Multiple Bulls players discussed how the team can improve after finishing the 2020/21 season with a 31-41 record, Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic writes.
Among those players was Thaddeus Young, a 14-year-veteran with several years of playoff experience. Young is coming off his second season with the club and averaged 12.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 24.3 minutes per game on the campaign.
“It starts with the leadership and the direction,” Young said. “I think we took some steps and strides forward this year with the change and leadership in direction of the organization, which was hiring AK and Marc. They are competitors. They want to win just a bad as the players want to win. And they want to make sure they get everything right.
“They started off getting things right with preaching culture and winning. Then bringing in (coach) Billy (Donovan). I think they did a phenomenal job in getting Billy, and Billy put together a great staff, as well as AK and Marc making trades. I think they did a phenomenal job on trade day in making those trades.”
Here are some other notes from the Eastern Conference:
- Pistons forward Tyler Cook turned his 10-day opportunity into much more with the team, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com writes. Cook, 23, inked a multiyear contract in April after signing two 10-day deals. His $1.7MM salary is non-guaranteed for next season.
- Speaking of the Pistons, the team is hoping for some lottery luck as the event nears this week, Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press writes. The 2021 draft lottery will be held on Tuesday, June 22, and Detroit shares the best odds for a top-four pick.
- Steve Popper of Newsday examines what’s next for the Nets after losing Game 7 to the Bucks on Saturday. Brooklyn has most of its core under contract for next season, including Kyrie Irving, James Harden, Joe Harris and Kevin Durant. Bruce Brown and Blake Griffin — both of whom started for the team in Game 7 — are set to enter unrestricted free agency. A report from ESPN on Sunday also indicated that Spencer Dinwiddie plans on declining his $12.3MM player option.