When the Bulls traded Jimmy Butler to the Wolves this past summer, the consensus was the Bulls struck a bad deal. Jimmy is a 3 time All-Star, plays both ends of the court, and he was just hitting his stride. Words like tanking (losing to get a top draft pick) were thrown around the city of Chicago when describing the state of the Bulls and the focus was on the 2018 NBA Draft. No one really knew if the pieces the Bulls received would pan out. Can Kris Dunn become the point guard of the future, can Zach Lavine come back successfully from a torn ACL, and does rookie Lauri Markkanen belong in the NBA? The future seemed dim for the Chicago Bulls.
Today,
the Butler deal looks like it was a great move by Bulls organization, led by
President John Paxson. Kris Dunn is starting to break through and has shown the
ability to take over games. Markkanen is a top 5 rookie…even LeBron was gushing
over him. Zach Lavine looks like he is coming back to his old form
and dueled with Butler the other night. Lavine scored the final
Bulls 8 points in the last minute in a victory over Minnesota and is showing
his ability to be a closer—he also had the winning steal and bucket tonight
against the Magic. Dunn, Markkanen, and Lavine are 3 core pieces
that the Bulls can build around. Having young athletes to build a team around
is promising. The Bulls have potentially 2 future All-Stars (Lavine
and Markkanen) and Kris Dunn could turn into one. 2nd year
pro Denzel Valentine is also coming along and showing signs of improvement, he
is looking more like a versatile utility player off the bench.
In
this upcoming NBA draft, the Bulls could potentially land 2 lottery picks (their
own plus the Pelicans pick). The 2018 draft looks strong with
potential franchise players and if the Bulls can pick up at least another
high-quality starter, they might be back quickly. There are
questions about LeBron staying in Cleveland after this season, and outside of
Boston and Toronto, the East looks wide open. The Bulls can be relevant again
and their young core could grow up quickly to give the city of Chicago
something to get excited about.
Some other NBA thoughts:
Koby
Altman did it. The rookie GM transformed a lethargic team to one
that is young, vibrant, and motivated. I know it’s only been a
couple of games but the Cavs look like Eastern Conference champs
again…Can Houston really take on the Warriors in a 7 game series? I
am not sold on them. Paul and Harden have never battled in a playoff
series together. It will be a fun series if they make it to the
Western Conference finals and they look like the only real threat, but would
anyone really bet against the core of Durant, Curry, Thompson, and Green?…If
Gordon Hayward can come back, the Celtics team will be really good and fun to
watch….I really hope the Sixers make the playoffs. The process took
way too long, and they are a fun team. Embid is great for the NBA and he exudes
joy every time he is on the court. And Ben Simmons is the real
deal…The Knicks are in trouble. Coming back from an ACL injury is tough and
Porzingis was playing at a high level. The Knicks only really have
one star in Kristaps. They need another star as a hedge and
potential compliment if @kporzee comes back healthy…That’s all for
now. Thanks to all my loyal fans…all 2 of you.
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