During his introductory press conference, new Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg gushed about the talent on Chicago’s roster, Sam Smith of NBA.com relays. “I love this roster,” said Hoiberg. “I absolutely love this roster. I love the versatility of the players. The different lineups that we’re going to be able to play; can play small, can play big, You’ve got lineups that I really think can get out and play with pace. You’ve got a great group of veteran players that know how to play. I think Tom Thibodeau is an excellent, excellent basketball coach and I think he instilled a lot of unbelievable qualities in this team that hopefully I can build on.”
Here’s more from the Central Division:
- Kentucky’s John Calipari was one of the names linked to the Cavs‘ coaching search prior to David Blatt being hired. But despite Cleveland making it to the NBA Finals this season, Calipari says he doesn’t regret his decision to remain with the Wildcats, Chris Fedor of The Northeast Ohio Media Group writes. “No. No, nope. Because what happened, and the reason I did what I did, was based on having guys come back who wanted to be coached. I didn’t feel comfortable not being at Kentucky,” Calipari responded when asked if he had any second thoughts about passing on the chance to coach LeBron James and the Cavaliers.
- Calipari also said that despite all the offers he has had to return to the NBA as a head coach, the only job opening that made him seriously consider leaving Kentucky was the Cavaliers‘ post last summer, Fedor adds.
- Despite the presence of center Andre Drummond, the Pistons won’t hesitate to grab Willie Cauley-Stein or Myles Turner in the draft if the front-office believes either big man is the best player available at the No. 8 spot, David Mayo of MLive.com writes. “They like to play two bigs,” Cauley-Stein said of the Pistons, who often played Greg Monroe and Drummond together. “That’s a big lineup. Both super-athletic, both do similar stuff, so it’s kind of like how me and Karl-Anthony Towns played this year. I get the same kind of sense out of it.“