Bulls vice president of basketball operations John Paxson says “athleticism” is the team’s most important roster issue, relays the Chicago Tribune. In a radio interview this morning on WSCR-AM 670, Paxson praised coach Fred Hoiberg and offseason addition Dwyane Wade, while asking for more out of Doug McDermott and Nikola Mirotic. Here are a few highlights:
On the need for more athletic players to keep up with the rest of the league:
“We’ve got some vets who know how to play and can score. But when you look around the league and the way the game is now, that’s an area we have to address. That is a part of the plan. We’ll try to do that obviously through the draft and free agency if we can. You always have the trade option. Right now, our roster is what it is.”
On Michael Carter-Williams, who has been sidelined by injuries since October 31st:
“You kind of forget that he’s even on the roster because we traded for him so late in camp and then three games in, he took a fall and hurt himself. The coaching staff was just getting acclimated to him and he was doing very well for us. We’re excited to get him back. I think he will help our depth and our rotation as well.”
On Mirotic, who is headed toward free agency but seems to have regressed during his third season, shooting just 38% from the field:
“Niko has a tendency to get down on himself to be honest with you. Sometimes as player, you have to say to yourself, ‘Enough is enough. I’m going to go out and compete and work on my game.’ A lot of this is on the individual. Niko is a great guy. He has the ability to get better.”
On the surprise addition of Wade, who left Miami to sign with the Bulls this summer:
“It’s rare when a guy like that becomes available. Dwyane was one of those players you would think would’ve been with Miami his entire career just the way it had gone. He had been through good times, He had been through rebuilding. He’s professional with his approach and his attitude. He knows how to prepare himself. At this stage of his career, he knows what he can and can’t do. We’re trying to watch him carefully to make sure he doesn’t break down. But he takes very good care of himself. He’s right around that 30-minute mark a game for us, which is what he had intended for him hoping to keep him fresh. I think he has taken some of the pressure off of Jimmy [Butler] just in terms of having to speak all the time and be the voice. They’ve formed a very nice bond together.”
On the roster overhaul that began with the trade of Derrick Rose to the Knicks:
“We rode out Derrick’s injury for a long time. We had our team built at that point. Derrick’s injury obviously was a huge blow to us. He never really got back to where he was for us. We had just paid him. We tried to plug holes. But in the meantime, you’re drafting kind of middle of the pack all the time. You’re good enough to make the playoffs but you’re picking anywhere between 14, 15 and 22. It’s difficult to get impact players unless you’re lucky like we were with Jimmy years ago. There aren’t any excuses from us. We can point back to we thought we had it going but Derrick blows out his knee and all of a sudden, that changed our fortune a little bit. Had he not gotten hurt, who knows what would’ve happened. But that’s not our reality. We have to continue to try to find a way to put better players and a better team out there on the floor. That’s what we’re trying to do. At some point this year, we may have to give our young guys opportunities that they may need to see if they can develop into players.”