The Bulls and Bobby Portis couldn’t come to an agreement on a long-term deal before this year’s deadline for rookie extensions, though both sides envision Portis staying in Chicago past this season.
“My game won’t change. I’ll still give it all I got. This is where I want to be long-term,” said Portis (via K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune in a series of Twitter links). “I couldn’t see myself in any other jersey. Obviously, I got Bulls DNA. Me and the city have a love connection somewhere. I just enjoy playing for the Bulls.”
VP John Paxson values Portis and told reporters that the power forward’s work ethic stands out. The executive said the extension talks were extensive and the team hopes to re-sign Portis in the summer.
Although the Bulls drafted frontcourt players in each of the past two NBA drafts and gave another forward a $20MM salary as a free agent this summer, Portis is still expected to open the season as a starter for the team. Lauri Markkanen continues to recover from an elbow injury and offseason addition Jabari Parker has been shifted to the second unit, at least for the time being.
Good lord, Chris. Did you read ANYTHING on the Bulls in the preseason? Portis is the starting PF while Markkanen is out. Jabari Parker has been moved to the 2nd team. Plus, Wendell Carter Jr. is now starting over Robin Lopez. You got every thing wrong in your write up. C’mon dude! Step up your game!
Not sure if the Bulls have confirmed anything on Carter/Lopez for the regular season, but you’re right about Portis starting. I’ve updated that paragraph.
I haven’t read or heard anything released from the team about Carter Jr. starting over RoLo, BUT I’d honestly be spruced if they didn’t start the rookie.
His counting statistics might not show it, but Wendell Carter Jr. had a very impressive pre-season. The best part was the more WCJ played, the more experience he gained, and with that experience came better play.
He was setting solid screens, rolling off screens, and towards the end of the pre-season, especially when he started, theor offense became noticeably more free-flowing. Carter Jr. just does all the little things extremely well, and he’s only going to get better as he gets older.
He reminds me so much of a young Al Horford, and with Carter Jr. and Markkanen, the Bulls have one of the most talented, young pairings of bigs in the league. How that’s going to translate to wins, down the road, certainly remains to be seen, but they clearly have some excellent, young pieces to build around.
If they’re able to solidify their SF position moving forward, whether it be a talented free agent, or a talented rookie, then the Bulls will be well on their way to turning it around in Chicago. Honestly, Klay Thompson is exactly what they need, but what team wouldn’t want Klay..lol..
They really just need one more versatile, wing, that’s capable of playing solid peremter defense, and consistently spacing the floor…However, that isn’t very easy to find, soo they’ll likely have to find that Kevin Knox type in the draft next season..
They have an excellent defensive minded, lock-down PG in Dunn, although he’s offensively challenged..They have their scoring, athletic 2 guard, although he’s defensively challenged, and they have 2 talented and young bigs that are capable of rebounding well and scoring inside and out in Markk and Portis, and they have their all-around, high IQ, Center in Wendell Carter Jr.
They need to round out their roster with a couple of better veterans to replace Payne as their backup PG, Holliday as their SF, and RoLo as their backup C, but if they’re able to draft that talented SF, and fill-in some other spots with a couple of key veterans, than the Bulls very well could start to put their name alongside that 3rd tier of teams on the East, with tons of potential to get better!!
Boston is just in a class all their own in the East, their depth and talent is unmatched. So, it’s Boston on top, and then, the 2nd tier is Philly and Toronto. The 3rd tier is Indiana, Washington, and Milwaukee…With some experience, maturity, further chemistry, and growth coupled with an off-season adding a talented starting SF, and a couple veteran additions the Bulls very well could find themselves battling with the likes of Milwaukee, Indiana, Washington, and possibly even Toronto next season for that 3-6 spots, especially if and when Toronto loses Kawhi..
I can only dream Kawhi signs with Chicago; if so, they would immediately vault just behind Boston, possibly even better than Philly..Although, that would be a very fun battle to watch..Dunn, LaVine, Kawhi, Markkanen, and Carter Jr. would be an extremely fun team to watch, and with 3 defensive studs in Dunn, Kawhi, and WCJ they’d immediately be one of the tougher defensive teams..A man can dream, regardless how unrealistic it is..lol It would certainly be great for the NBA though to have the Bulls back as a legitimate team again..They already have a ridiculously supportive fan base, imagine if they ran out that line-up..It would easily be a sell-out in the Windy City each and every single home game…Anyways, back to reality..lol