Chicago Bulls Preseason Press Conference

[logpmess]

Welcome to Chicago!

Last season we planned for a rebuild. We sent out some of our stars to get as much young capital that we could. John Koncak, Roy Tarpley, Gerald Wilkins, and Scott Skiles all came in with the potential for starters in this league. We also got a Nuggets 1st round pick for the upcoming draft. With the reset, we found our potential pick got better and better for the draft.

We were able to attain the 2nd overall pick in the draft. We had our eyes on one person, Scottie Pippen. We did have some worry that Scottie would not be available at that pick. The Kings had extensive trade talks with us and wasn't happy with who we were looking at. They jumped up to the number 1 pick, and I thought Scottie would be gone. Darth decided to go with Reggie and we go our man. Scottie has the potential of a superstar defender with size and good offensive play. He is our anchor on the defensive end. We are excited to see his potential continue to grow.

We drafted Olden Polynice with our Nuggets first round pick. He still needs to develop, but we see Olden as a good backup big that can provide rebounding and defense.

We struck out with some of our bids in RFA/UFA. We decided to put out some smaller bids on young players in hope of depth pieces. We landed one: Nick Vanos. Nick decided to take some initiative and developed into a potential starter. Now on a super team friendly contract, Nick will be a staple in our lineup.

We also decided to put an offer into John Lucas. With plenty of cap space, we could overpay him some.

In terms of pieces to continue to grow and gain assets, we have a lot of guards available in trade talks. Maurice Cheeks showed in preseason the type of star point guard he can be with enough playing time. John Lucas is a glorified one year deal that can contribute to a playoff team. Sly Williams is an all around player that can cover multiple roles for a team. Craig Hodges is absolutely in his prime and can play on both sides of the court.

Our starting lineup will look as follows:
C - Nick Vanos/John Koncak
PF - Roy Tarpley
SF - Scottie Pippen
SG - Craig Hodges/Gerald Wilkins
PG - Scott Skiles/Maurice Cheeks

There are a lot of alternating players in that lineup. We want to develop our young guys with playing time, so they will be seeing more than usual.

With that, we will open the floor up to questions.

[AngryBanana]

Chet Youbetcha, Dimmadome News: if Scottie was taken first who would have been your pick? Or would you have traded it?

Also, do you see Wilkins as a long term player on your team or a piece to be moved? He has already been moved twice early in his career as a player to get someone bigger, and I am curious if that is what will happen again?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[logpmess]

Chet Youbetcha, Dimmadome News: if Scottie was taken first who would have been your pick? Or would you have traded it?

Also, do you see Wilkins as a long term player on your team or a piece to be moved? He has already been moved twice early in his career as a player to get someone bigger, and I am curious if that is what will happen again?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If Scottie was not available, our interest in trading would have escalated. We do like Reggie and he seems like an offensive stud. We would have been good with drafting him with the number 2 pick, but we would have started answering the phone calls to see what we could have gotten.

We really like Gerald a lot. He showed his ability to score in the preseason. His biggest downfall is being behind Craig Hodges in his prime. We see Gerald as a part of our squad long term. He will be the good two way player at the shooting guard position. His size at the two also gives him an advantage.

[greepleairport]

Scottie Pippen got no playing time in the preseason, which is surprising given that the recommended DC/GP made Mo Cheeks your best player. ...perhaps he still is! But what kind of expectations do you have for Scottie in his rookie year? ROTY candidate, or lower expectations than that?

[logpmess]

Scottie Pippen got no playing time in the preseason, which is surprising given that the recommended DC/GP made Mo Cheeks your best player. ...perhaps he still is! But what kind of expectations do you have for Scottie in his rookie year? ROTY candidate, or lower expectations than that?

Scottie will be seeing a lot more playing time in the regular season than he did in the preseason. I don't see him as a ROTY candidate necessarily. He is still very "green". His contributions will be primarily on the defensive side of the ball his first season, which never gets the love as much as scoring does.

[BigDaddyd8720]

Picks Emmington, SLOE Gazette,

How aggressive will this team be this season? While there have been rumors of moving on from Cheeks, do you see this team trying to compete this season, or maybe put it off for at least one more season?

[logpmess]

Picks Emmington, SLOE Gazette,

How aggressive will this team be this season? While there have been rumors of moving on from Cheeks, do you see this team trying to compete this season, or maybe put it off for at least one more season?

I don't see this team as being ready just yet. A lot of our young players are still very raw. Gerald Wilkins made a good jump, but he's in a position with an already established starter. We are really missing a star scorer. If we can find a way to develop that with Hodges or find a true scorer in the draft/free agency next offseason, we will be ready to compete.

[WigNosy]

Steve Duin, the Oregonian:

Roy Tarpley and Gerald Wilkins got sizeable minutes increases in the preseason and gave you commensurate production increases. Which of your young up-and-comers do you feel has the greatest potential to "make the leap" to stardom this season?

[logpmess]

Steve Duin, the Oregonian:

Roy Tarpley and Gerald Wilkins got sizeable minutes increases in the preseason and gave you commensurate production increases. Which of your young up-and-comers do you feel has the greatest potential to "make the leap" to stardom this season?

I think it will be Tarpley simply because of minutes. We are utilizing Wilkins as a 6th man type of role in the SG/SF position, so he will be a boost off the bench for scoring, while Tarpley will be our steadfast starter at the 4.

[Mike Lowry]

You rode the last build down to the bloody end, and it looks like a strong rebuild in the making?
Do you think you learned anything about how and when to go all in, and when to cut losses?
Or was it more of a strong team that didn't quite reach their potential?

[logpmess]

You rode the last build down to the bloody end, and it looks like a strong rebuild in the making?
Do you think you learned anything about how and when to go all in, and when to cut losses?
Or was it more of a strong team that didn't quite reach their potential?

It was definitely a strong team that didn't reach it's potential. We had every reason to actually win it all, but never got to the summit. No excuses. I was tired of no matter what I did, I couldn't get over the hump. I play this game more on opportunity. If I get an offer that can change my direction for the most successful turnaround, I take it.

I may have rode it out too long, which is why I can't find a decent trade for Mo, but we hope to progress into the future sooner than later with that situation.