- Count Sixers head coach Brett Brown among those who believe in Jim Boylen‘s ability to lead the Bulls. Before his 76ers fell to Boylen’s squad on Wednesday night, Brown praised the Bulls’ head coach for getting the most out of his players, calling him the right person to “help steer this program” through its rebuild (link via Mark Strotman of NBC Sports Chicago). While Boylen took over for Fred Hoiberg during the season, he’s expected to return as Chicago’s coach next season.
The Bulls are experiencing a season of ups and downs and Zach LaVine, who signed a four-year deal last offseason, feels the team has grown from the struggles, as Sam Smith of NBA.com relays.
“I don’t try to think negatively, but when you are going through those down times it seems like the days are longer,” LaVine said. “I feel now like…I’m glad we are out of that and hopefully we can stick in the good times. You can see a light in the dark tunnel. You try to prepare yourself for the times you are going to be playing for something, and that’s definitely what we want to do [now] as a team.”
Better times may be coming next season. Otto Porter Jr., who the Bulls acquired at this year’s deadline, recently told Hoops Rumors that he believes Chicago is heading in the right direction.
“We have a lot of young guys, young pieces. The team is definitely headed in the right direction, trying to get back to winning basketball here,” Porter said.
The Bulls have gone 6-5 since the trade deadline and their chemistry appears much improved compared their early-season swoons.
“We have a little bit of a swag to us going out there,” LaVine tells Smith. “We are feeling good and hopefully we can continue to carry it out throughout the end of the season.”
The Bulls have no plans to replace executive VP of basketball operations John Paxson or general manager Gar Forman in their front office anytime soon, team president and COO Michael Reinsdorf tells K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. Reinsdorf confirmed in no uncertain terms that Paxson and Forman would be back next season.
“Absolutely. We believe they’ve done a great job,” Reinsdorf said of the duo. “I know that in this market, with some of our fans and some in the media, they look at it differently. That perplexes me. Let’s talk about them individually because that’s another thing I don’t understand — why they’re referred to as ‘GarPax’ when they have different job responsibilities.
“… I said [previously] that if we ever felt we weren’t headed in the right direction that we’d be open to change. But we’re nowhere near that. John’s ability to build rosters is proven. We have the utmost confidence in him.”
Reinsdorf took exception to the idea that the Bulls have gone through a handful of rebuilds under Paxson and Forman, arguing that this is just the club’s second rebuild, and stating that he believes it’s very much on the right track. Pointing to promising young players like Zach LaVine, Lauri Markkanen, and Wendell Carter, Reinsdorf likened the Bulls to the Kings and expressed optimism that Chicago can take a similar step forward next season.
The Bulls’ president and COO also offered a defense of Forman’s draft record, praising the GM for selecting players like Jimmy Butler, Nikola Mirotic, Taj Gibson, and Bobby Portis outside of the lottery over the years. The selection of Markkanen at No. 7 in 2017 earned high praise from Reinsdorf as well.
“If we look at Lauri Markkanen, if you did the 2017 draft over again, Lauri in theory could be the No. 1 pick in the draft,” Reinsdorf said. “You might say Jayson Tatum or Donovan Mitchell. But Lauri could be the No. 1 pick. That’s how good that pick was at No. 7.”
While Paxson, Forman, and head coach Jim Boylen have all received plenty of criticism from segments of the Bulls’ fanbase over the course of the 2018/19 season, it sounds like all three will be back to start the 2019/20 campaign. In addition to praising the club’s management team, Reinsdorf echoed Paxson’s earlier comments on Boylen returning for next season, lauding the work he has done with Markkanen and LaVine.
“Nothing has changed from what John has said,” Reinsdorf said. “I’m very happy with the job that Jim has done. Everything he has said he was going to do, he has done.”
- The Bulls have a much brighter outlook than they did at this time last season, when they went into full tank mode, Matt John of Basketball Insiders notes. The addition of Otto Porter has allowed the Bulls to improve its spacing offensively. Improved health for second-year power forward Lauri Markkanen has also made a difference, as he’s enjoying the best stretch of his young career, John continues. Shooting guard Zach LaVine remains a defensive liability but in a recent eight-game stretch, Chicago was a plus-8.2 with him on the floor, Johns points out. The Bulls will still get a high lottery pick and should continue to be on the upswing, John concludes.
- It’s not out of the question that Robin Lopez re-signs with the Bulls, according to Sam Smith of the team’s website. The veteran center is showing his value as an offensive factor due to Wendell Carter Jr.‘s injury. The front office was concerned that Lopez couldn’t be effective switching and getting out to the perimeter defensively, but recently few teams have beaten the Bulls at his position, Smith notes. Lopez will want to test the market but with the team’s frontcourt needs expanding, his return for next season will be under consideration, Smith adds.
The Bulls and veteran center Robin Lopez won’t agree to a buyout before Friday’s deadline, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune writes.
“It’s been so much fun playing with these guys,” Lopez said. “It’s something I want to be a part of the rest of the season.”
Players currently on NBA teams must be waived by the end of March 1 to be playoff-eligible, with Lopez opting to stay with the Bulls (17-45). Bulls coach Jim Boylen said a buyout between Lopez and team management was never discussed, though clubs such as the Warriors reportedly had interest in the two-way big man leading up to the Feb. 7 trade deadline.
“I said, ‘If I hear something, RoLo, I will be honest and direct with you on what I know if you’re in a deal or not,’” Boylen said, according to Johnson. “I would love to have him back (next year). But I want him to be happy in his role too. And (Wendell) Carter (Jr.) is going to play.”
Lopez, 30, has averaged 7.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 18.9 minutes in 54 games with Chicago this season, starting in 16 contests. He made past stops with the Suns, Hornets, Blazers and Knicks before joining the Bulls in 2016.
Chicago explored trading Lopez earlier this month, but opted to keep him and send away young forwards Jabari Parker and Bobby Portis in a deal with Washington instead.
Otto Porter Jr. entered into a new chapter of his basketball career when he was dealt to the Bulls earlier this month. The 25-year-old small forward is happy with his new home, telling Hoops Rumors that he believes Chicago has a bright future.
“We have a lot of young guys, young pieces. The team is definitely headed in the right direction, trying to get back to winning basketball here,” Porter told Hoops Rumors before last Friday’s game against the Magic.
Porter, who grew up in Missouri, added that the transition to Chicago has been a smooth one.
“Going from D.C. to Chicago, I’m actually closer to home,” he said. “So [right away], I was able to see a lot of my family in my first home game with the Bulls.”
When he signed his four-year, $106MM with the Wizards during the summer of 2017, the small forward planned on living out his contract in the city where he attended college and made his NBA debut.
“When I signed the deal [with the Wizards], I didn’t think I was going to get traded,” Porter explained to Hoops Rumors.
Leading up to the trade deadline, management reportedly reiterated to Porter that they weren’t going to trade him away. The former No. 3 overall pick previously said he felt that the team lied to him.
Wizards owner Ted Leonsis addressed the response, telling multi-media reporter Mike Wise (Twitter link) that understands Porter’s stance and he feels “terrible” about it.
“We did tell him we weren’t going to trade him. We were going to keep our core together,” Leonsis said, before adding that the team was preparing to make another deal that kept Porter, Bradley Beal, and John Wall together on the team.
“We actually had some other things that we were going to do, and another trade that would have kept the core together and given us flexibility,” Leonsis said, admitting that the hypothetical deal didn’t pan out.
Porter developed into an ultra-efficient scorer over the past few years in Washington, someone who’s capable of excelling as a primary ball-handler or alongside other play-makers. The 2017/18 season was his apex with the Wizards, as he made 44.1% of his 4.1 attempts from behind the arc, a figure that was bested by just two players leaguewide. Porter finished the campaign eighth overall in turnover percentage and sixth among all wing players in effective field goal percentage.
While his numbers dipped slightly to begin the 2018/19 campaign, peak Porter has arrived in Chicago. During his six games to date with his new club, Porter has a true shooting percentage of 65.4%, making over half of his 27 attempts behind the arc. His player efficiency rate over the first 191 minutes of his Bulls career is an electric 19.4.
The Bulls are 4-2 with Porter in the starting lineup, though the wing left halfway through his sixth contest with the team after suffering a lower leg strain. Porter remains out with the ailment as of this writing.
The Wizards have gone 2-6 since making the trade. When asked what direction his former franchise was heading in, Porter replied, “I have no idea to be honest. I’m not focusing on them.”
From an on-court perspective, Porter’s role with the Bulls isn’t expected to be dissimilar to the one he had in Washington. Off the court, he moves from a situation in which many of his teammates were his elders to one in which his NBA experience trumps that of many fellow Bulls. He’s embracing the change.
“I’m one of the oldest on the team, so I have to [play a different role],” Porter told Hoops Rumors. “It’s pretty cool to be one of the vets here.”
Porter’s contract has two years left beyond this season, though his deal contains a player option on the final year, which comes in at approximately $28.5MM. He’ll get to see Chicago make one offseason of moves and play a season-and-a-half worth of games with his new club before making his decision on that option for 2020/21.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
After the Bulls held onto Robin Lopez at the trade deadline, one report indicated that the two sides would likely engage in buyout talks. However, executive VP of basketball operations John Paxson downplayed that possibility the next day, and it sounds like the team’s stance hasn’t changed much since then.
As Mike McGraw of The Daily Herald tweets, a Lopez buyout still appears very unlikely with a Friday deadline looming — in order to retain his playoff eligibility for a new team, a player must be waived by the end of the day on March 1. For his part, Lopez doesn’t seem to be pushing for any sort of buyout agreement with the Bulls.
“I haven’t even been thinking about it,” the veteran center told McGraw. “We’ve been having a lot of fun out on the court right now and I’m relishing it.”
As Lopez suggests, the Bulls have been playing some of their best basketball recently, winning three games in a row from February 13-23 over the Grizzlies, Magic, and Celtics. Those wins were bookended by a pair of losses to the NBA-best Bucks, but Lopez has been a force during the five-game stretch, averaging 20.6 PPG on 64.6% shooting in 31.4 minutes per contest.
There was a sense that the Bulls would prioritize their younger players down the stretch, with Lopez playing a diminished role. However, Wendell Carter has been sidelined with a thumb injury and Bobby Portis was sent to the Wizards at the deadline, clearing the path for Lopez to continue playing major frontcourt minutes. He has seen the brunt of the playing time at the five ahead of Cristiano Felicio as of late.
There were rumblings last month that the Warriors would likely be Lopez’s next destination if he reached the open market, but unless the Bulls have a change of heart within the next few days, it doesn’t look like Golden State will have a shot at him.
- The Bulls will prioritize winning over draft position for the rest of the season, according to Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Chicago entered the All-Star break at 14-44, fourth in our latest Reverse Standings and just two games away from a chance to share the best odds for the No. 1 pick. However, building for the future is more important to the organization than tanking for a shot at Zion Williamson. “I don’t make all those big picture decisions,” coach Jim Boylen said. “Again, I’m doing what I’ve been asked to do, which is coach the team as hard as I can in the best way possible. I’m just trying to do that, and our guys have been great and they’ve improved. We’ve got to get more out of them and they’ve got to improve more, and we’re going to coach them that way.’’
- The Bulls‘ stance seems to include a commitment to center Robin Lopez, tweets K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. Lopez saw his minutes cut back late last season and previously appeared to be a buyout candidate with a $14.4MM expiring contract. “We have not discussed a diminished role for him at all.” Boylen said.
- Jonathan Tjarks of The Ringer lauds the Bulls for their traded-deadline acquisition of Otto Porter, arguing that the veteran forward is exactly the sort of piece the team needed, since he has the ability to make players around him better.
- The Bulls haven’t had a ton of on-court success since Jim Boylen took over as the team’s head coach, but he has done what the team’s management group asked of him, instilling a “blue-collar identity,” writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. According to Cowley, Boylen, who could earn up to $1.6MM next season, with $1MM guaranteed, currently looks very likely to return to Chicago’s bench for 2019/20.
The agent for new Wizards forward Bobby Portis, Mark Bartelstein, clarified his client’s comments about being traded in an interview with K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune this week.
Portis, who was moved to Washington with Jabari Parker in exchange for Otto Porter Jr. on trade deadline day, explained his unhappiness with how the transaction went down at the time:
“They told me how much they loved my energy, my heart, how hard I worked, how much I loved playing for the Bulls,” Portis said, as detailed in a previous Hoops Rumors story. “Them telling me that I’m going to be there [through the deadline] and telling me that they want to work things out this summer [in restricted free agency]. We weren’t able to agree to a contract extension [before the October deadline], but they said they wanted to agree to something this summer before free agency hits.
“I think back on everything they told me. All this stuff was said and then I don’t even get notified when I’m getting traded? (pause) It’s just a crazy feeling. I guess I’m getting my first taste of the business. Business is business, I guess. I just don’t think it was done the right way.”
Bartelstein then clarified that his client and the Bulls are on the same page, as was evident by how Portis visited Chicago’s locker room after their game against the Wizards last Saturday.
“[General manager] Gar [Forman] made it very clear to me they had no interest in trading Bobby and wanted him there long term,” Bartelstein said. “However, like with anyone else, they had to listen to offers coming in. A day before the deadline, he didn’t think anything was going to happen. There’s no doubt in my mind that Gar and [executive vice president] John Paxson were sincere about their desire to re-sign him.
“I told Bobby: ‘They love you. They want to get a deal done this summer and have no interest in trading you. But if the right offer comes about, absolutely you can get traded.’ The analogy I said to Bobby — these weren’t Gar’s words, they were mine — was, ‘If the Warriors offer Kevin Durant and the Lakers offer LeBron James, you’re getting traded.’ Basically, if somebody offers something the Bulls can’t refuse.”
There’s more from the Central Division tonight:
- The Bulls are expected to focus on adding a point guard around the draft or free agency this summer, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times writes. Chicago’s list, according to Cowley, is headlined by Ricky Rubio and Darren Collison — two players who could push starting guard Kris Dunn going into training camp.
- When Jeremy Lin was asked why he joined the Raptors as a free agent, Lin explained that the team “really, really” wanted him, as relayed by Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports (Twitter link). “That means something,” Lin said of Toronto’s interest. Lin holds several years of NBA experience and has made the postseason four times, but he’s never advanced past the first round.
- The Pacers and city officials are negotiating a deal that would keep the team in Indiana for roughly 25 more years, Chris Sikich of the Indianapolis Star writes. The Pacers’ current deal is worth $160 million and expires in 2024, according to Sikich. The team has floated the idea of publicly funding upgrades to Bankers Life Fieldhouse for about two years.