor for the Bulls Saturday with 24 points, six rebounds, five assists and four of six threes, Freeman-Liberty has the NBA game. 

Just not the appropriate hoops pedigree, undrafted Blue Demon instead of being from a blue blood, lacking a guaranteed contract and, if potentially essential, also dispensable. So while the spotlight and attention of Bulls watchers this month falls on former first round draft pick Dalen Terry and 2023 second round pick Julian Phillips, the latter who made his Summer League debut Saturday, it is the determined Freeman-Liberty with the free flowing hair and game who through the 1-1 start just goes about his business with an attitude as upbeat as his game.

“I’ve got to give thanks to the team and the coach for putting me in position to just be out there,” Freeman-Liberty said Saturday. “I know it was a loss, but I thought it was a good effort; we competed to the end.

“I really don’t like to talk about (not being drafted), but it’s another chip,” the succinct in speech if not game Freeman-Liberty said. “All my life I’ve been fighting to get here and I feel I’m still not (there). So I’ve still got that chip on my shoulder, motivated each and every day to come in and compete. I feel like always being motivated. I’m a God person, so I talk to God each and every day, every chance I get. I sit there and pray for the best. I’m always grateful being in the position that I am in right now.”

It was a bit more like it Saturday for Terry with 17 points and a trio of three-pointers. Though in nine attempts as Terry added a five for 21 Saturday to his opening four of 14. Still a great motor, if still too often misfiring. Terry played more composed in Game 2, primarily off the ball this time and with more driving penetration if too many forced shots.

Rookie second round draft selection Phillips, the Bulls’ other summer priority in Las Vegas, came off the bench after sitting out the opener Friday due to contract uncertainty. And then got an eyes-wide-open-shocked look at the NBA, obviously finding the players much bigger, faster and better than he apparently anticipated in getting just one late basket in 24 minutes and a team-low minus-13 plus/minus.

“For myself, my performance isn’t what I wanted it to be,” Phillips conceded. “Kind of trying to find out how the game was going to go, so glad I got the game under me so I can be better the next outing. It’s my first game on this level and obviously every level is different. Trying to see what the game is, but definitely be better the next outing. The pace is faster, guys are bigger and stronger, obviously. It is a different game than college basketball, so you have to play more to get accustomed.”

It’s a Summer League; not a summer vacation.

It was another tough break for second-year pro Justin Lewis, who had a nice effort in the opening win in his first game back from ACL surgery. He started again Saturday and played about six minutes before suffering a sprained ankle. His status for the remainder of Summer League is unknown. Undrafted Adama Sanogo played a more forceful game and stayed away from perimeter jump shots, fighting his way to 12 rebounds. Marksman Nate Darling added 10 points, but was just one of six on threes.

It was another spotty offensive game with both teams shooting 40% overall and 33% on threes.

The game proved a tug of war mostly throughout until with about three minutes left and the score tied at 77 after Phillips' only basket of the game on a 19-footer, Memphis scored 10 straight points on a three and some slow Bulls responses for fouls before a Freeman-Liberty three closed the scoring.

“I really applaud our effort,” said Summer League Bulls coach John Bryant. "It’s hard to play a back-to-back, but no excuses.”

Bryant said the Bulls were short on the effort plays they prioritize, five deflections per quarter (only 10 for the game) and a shot contest rate of 75% (64% for the game).

“We just couldn’t give that second effort, give another effort that was required,” said Bryant.

The Bulls next game is Tuesday against Sacramento at 9 p.m. central time.

“I was excited Julian got in there and got a taste of it,” said Bryant. “It’s Summer League and you think everything is going to go up: ‘I’m going to score 20, have seven rebounds, three steals, we’ll win every game.’ But then real life happens. He’s probably a little disappointed he had only two points. But I told him this is your first game in the NBA; you have a lot more. What are you going to do to improve the next game? It’s up to him to bounce back; he’s a rookie.

“Dalen played with a little bit more control,” noted Bryant. “Shots didn’t go in. He did try to lead, played the most minutes again and played hard. I’m proud of Dalen. He has a lot of weight on his shoulders. Being a first round pick isn’t easy. I think he’s carrying it the best he can. I thought he improved today.”

And then there was the guy who’s been the best for the two games, the 6-foot-4 Freeman-Liberty. He is leading the team in scoring and second in rebounds and assists while shooting 54% overall and 50% on threes.

So the Bulls have found their point guard? Not quite yet.

Freeman-Liberty isn’t the dominant athlete, and something of a combo guard. So a bit small for shooting guard as Carlik Jones mostly ran the offense for Windy City. But Freeman-Liberty has shown, if briefly with the Summer League team, he can direct offense with a nice mid-range shot game off pick-and-roll. Though he’s also gotten accustomed to mostly rolling with the punches.

“It is a harder road for guys like that to get to the NBA,” Bryant agreed. “Nothing about life is fair. We’ve all been dealt our fair share of obstacles. It happens to the NBA player who is undrafted.”

Because teams invest in players they draft. So sometimes they keep them around longer either because they owe them money or they don’t want to admit they made a draft mistake. Then a player bounces around awhile and like Freeman-Liberty, who’ll be 24 in October, teams decide you’ve reached your ceiling. Then you go to the G League, which some inaccurately see as a demotion rather than an opportunity. Though not Freeman-Liberty.

“The G League has helped me a lot,” he was saying after Saturday’s loss. “It’s a competitive league; it’s going to develop you a lot. Everybody is trying to get somewhere (in the G League). When everyone is trying to get somewhere, it’s like each and every day you have guys giving it their all to get to the next level.”

And there are a lot of success stories, like the Bulls Alex Caruso.

Freeman-Liberty, the nephew of celebrated former University of Illinois star Marcus Liberty, maintains that liberated spirit.

He started at Seton Academy in South Holland and then when it closed moved to Whitney Young on the West side, where he played for a state title winner and in the title game in consecutive seasons. But slight of frame, he ended up going to Valparaiso, where he was an all-defense player. After two years, he transferred to DePaul. And as a senior averaged 21.7 points and shot 37% on threes. But older, smaller, in between positions, he didn’t make it into the 2022 NBA draft.

He then averaged 17.4 points per game for Windy City shooting almost 40% on threes, and with the Bulls this summer showing he can run an offense. Sort of like Carlik Jones showed last Summer League for the Bulls and with an MVP G League season earned a make good contract with the Bulls.

So Freeman-Liberty continues full speed ahead determined not to be torpedoed by the doubts or doubters.

“Be that guy out there always talking and communicating, making sure everyone is in the right place and organized,” said Freeman-Liberty about his role this summer and beyond. “It’s a lot (to improve upon). I just feel like me getting stronger and me being more vocal out there, me being one of those guys always on the bench communicating and talking. I’m one of those guys who is versatile. I can play defense and be a point guard to get everyone involved and be a scorer if the coach needs me to.

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