Robin Lopez has been the Bulls’ starting center since being acquired from the Knicks in the summer of 2016, but he has been relegated to the bench as Chicago launches a youth movement, writes Vincent Goodwill of NBC Sports Chicago. With Cristiano Felicio being named the starting center, Lopez has sat out the past two games and it’s not clear when he might return.
“It was rough for me. I get it. I understand it,” Lopez said. “I always want to be out there playing on the court. That’s what I enjoy, especially playing with these guys. But I’m excited to watch these guys give it a go from the bench.”
Lopez isn’t sure if he’s in the Bulls’ long-range plans, even though he has one more season left on his contract at more than $13.5MM. He’s averaging a career-best 12.3 points to go with 4.7 rebounds in 57 games, so there should be interested teams if Chicago decides to trade him this summer.
There’s more news from the Windy City:
- Justin Holiday has been benched along with Lopez, but both may return to the lineup at some point this season, tweets K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. Coach Fred Hoiberg didn’t directly answer questions about their future, but Lopez said he expects to play again. Holiday is also signed through next season at a salary of nearly $4.39MM.
- Third-year forward Bobby Portis is part of the youth movement and has been succeeding with a grating style that irritates opponents, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Portis has nearly doubled his scoring average to 13.0 points per game, while piling up an enemies list that includes former teammate Nikola Mirotic, who missed the start of the season with facial fractures he suffered in a preseason skirmish with Portis. “People used to joke around all the time about it, but now I’m making it into something I like,’’ Portis said of his “Crazy Eyes” nickname. “My eyes do get crazy, and I never know what they’re going to do.’’
- The Bulls are three games out of the top spot in our latest Reverse Standings, but tanking may not be the best strategy for a turnaround, Cowley suggests in a separate story. He notes that Chicago already has a wealth of young talent on hand and may benefit more by trying to win some games before the end of the season than by trying to improve its draft pick.
Yea, not just crazy eyes, his eyes and mouth look so weird on his face sometimes, almost like they are too small for the rest of his face, and yes usually some kind of crazy look on his face.
The bottom 9 teams are on a combined 46 game losing streak. Now here’s commentary treating the idea of tanking as if its business as usual to change your draft position. Hello, the idea of losing on purpose is inherently unethical and should be condemned whenever possible.
The odds for the top picks will be evened next year, reducing the incentive to tank. Yay
With this raggedy ass cadets roster built by lemmings leader GARPAX , tanking should come naturally
I like how he says that they are better off winning games instead of improving draft stock, but there is no reason given here.
I’m a Bulls fan, but the NBA seriously needs to take a close look at how their draft is constructed. Because, over the last few years, tanking has become fashionable and trendy. Far too many teams are doing this. Many teams, unnecessarily.
I think this phenomenon is also the result of this new generation of coaching that essentially consists of a weak, soft, unemotional, castrated, proxy puppet coach.
Hoiberg is a prime example of this. Back in the day, coaches had pride and dignity, and they wouldn’t allow a GM to stick one finger up their taint, and turn them into their puppets.
Many coaches in this new generation, sad to say, are nothing but spineless “yes” men.