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2021 NBA Offseason Preview: Chicago Bulls

June 28th, 2021 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bulls overhauled both their front office and their coaching staff in 2020, replacing longtime basketball operations executives John Paxson and Gar Forman with Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley, who in turn replaced head coach Jim Boylen with Billy Donovan.

Despite the leadership changes, the Bulls didn’t turn over many spots on a roster that went 22-43 in 2019/20, so expectations for Chicago were modest entering ’20/21 — oddsmakers projected them to win no more than 30 games.

But the team aimed higher. Firmly in the play-in mix more than halfway through the season, the Bulls’ new top decision-makers decided to take a big swing, sending a pair of future first-round picks and former lottery selection Wendell Carter to Orlando in a trade for Nikola Vucevic.

The short-term results weren’t great. The Bulls, 19-24 at the time of the trade, failed to make any headway with Vucevic on the roster, finishing the season on a 12-17 run and missing out on a play-in spot. To make matters worse, the top-four protected 2021 pick the Bulls traded to the Magic in the blockbuster deadline deal landed at No. 8.

Still, the Bulls’ front office remains confident that the Vucevic acquisition will pay dividends going forward, once the All-Star center has a full offseason and training camp to get comfortable with his new team. Chicago will enter the 2021/22 season seeking its first playoff berth since 2017.

The Bulls’ Offseason Plan:

With no first-round pick at their disposal, the Bulls will turn to free agency or the trade market to try address their point guard position, which has been an Achilles heel for the franchise since Derrick Rose‘s All-Star days.

The good news is that there’s no shortage of options available in free agency this summer — when we ranked our top 20 free agents at the start of June, seven players on our list were point guards. Some of those veterans, such as Chris Paul and Mike Conley, may end up simply returning to their current teams, but the Bulls have the cap flexibility to pursue the ones who will test the market, including perhaps Lonzo Ball, Dennis Schröder, and Spencer Dinwiddie.

The Bulls also face decisions on Lauri Markkanen, a restricted free agent, and Thaddeus Young and Tomas Satoransky, whose salaries for 2021/22 are only partially guaranteed.

Young is a fine value at $14MM and Chicago should guarantee his contract, which would be movable even if he’s not in the team’s plans going forward. Markkanen and Satoransky seem less likely to return, though a sign-and-trade involving Markkanen is a possibility.

Finally, while Chicago doesn’t necessarily have to address the situation this offseason, LaVine’s contract is another storyline worth watching closely. He’s entering the final year of his deal and will be extension-eligible this offseason, but his maximum-salary extension (approximately $105MM over four years) is worth less than what he could expect as a free agent.

Assuming the Bulls have no plans to trade LaVine and he has no plans to accept that extension, there are two ways the situation could play out — the team could wait until he reaches free agency in 2022 to work out a new contract, or could renegotiate his 2021/22 salary in order to sign him to an extension worth more than his current four-year, $105MM max. A renegotiation, however, would require cap space that might be better spent on upgrades to the roster around LaVine.

Salary Cap Situation

Note: Our salary cap projections are based on a presumed 3% increase, which would result in a $112.4MM cap for 2021/22.

Guaranteed Salary

Player Options

  • None

Team Options

Non-Guaranteed Salary

  • Thaddeus Young ($8,190,000) 2
  • Tomas Satoransky ($6,000,000) 3
  • Total: $14,190,000

Restricted Free Agents

Two-Way Free Agents

Draft Picks

  • No. 38 overall pick (no cap hold)

Extension-Eligible Players

  • Troy Brown (rookie scale)
  • Al-Farouq Aminu (veteran)
  • Zach LaVine (veteran)
  • Tomas Satoransky (veteran)
  • Nikola Vucevic (veteran)
  • Thaddeus Young (veteran)

Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds

Offseason Cap Outlook

The Bulls could conceivably operate over or under the cap this offseason. For instance, if they want to guarantee Young’s salary, and perhaps re-sign free agents like Markkanen and Theis, an over-the-cap approach makes sense.

However, I expect the Bulls to seriously consider dipping below the cap instead. Even if they cut into their projected space by guaranteeing Young’s salary, they could create a little extra room under the cap by waiving and stretching Satoransky’s partial guarantee, or even by doing the same with Aminu. Clearing that cap room could be the most viable path to landing a point guard.

Cap Exceptions Available

  • Room exception: $4,910,000 5

Footnotes

  1. Aminu exercised his player option for 2021/22.
  2. Young’s salary becomes fully guaranteed after August 2.
  3. Satoransky’s salary becomes fully guaranteed after August 2.
  4. Because he has been on a two-way contract with the Bulls for two seasons, Mokoka is eligible for a standard minimum-salary qualifying offer.
  5. This is a projected value. If the Bulls operate over the cap, they’d have the mid-level exception ($9.5MM), bi-annual exception ($3.7MM), and a trade exception ($2.5MM) available.

Salary and cap information from Basketball Insiders, RealGM, and ESPN was used in the creation of this post.

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Rosters Announced For Olympic Qualifying Tournaments

June 28th, 2021 at 9:16am CST by Luke Adams

Four qualifying tournaments to determine the final four teams in the men’s basketball pool at the Tokyo Olympics are set to tip off on Tuesday. In advance of the Olympic qualifiers, the 24 teams involved have officially set their 12-man rosters, according to a press release from FIBA.

More than two dozen current NBA players are participating in the tournament, and 11 of the 24 teams competing for Olympic spots have at least one current NBA players on their respective rosters. Of those clubs, Team Canada has the biggest contingent of NBA players — eight of the 12 players on Nick Nurse‘s squad finished the season on an NBA roster. Turkey is next with four NBA players.

The four qualifying tournaments will take place in Serbia, Lithuania, Croatia, and Canada. Only the winner of each six-team group will advance to Tokyo. Those four winners will join Japan, Nigeria, Argentina, Iran, France, Spain, Australia, and the U.S. in the 12-team Olympic tournament.

The teams that move onto the Olympics may tweak their rosters for Tokyo, depending on the availability of certain players. For instance, if Greece were to win its qualifying tournament, perhaps Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo – who remains active in the playoffs for now – would make an effort to join the team in Tokyo next month.

Here are the NBA players on the OQT rosters:

Belgrade, Serbia

Kaunas, Lithuania

Split, Croatia

Victoria, Canada

There are also many former NBA players among the 24 rosters, including Mario Hezonja (Croatia), Milos Teodosic (Serbia), Jan Vesely (Czech Republic), Timofey Mozgov (Russia), and Anthony Bennett (Canada).

To view the full rosters, be sure to visit FIBA’s official site and click through to each team from there.

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Bulls Confident In Foundation Despite No Lottery Luck

June 24th, 2021 at 12:24pm CST by Luke Adams
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Bulls Notes: Lottery, LaVine, Simmons, Dinwiddie, T. Young

June 23rd, 2021 at 8:43pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Bulls were among the unluckiest teams at the draft lottery, losing their first-round pick to the Magic when it failed to land in the top four, writes Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic. Chicago wound up sending the No. 8 selection to Orlando as part of the trade deadline deal involving Nikola Vucevic, and it owes another first-rounder to the Magic in 2023.

With only the No. 38 pick remaining in the July 29 draft, the Bulls will have to explore other ways to improve, Mayberry adds. They’re short on trade assets after investing so much in the roster makeover in March, and they may not have enough cap space to add a meaningful free agent.

Mayberry suggests the Bulls may try to trade back into the first round on draft night, using the expiring contracts of Thaddeus Young ($14.19MM) and Tomáš Satoranský ($10MM), both of which are non-guaranteed, as well as Al-Farouq Aminu ($10.183MM).

They may also reach out to a couple of division rivals who had better fortune at the lottery. The Pistons landed the top overall pick and are likely to draft Cade Cunningham, which could make point guard Killian Hayes available in a trade, Mayberry speculates. Meanwhile, if the Cavaliers get Jalen Green at No. 3, they might be willing to part with Collin Sexton, Darius Garland or Isaac Okoro.

There’s more on the Bulls:

  • Zach LaVine‘s inclusion on the Olympic team could be good for the Bulls’ future, states Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. He notes that many star pairings in the NBA began when players got to know each other as Olympic teammates. Cowley cautions it might work the other way, and LaVine, who will be an unrestricted free agent next summer, could get recruited to go somewhere else.
  • Ben Simmons‘ playoff struggles and Spencer Dinwiddie‘s decision to turn down his player option for next season create two intriguing options for the Bulls in their search for a point guard, writes Jamal Collier of The Chicago Tribune. Simmons would be an ideal backcourt partner for LaVine, Collier notes, but it would be hard to put together an enticing offer for the Sixers without giving up LaVine in return. Dinwiddie will be seeking more than the $12.3MM he opted out of, but Collier expects concerns about his partially torn ACL to keep the price tag down.
  • Thaddeus Young has been chosen as this year’s winner of the NBA Hustle Award, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. The honor goes to the player who makes the most energy and effort plays during the season.
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LaVine, Grant Commit To Team USA; Harden Withdraws

June 23rd, 2021 at 2:28pm CST by Luke Adams

Bulls guard Zach LaVine and Pistons forward Jerami Grant have committed to play for Team USA at the Tokyo Olympics, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links).

There were already 11 players who had committed to represent the U.S. in Tokyo, but one of those players – Nets guard James Harden – is withdrawing, Charania reports (via Twitter).

Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press had noted earlier today (via Twitter) that there are still concerns about the hamstring injury that sidelined Harden for part of the second half of the season and several games in the Eastern Semifinals. He’ll focus on getting that hamstring back to 100% this summer.

As a result of the new commitments and Harden’s decision to pull out, the 12-team roster for Team USA now looks like this:

Booker, Holiday, and Middleton are still alive in the postseason. However, Team USA managing director Jerry Colangelo previously said that Booker intends to play in Tokyo no matter how late the Suns’ season goes, and he suggested today that Holiday and Middleton have made similar commitments, per ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.

Even assuming those three players all remain committed, it’s possible the 12-man U.S. squad could undergo more tweaks if players suffer injuries or reconsider their summer plans. For now though, we have a pretty good idea of what the group competing for gold in Tokyo will look like. The Olympics are scheduled to begin a month from today.

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2021 NBA Draft Picks By Team

June 23rd, 2021 at 10:06am CST by Luke Adams

It wasn’t a great night for the Thunder at Tuesday’s draft lottery. The team had about a two-in-three chance that its own first-round pick would land in the top five and nearly a 50-50 chance that Houston’s pick would slide to No. 5, allowing OKC to swap the No. 18 selection for it. Instead, the Rockets kept their own pick and the Thunder’s selection slipped to No. 6.

Still, no NBA team has more draft picks in 2021 than the Thunder, who control three first-round selections and three more second-rounders.

The Pelicans, Pistons, Knicks, and Nets join them as teams that hold at least four draft picks this year. Those five clubs currently control 23 of the 60 picks in the 2021 draft, so it’s probably safe to assume they’ll be active on the trade market before or during the draft.

To present a clearer picture of which teams are most – and least – stocked with picks for the 2021 NBA draft, we’ve rounded up all 60 picks by team in the space below. Let’s dive in…

Teams with more than two picks:

  • Oklahoma City Thunder (6): 6, 16, 18, 34, 36, 55
  • Brooklyn Nets (5): 27, 29, 44, 49, 59
  • Detroit Pistons (4): 1, 37, 42, 52
  • New Orleans Pelicans (4): 17, 35, 43, 51
  • New York Knicks (4): 19, 21, 32, 58
  • Houston Rockets (3): 2, 23, 24
  • Toronto Raptors (3): 4, 46, 47
  • Orlando Magic (3): 5, 8, 33
  • Charlotte Hornets (3): 11, 56, 57
  • Indiana Pacers (3): 13, 54, 60
  • Philadelphia 76ers (3): 28, 50, 53

Teams with two picks:

  • Golden State Warriors: 7, 14
  • Sacramento Kings: 9, 39
  • San Antonio Spurs: 12, 41
  • Memphis Grizzlies: 10, 40
  • Atlanta Hawks: 20, 48

Teams with one pick:

  • Cleveland Cavaliers: 3
  • Washington Wizards: 15
  • Los Angeles Lakers: 22
  • Los Angeles Clippers: 25
  • Denver Nuggets: 26
  • Utah Jazz: 30
  • Milwaukee Bucks: 31
  • Chicago Bulls: 38
  • Boston Celtics: 45

Teams with no picks:

  • Dallas Mavericks
  • Miami Heat
  • Minnesota Timberwolves
  • Phoenix Suns
  • Portland Trail Blazers
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Pistons Win 2021 Draft Lottery; Rockets, Cavs, Raptors In Top Four

June 22nd, 2021 at 7:57pm CST by Luke Adams

With Tuesday night’s lottery results now official, the top 14 slots for the 2021 NBA draft have been set. The lottery order is as follows:

  1. Detroit Pistons
  2. Houston Rockets
  3. Cleveland Cavaliers
  4. Toronto Raptors
  5. Orlando Magic
  6. Oklahoma City Thunder
  7. Golden State Warriors (from Timberwolves)
  8. Orlando Magic (from Bulls)
  9. Sacramento Kings
  10. New Orleans Pelicans
  11. Charlotte Hornets
  12. San Antonio Spurs
  13. Indiana Pacers
  14. Golden State Warriors

It’s a huge win for the Pistons and for general manager Troy Weaver, who had one of the best drafts of any NBA team in 2020, nabbing Killian Hayes, Isaiah Stewart, Saddiq Bey, and Saben Lee. This time around, Detroit is in position to draft Oklahoma State guard Cade Cunningham, who is widely considered to be the No. 1 prospect in the 2021 draft class.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link), the plan is for Cunningham to visit just one team before the July 29 draft: the Pistons.

The Rockets, like Detroit, entered the night with the best odds at landing a top-four pick (52.1%). And while they ended up at No. 2 rather than No. 1, it’s a major relief for the franchise, which would have had to send its pick to the Thunder in exchange for the No. 18 selection if it had landed outside of the top four.

Rather than falling out of the lottery, Houston is poised to take its pick from a top tier of prospects that includes Evan Mobley, Jalen Suggs, Jalen Green, and Jonathan Kuminga. Whichever player the Rockets select figures to become the centerpiece of the team’s rebuild.

The Cavaliers and Raptors moved up in the lottery standings, from fifth and seventh respectively, into the top four. As we noted in our Cavs offseason preview earlier today, Cleveland hasn’t missed on any of its recent lottery picks, but also hasn’t landed a prospect who looks capable of being the club’s franchise player. The Cavs may get that opportunity in 2021.

As for the Raptors, after making the playoffs for seven straight seasons and winning a title in 2019, they had a disastrous 2020/21 campaign, displaced from their home in Toronto due to the coronavirus pandemic and dealing with constant COVID-19 and injury issues. They’re now in position to add an intriguing young player to a core that already includes Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, and OG Anunoby.

Although none of the teams that moved into the top four did so from the bottom half of the lottery, it’s worth noting that the No. 7 spot in the lottery standings has been especially lucky since the NBA revamped the format three years ago. The Pelicans moved up to No. 1 from that position in 2019, allowing them to draft Zion Williamson. In 2020, the Hornets moved from No. 7 to No. 3, putting them in position to select eventual Rookie of the Year LaMelo Ball. Now the Raptors have moved up from that spot too.

The night’s biggest losers include the Timberwolves and Bulls, who would have held onto their lottery picks if they had moved into the top three and the top four, respectively. Instead, those picks will be sent to the Warriors and Magic at No. 7 and No. 8.

The Magic‘s own pick and the Thunder‘s selection slipped two spots as a result of the lottery — they’ll pick at No. 5 and No. 6.

It was still a good night for the Magic, who control two of the top eight picks in a strong draft, but the outcome wasn’t great for Oklahoma City. The Thunder entered the evening with the potential to come away with two top-five picks. Instead, they’ll have zero, having lost the ability to swap first-rounders with Houston.

The 9-14 picks in the draft lottery standings remained unchanged.

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2021 NBA Draft Lottery Primer

June 22nd, 2021 at 8:26am CST by Luke Adams

The 2021 NBA draft lottery will take place on Tuesday night prior to Game 2 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals between the Clippers and Suns. The half-hour event will be broadcast on ESPN beginning at 7:30 pm central time.

This year’s draft pool features a group of five prospects widely considered to be a level above the rest of the class. Cade Cunningham leads the way, followed in some order by Evan Mobley, Jalen Green, Jalen Suggs, and Jonathan Kuminga. Teams that move into the top four on Tuesday night will have the opportunity to snag one of those potential future stars.

Here’s what you need to know heading into tonight’s lottery:

Pre-Lottery Draft Order:

The top 14 picks in the 2021 NBA draft would look like this if tonight’s lottery results don’t change the order:

  1. Houston Rockets
    • Note: The Thunder will have the ability to swap the Heat’s first-round pick (No. 18) for this selection if it falls outside of the top four (47.9% chance).
  2. Detroit Pistons
  3. Orlando Magic
  4. Oklahoma City Thunder
  5. Cleveland Cavaliers
  6. Golden State Warriors (from Timberwolves)
    • Note: The Timberwolves will retain this pick if it moves into the top three (27.6% chance).
  7. Toronto Raptors
  8. Orlando Magic (from Bulls)
    • Note: The Bulls will retain this pick if it moves into the top four (20.3% chance).
  9. Sacramento Kings
  10. New Orleans Pelicans
  11. Charlotte Hornets
  12. San Antonio Spurs
  13. Indiana Pacers
  14. Golden State Warriors

For the full pre-lottery draft order, click here.

Draft Lottery Odds:

The Rockets, Pistons, and Magic have the best odds to land the No. 1 pick. Each of those three teams has a 14.0% chance to pick first overall, and a 52.1% shot at a top-four pick.

From there, the Thunder (45.1%), Cavaliers (45.1%), Timberwolves (37.2%), and Raptors (31.9%) have the best odds to land in the top four.

For the full draft lottery odds for all 14 spots, click here.

Trades Affecting The Draft Lottery:

Three trades have the potential to shake up Tuesday’s lottery results in a significant way, potentially altering the course of multiple franchises. Here are the details on those deals:

Rockets/Thunder

The Thunder have the ability to swap either their own first-round pick or the Heat’s first-round pick (No. 18) for the Rockets‘ first-rounder, but only if Houston’ selection lands outside the top four.

Since Oklahoma City’s own pick is also a lottery selection, there are essentially just two scenarios in play here:

  1. The Rockets’ pick lands in the top four and Houston keeps it. The Thunder would keep their own pick, along with the Heat’s pick at No. 18 (52.1% chance).
  2. The Rockets’ pick lands at No. 5 and the Thunder swap the No. 18 pick for it (47.9% chance).

The Thunder’s ability to swap picks with the Rockets won’t carry over to next season if Houston’s pick is protected.

Timberwolves/Warriors

The Timberwolves owe the Warriors their top-three protected first-round pick, so Golden State will receive the pick if it lands at No. 4 or lower. Technically, it can’t end up at No. 5, but 1-4 and 6-10 are all possibilities.

There’s a 27.6% chance this pick lands in the top three and remains with Minnesota, with a 72.4% chance Golden State gets it. It has a 9.6% chance of moving up to No. 4, and a 62.8% chance of ending up between 6-10. No. 7 (29.7%) or No. 8 (20.6%) are the most likely outcomes.

If the Wolves’ pick lands in the top three and is protected, they’d owe the Warriors their unprotected first-round pick in 2022.

Bulls/Magic

The Bulls owe the Magic their top-four protected first-round pick. It can’t land between 5-7, but Orlando will get it if it ends up in the 8-12 range.

There’s a 20.3% chance the pick will move into the top four, allowing Chicago to keep it, with a 79.7% chance Orlando gets it. No. 8 (34.5%) or No. 9 (36.2%) are, by far, the most likely outcomes.

If the Bulls’ pick lands in the top four and is protected, they’d owe the Magic their top-three protected first-round pick in 2022.

Draft Lottery Representatives:

The on-camera representatives for each of this year’s lottery teams are as follows, according to a press release issued by the NBA:

  1. Houston Rockets: Hakeem Olajuwon (former player)
  2. Detroit Pistons: Ben Wallace (former player)
  3. Orlando Magic: Jeff Weltman (president of basketball operations)
  4. Oklahoma City Thunder: Nazr Mohammed (OKC Blue general manager / Thunder pro scout)
  5. Cleveland Cavaliers: Koby Altman (general manager)
  6. Minnesota Timberwolves: Anthony Edwards
  7. Toronto Raptors: Fred VanVleet
  8. Chicago Bulls: Marc Eversley (general manager)
  9. Sacramento Kings: Monte McNair (general manager)
  10. New Orleans Pelicans: Swin Cash (VP of basketball operations and team development)
  11. Charlotte Hornets: Miles Bridges
  12. San Antonio Spurs: Peter J. Holt (managing partner)
  13. Indiana Pacers: Nancy Leonard (former Pacers executive / widow of Hall-of-Famer Slick Leonard)
  14. Golden State Warriors: Rick Welts (president / COO)

Lottery Format:

This will be the third year that the NBA uses its revamped lottery system, which reduces the odds that the league’s very worst teams will land a top pick and makes the top four selections available via the lottery, instead of the top three.

Before the NBA changed its lottery format, there was a 60.5% chance that one of the league’s bottom three teams would secure the No. 1 pick, and only a 27.6% chance that a team in the 5-14 range of the lottery standings would do so. Now, those odds are 42.0% and 45.5%, respectively.

The results in the last two years have shown that the smoothed-out odds have the potential to create a little more mayhem on lottery night.

In 2019, the Pelicans, Grizzlies, and Lakers claimed three of the top four picks despite ranking seventh, eighth, and 11th, respectively, in the lottery standings. In 2020, the Hornets and Bulls each moved up four spots, from Nos. 7 and 8 to Nos. 3 and 4, respectively. If those seventh and eighth lottery seeds get lucky again this year, it’d be great news for Toronto and Chicago.

For full details on the revamped lottery format, click here.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Sixers’ Simmons: “There’s A Lot Of Things I Need To Work On”

June 21st, 2021 at 9:44am CST by Luke Adams

In the wake of the Sixers‘ second crushing Game 7 loss in the Eastern Conference Semifinals in the last three years, all eyes are on Ben Simmons, whose poor foul shooting and reluctance to put up shots – especially in the fourth quarter – helped doom Philadelphia.

“I ain’t shoot well from the line this series,” Simmons said on Sunday after the Sixers’ loss, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “Offensively, I wasn’t there. I didn’t do enough for my teammates. … There’s a lot of things that I need to work on.”

Simmons made just 15-of-45 free throws in the seven-game series vs. Atlanta and connected on only 34.2% of his total foul shots in the playoffs, the worst mark ever for a player with more than 70 attempts in a single postseason.

He also seemed eager to get the ball out of his hands in fourth quarters, for fear of being fouled. At one point late in the Sixers’ loss on Sunday, Simmons passed up an open dunk attempt to get the ball to Matisse Thybulle, who was fouled and subsequently made one of two free throws. Joel Embiid singled out that play in his post-game comments to reporters, McMenamin notes.

“Man, I will be honest. I thought the turning point was, you know, when we, I don’t know how to say it, but I thought the turning point was just we had an open shot and we made one free throw and we missed the other and they came down and scored,” Embiid said.

The 76ers have invested heavily in Simmons, who is owed nearly $147MM over the next four years. He was supposed to be a franchise cornerstone alongside Embiid. However, when head coach Doc Rivers was asked after Sunday’s game whether Simmons can be the point guard for a championship team, Rivers didn’t commit one way or the other.

“I don’t know that question or the answer to that right now,” he said.

Here’s more on the Sixers’ three-time All-Star:

  • While Simmons took responsibility for his offensive struggles, he also pointed out that he had 13 assists and played good defense on Trae Young, who was just 5-of-23 from the floor in Game 7, McMenamin observes.
  • Asked if he wants to stay in Philadelphia, Simmons replied, “Yeah, I love being in Philly. I love this organization. The fans are great people. I had a bad series. I expect that (boos). It’s Philly“ (Twitter link via Michael Scotto of HoopsHype).
  • Michael Scotto of HoopsHype spoke to NBA executives about whether the Sixers should trade Simmons this offseason and received mixed feedback. A pair of execs said they’d explore a trade, while two others said they’d probably hang onto him for now — one of those two suggested a position change. “I’m not sure I’d trade him, but I’d make him a power forward and get a point guard,” that exec told Scotto. “Ben has totally disappeared. He needs to be more aggressive, especially in the playoffs. He’s content getting assists, rebounds, and defending, but to win in the playoffs they need more from him.”
  • While trading Simmons might seem like an inevitability after this postseason, it won’t be easy for the Sixers to move him in exchange for a star after the way his value dropped during the playoffs, writes John Hollinger of The Athletic. Including him in a package for Bradley Beal or Damian Lillard would perhaps be a best-case scenario, but neither of those players seem available for now, according to Hollinger, who wonders if a swap involving Zach LaVine might make the most sense for the 76ers and the Bulls.
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Eastern Notes: Bulls, Cook, Pistons, Nets

June 20th, 2021 at 7:25pm CST by JD Shaw

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:

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