The Bulls are still trying to determine whether Kris Dunn, Bobby Portis, and Denzel Valentine will be a part of their core going forward, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. As Cowley observes, Zach LaVine, Lauri Markkanen, and Wendell Carter Jr. are building blocks in Chicago, but the team has yet to make any long-term decisions on Dunn, Portis, and Valentine.
While the Bulls may have had aspirations of playoff contention coming into the season, the team is off to a 7-23 start and will be prioritizing player development and long-term roster planning going forward. Valentine will be out for the season with an ankle injury, but Chicago should have plenty of opportunities to evaluate Dunn and Portis, who both returned to the court last week after rehabbing injuries of their own.
Dunn, who posted 13.4 PPG, 6.0 APG, and 4.3 RPG in 2017/18 during his first season with the Bulls, has appeared in just four games so far this season due to a sprained MCL. Although the former fifth overall pick came off the bench upon returning from that injury, he reclaimed a starting job on Saturday with LaVine sidelined, and responded with a team-high 24 points in a road win over San Antonio.
Dunn has another season left on his rookie contract after this year, so the Bulls won’t have to make any final decisions on him during the 2019 offseason. That may not be the case for Portis though, since the power forward is eligible for restricted free agency next summer.
By all accounts, Bulls management is very fond of Portis, who was praised last season for his attitude and hard work even after punching teammate Nikola Mirotic during a practice. Portis is also a member of the club’s recently-formed leadership committee. Still, he didn’t receive a contract extension when he became eligible during the 2018 offseason, so his future with the franchise is somewhat uncertain. He’ll have to prove this season that he can be a good fit in a frontcourt that figures to predominantly feature Markkanen and Carter going forward.
Keep Dunn. Should have dumped Portis after “the punch”. Val doesn’t seem to be anything more than a below average player. If you need a roster spot filled at the 14 or 15th spot he would be good.
Portis has value off the bench. Plus, I’m pretty sure the Bulls saw him punching Mirotic as a positive. Most reports said Mirotic was an a hole to everyone around him, and that he charged at Portis, instigating the punch.
At what cost. $$
$48M over 4 years
i love dunn, but i think rozier would be a perfect fit for this group.
If Rozier doesn’t stay in Boston, get traded to New Orleans, I’ll bet he ends up in Phoenix.
Or Orlando
Or punched in the face..
I imagine Jim Paxson only wears pullover-collared shirts. And I think Paxson hates the fact Steve Kerr is more popular than he is.
A “Bulls Core” is funny. They are literally unsure if they should wait on the player who are often injured. they wonder if they should tank… or tank tank.
How about they evaluate John Paxon?
i think that would be better than any move
Markannen, Lavine and Carter are certainly a nice young core. I think Dunn has shown enough to be a part of that as well, even if they sign or draft a stud PG next summer. Portis is very valuable off the bench. Due to the onslaught of injuries to start the year, they’ll likely grab a top 5 pick and have plenty of money to spend next season with LaVine being their only large contract. I believe they’re the youngest team in the league. The arrow is definitely pointing up for the Baby Bulls.
Dunn is gonna have to stay healthy.
Yep
Unusually aggressive headline. . . It looked like incidental info added to a Dunn article. Maybe Luke made a phone call and found a Freudian slip was made– the reporter accidentally revealed insidery info he should not have! Like, those three are on the trading block, like players get on 7-23 teams. I think we know their level. . . good subs/ iffy starters.
Our journalism standout has this figured out. Lookout Woj, he might decide to go after your job.
Thaddeus Young might be the Pacer that doesn’t get re signed. T.J. Leaf isn’t a starter. The Pacers might take a shot at Portis. He fits the $7mm-$12mm player the Pacers could be looking for.
How long have the writers been writing the body of the article, then adding information about other teams in the division? The title covers the body and the sub information. I’ll bet Luke learned this in journalism classes.
Sports writing has been about speculation for decades. You’d think people would understand by now. When Woj and Sharania find out a deal is going down, they say so and so teams are nearing a deal. In between actual trades is all speculation. We’ve had player interviews since they started televising games.
Dunn, yes. Portis and Valentine, no.
Why couldn’t Reinsdorf have been buddy/buddy with Steve Kerr instead of John Paxson?? Why?
Kerr is smart. He doesn’t want to have anything to do with the general manager job any more, like Tom Thibodeaux and Stan Van Gundy.
Even smarter, he doesn’t want to have anything to do with the Reinsdorfs.
First, Valentine just needs to get healthy, and get on the court. This has supposedly been a surgery he’s needed since he was originally drafted. Valentine said this injury has been bothering him his whole time in the NBA, and he has yet to be 100% healthy, so we shall see what he’s got next season. If he doesn’t improve, he should be gone, because he will be all put of excuses then..
In terms of Dunn, they still have plenty of time to evaluate him, and to truly see if he can continue to build off some of the progress and success he had last season. If he continues to make strides offensively, with his shooting and his decision-making, then you have to keep him. The one constant with Dunn has been his excellent perimeter defense, and that alone makes him a valuable asset, despite his inconsistent offense.
However, it’s really evaluation time for Bobby Portis. Personally though, I think Portis has shown and proven himself as an extremely capable and solid 4 off the bench. He provides their bench with an offensive spark, solid rebounding, and he always brings a passion and fire to each and every game. The one knock on Portis is just his consistent level of production and offensive aggression. If Portis can consistently come off the bench and give the team 15-17 points, 6-8 rebounds, & throw in 3-5 assists each and every night out, then you’re easily looking at a contender for the 6th man of the year. Portis has proven time and time again, he’s MORE than plenty capable of putting up those numbers plus some on any given night, but he will have a good two games, then he’ll disappear for a game. He will have a great 4-5 games in a row, where he’ll average 18-22pts, 8-12reb, and 3-4ast with 1to..However, then he’ll have two games in a row where he puts up 7pts, 7reb, 1ast, and 5to and then, 6pts, 5reb, 0ast, and 4to.
Like several of the Bulls young and talented players, Portis HAS TO become more consistent. If Portis can turn that corner, then he has ALL the tools and skills to be one of the top 5 6th men in the NBA.
The Bulls really just need one more major talent to add to their core, and I really hope that ends up being RJ Barrett. He’s the perfect fit for the Bulls, and by adding another young playmaker and athletic defender it’ll truly help the Bulls better define everyone on the team’s role..
The Bulls need Barrett, they need another veteran C, they need another 3&D wing, and they truly need another veteran PG. If the Bulls can add Barrett, and these veteran, role players to their team, then it should significantly help everyone on the team better identify their roles. Also, with Barrett and those quality vets it should help the Bulls communicate more on and off the floor. That’s one of the main areas that Coach K tremendously advocates for, and that’s on the court communication, especially defensively. With Carter Jr. and Barrett being Coach K disciples, it’ll hopefully greatly influence the others around them, regardless even if they are 2 of the younger players on the team.
The veterans they bring in, while filling in those aforementioned skillsets, they really also need to target guys that are notoriously hard-working and that are known for being excellent on the court communicators..
I highly doubt Paxson is smart enough to target these players, and fill these needs, but if he can, the Bulls should be on their way to eventually becoming playoff contenders..
Barrett is good, but Redish would be a better fit, better defender. If they can get in the top 5 picks, they could grab Redish or Nassir Little, who would provide some of the defense that is currently lacking, as well as some additional scoring punch. Right now, the only guys on the roster who are contributing are Lavine, Markannen, Carter, and Arcidiacono, with Dunn showing flashes. They stupidly gave that Cristiano Fellatio a 4 year deal, and Denzel has been hurt more than he has played. I do not see what they saw in Hutchison, nor why they love Portis so much, neither can defend well and are streaky shooters. The rest of the team is D League grade, except for trade bait Lopez, Holiday, and (Carmelo Jr.) Parker.
56 points LOST * Let’s call it like it is. They need to blow this TEAM UP !!!!