And now, the 2012 Preseason Presser for your Chicago Bulls!

[garbageman]

Introduction

The 2011-2012 Chicago Bulls were not a team that will be remembered by the annals of history. At 34-48, the Bulls missed the playoffs, but there was still plenty of progress from the previous season. After some off-season re-tooling, the Bulls have a stable base of young players who should continue improving throughout the 2012-2013 season to gear up for an off-season where General Manager Gar Bageman will, for the first time, have the cap space to bring in some solid pieces to bolster the Bulls developing talent and finally become a superteam.

Our starting lineup is not set, and we're going to try out our players in multiple positions and configurations to shake things up a little bit and find out what new strategies can be most productive. And while we don't expect to win a championship, we've got a scrappy group of players who want to win games, and we all feel like we can do that more effectively than we did last year.

Without further ado, here are the players we'll be seeing play a major role in the 2012-2013 season.

James Harden

phpBB [video]

The cornerstone of the Bulls for years to come, James Harden comes off of an All-Star / All NBA 2nd Team season. Expect to see him playing more point depending on the matchup. We expect big things out of James this year as he grows into a superstar.

Paul Millsap

Paul Millsap has proven himself as an incredibly solid, workhorse of a player for the Bulls, and we expect to see plenty of grit from him at PF. Though he lacks height, we might try him out at C if it's advantageous to play small ball. We might look to spread the offence out a little more to rely less on Paul, but we know that he can be productive in pretty much any area.

Danilo Gallinari

We're ecstatic to get Danilo back on the Bulls. We got a great deal on him in the off-season, and he looks like he's made some great gains in training camp. While he won't win defensive player of the year, we expect to be able to play Danilo off the bench or in the starting lineup at either forward spot to exploit matchups with his great scoring ability.

Gordon Hayward

Gordon has a lot of untapped potential still left to grow into, and we expect that he'll bring tough defence and effort to the SF position. He has some unique skills for a SF and he should see some good minutes that will give him the opportunity to mature more into a productive player who can hopefully become a major part of the Bulls future successes.

Yao Ming and Shelden Williams

The 7'6 center is still productive late in his career on the offensive end, and he'll be splitting starts with Shelden Williams. The two of them complement each other's skillsets nicely and we're looking to use them in a range of different lineups to provide balance to the rest of their teammates on the court, whether they need an Yao's offense or Shelden's work at the rim.

Monta Ellis

Monta will be swapping between the 1 and 2 guard spots with James Harden. It's Monta's contract year, so we're expecting him to play like he's got something to prove. He's got nice inside scoring and good two way play, and while his future with the Bulls remains undetermined after this season, his present with the Bulls will surely be a factor in determining our success. While he may not see insane minutes like last year, he will have plenty of time on the court.

Nando de Colo

We couldn't be happier with our acquisition of Nando de Colo via a draft day trade. He comes to the NBA ready to play, and he'll be coming off the bench with a solid, improving 2-way game. He's got the size to play either guard spot, and expect to see him in both off the bench behind Harden or Ellis.

Jared Sullinger and Jae Crowder

We're very excited to have drafted Jared Sullinger. While he's still very young now, he has the potential to be a Millsap-esque PF for us in the future. As a rookie, he'll see limited minutes, but getting him some experience

Jae is another player who we were glad to just acquire. Like Jared, he's a rookie with a lot of promise for the future, and we think he'll add tremendous depth at the SF position as he develops. He'll probably see some playing time as well if Gordon Hayward decides to pick up 6 fouls in 14 minutes again.

[JNR]

GWR: Trading your pick this year in some ways can be seen as betting on yourself. Do you think James Harden can lead this team to the playoffs?

[garbageman]

GWR: Trading your pick this year in some ways can be seen as betting on yourself. Do you think James Harden can lead this team to the playoffs?

We're hoping he can, but there are a lot of tough teams in the East. Even if we don't make it, we were willing to swap our 2013 1st for the 76ers 2013 1st in order to attain Jae Crowder for a number of reasons that are all looking towards the future.

First, we didn't think the 2013 draft class was particularly strong. We're going to be focusing more on the free agent market, which we haven't been able to do over the last few years because of cap space issues. Moving Mike Dunleavy was an important step in that direction. With Gordon and Danilo, there weren't enough minutes to go around for a veteran like Mike, and we believe he'll be happier on the Hornets, where he should see more time in the rotation.

It also keeps us under the cap this year. Coming off his rookie contract, we plan on rewarding Harden for his talent and hard play next year, and part of keeping him includes adding some players who are also at their peaks and ready to make a deep run.

Finally, we like the upside to Jae Crowder. We get another rookie with good all-around potential, and between Jae, Jared, and Nando, we think in a couple year's time, we'll have a very deep and talented roster.

[Xist2Inspire]

Random Reporter: You seem to have a solid all-around team. If you had to identify one weakness that could keep your team from being a playoff team, what would it be?

[garbageman]

Random Reporter: You seem to have a solid all-around team. If you had to identify one weakness that could keep your team from being a playoff team, what would it be?

I wish I could only identify one.

There are a handful of areas we're going to really have to improve or work around if we want to even think about making the playoffs.

Namely, we need to play smarter defense and cut down on our fouls.

On the offensive side, without a strong three point game, we need to play grittier, pull down boards for second chance points, and draw fouls ourselves to get to the line. (Not to mention, less games where Monta's forcing up threes)

[Conroy]

Sports Guy Bill Simmons here, the team looks awfully talented and also pretty young. Milsap is the wily vet at the age of 27, I know Yao is still there but how much mentoring can he get done? Is there any focus on bringing in someone with some experience to mesh with all of these young guys?

[garbageman]

Sports Guy Bill Simmons here, the team looks awfully talented and also pretty young. Milsap is the wily vet at the age of 27, I know Yao is still there but how much mentoring can he get done? Is there any focus on bringing in someone with some experience to mesh with all of these young guys?

Great question. We have a young base that is going to be solid for several years, and we would like to add more leadership and winning experience, but that will probably come in the offseason.

Still, I wouldn't underestimate Yao's role. He's very well liked, and he's been in the league long enough that the language barrier isn't really an issue any more. Besides, we're making everyone else learn Chinese. In todays globalizing economy, it's an invaluable skill.

[NickMalone77]

Nick Melon; The Advocate: If you could use a simpsons gif to describe Harden and Hayward's chemistry, what would it be? Itchy and Scratchy?

[garbageman]

Nick Melon; The Advocate: If you could use a simpsons gif to describe Harden and Hayward's chemistry, what would it be? Itchy and Scratchy?

[false9]

Screamin A Smith, BSPN:

CAN NANDO DE COLO FOCUS ON BAKSETBALL AND HIS CHICKEN BRAND AT THE SAME TIME?! IT SEEMS IMPROBABLE.

[garbageman]

Screamin A Smith, BSPN:

CAN NANDO DE COLO FOCUS ON BAKSETBALL AND HIS CHICKEN BRAND AT THE SAME TIME?! IT SEEMS IMPROBABLE.

He's also working on a soft drink line: Nando de Cola