S62 Chicago Bulls Press Conference

[garbageman]

Last season, the Chicago Bulls were just a couple buckets away from a 9th ring, and with big contracts awaiting Genaro Montoya and Darius Garland, as well as a third year deep in the repeater tax, we found ourselves in the offseason at a crossroads. Do we empty the bank completely and go for broke? Or do we sell high and regroup, waiting to strike until the time is right?

We spent the offseason looking for something to sway us one way or the other. The first move we made was a strategic one. With not much going on in trade talks during the draft, we headed into RFA with an open mind. We sent a reasonable offer sheet to Ayo Dosunmu that was about 10 million less per year than the Warriors offered and used remaining, pre-UFA cap space to make a couple strong offers on young and promising big men who we thought we could wheel and deal with. Svi Mykhailiuk accepted our offer and the Pacers were willing and able to send us a future first with Svi to take on Jericho Sims.

Jericho played some great ball with us and was a strong, reliable center for us in our playoff run last year both as a scoring option and a glass cleaner, but we frankly couldn't afford to field a team with Sims, Garland, and Montoya combining to make the entire salary cap. At less than half the price, we really liked Svi's ability to score and be a rim protector. He's not at Sims' level yet, but we think he'll be a valuable contributor off the bench.

This trade also made us feel better about matching Ayo's contract. Based on last season, we didn't feel Dosunmu was truly ready to play big minutes for us. He was alright off the bench for some backup point guard minutes, but we felt he was still too young to play a major role for a team with championship aspirations. If the Warriors had any interesting players to deal us looking towards the future, we may well have tried cutting costs.

After training camp, we're sure glad they didn't. With Sims out, Ayo came into camp looking to prove that he had what it takes to be not only a starter, and not only a main option, but the future of this team. His basketball IQ keeps growing on both ends of the court, and we're excited to see how he handles a much bigger role this season.

Before Unrestricted Free Agency, we still had a bit of cap space to play with, so in case we got outbid on Lyman Bradley or Zaire Wade, we dealt Vrenz Bleijenbergh and cash considerations to the Bucks for Malik Osborne and ended up getting Bradley and Wade back at around the same price points. This gives us a very strong roster of players on great value contracts that can contribute to a deep team with a very wide skillset.

Overall, training camp went well, and we came out of camp and preseason looking poised to be one of a handful of teams with a serious shot at championship contention, so that's where we are now. I'm looking forward to getting the regular season started to see if the roster can meet the high expectations we set in the offseason. I'm optimistic that we'll be strong enough to keep me from worrying about our tax bill. After coming so close last year, it'd be a real shame not to take one more swing with a generational talent like Genaro on our roster.

[LazyTitanSmash]

What does it feel like to win, win, win no matter what?

[MexicanMamba]

With so much roster depth this season, do you have a set idea for how your rotation will look this season? Or will some trial and error be involved early on?

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[garbageman]

What does it feel like to win, win, win no matter what?

It keeps me a lot more involved than tanking, but the pressure's on when it gets down to crunch time in the playoffs. Figuring out ways to win--and how to do it as often as I can--is the reason I'm still in this game. I wouldn't be content playing any other way.

[garbageman]

With so much roster depth this season, do you have a set idea for how your rotation will look this season? Or will some trial and error be involved early on?

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I'm going to tinker around a little bit for sure, just as I did last year. You'll almost certainly see Darius Garland at PG and Genaro Montoya at PF all season long. Then it's a matter of where we need to balance out offense, defense, and rebounding in our first and second units. At center, Lyman Bradley is a better post defender and rebounder, but Svi is a more efficient scorer and rim protector.

At SG and SF, we've got a lot of players we can rotate in and out: Ayo, Mikal Bridges, Zaire Wade, and Jerold Harrison. All of them defend well on the perimeter, and there are a lot of overlapping skillsets. Mikal, Zaire, and Jerold are all excellent at causing turnovers. Ayo and Zaire are the only two players on the team right now who can handle point guard duties when Garland needs a rest. And they all bring different looks offensively. Ayo excels at creating his own shot and the mid-range game. Mikal is our best 3 and D guy. Jerold's not far behind him, and both of them are really efficient with their shot selection, which--sometimes it's important to not have a couple guys in each unit who don't need the ball in their hands to be effective. Zaire is an incredibly well-rounded swiss army knife of a player.

We're going to find a way to work in Malik Osborne more than we did in preseason. His athleticism and scoring could definitely provide a punch off the bench, and it definitely provides something different than anyone else on the team can provide.

[greepleairport]

On a collision course with the Lakers, in my opinion, who wins head to head: Montoya or Safi? Both incredible players who have average athleticism, but Safi’s still developing while Montoya is declining. Has the momentum shifted yet, or is Montoya still the better player?


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[garbageman]

On a collision course with the Lakers, in my opinion, who wins head to head: Montoya or Safi? Both incredible players who have average athleticism, but Safi’s still developing while Montoya is declining. Has the momentum shifted yet, or is Montoya still the better player?


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At this stage in each of their careers, they're playing completely opposite positions and completely opposite roles. Offensively, I think Safi is more talented, but Montoya is more efficient and his experience shows. Defensively, I think there's no question that Montoya is the better player. I think right now, there's still more stuff that Montoya does at an elite level that Safi hasn't quite grown into yet. It's probably one of those pointless basketball debates, but right now, I say Montoya's still the better player.

[greepleairport]

On a collision course with the Lakers, in my opinion, who wins head to head: Montoya or Safi? Both incredible players who have average athleticism, but Safi’s still developing while Montoya is declining. Has the momentum shifted yet, or is Montoya still the better player?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

At this stage in each of their careers, they're playing completely opposite positions and completely opposite roles. Offensively, I think Safi is more talented, but Montoya is more efficient and his experience shows. Defensively, I think there's no question that Montoya is the better player. I think right now, there's still more stuff that Montoya does at an elite level that Safi hasn't quite grown into yet. It's probably one of those pointless basketball debates, but right now, I say Montoya's still the better player.

Fair enough. Better question: who wins in a fight


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[garbageman]

On a collision course with the Lakers, in my opinion, who wins head to head: Montoya or Safi? Both incredible players who have average athleticism, but Safi’s still developing while Montoya is declining. Has the momentum shifted yet, or is Montoya still the better player?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

At this stage in each of their careers, they're playing completely opposite positions and completely opposite roles. Offensively, I think Safi is more talented, but Montoya is more efficient and his experience shows. Defensively, I think there's no question that Montoya is the better player. I think right now, there's still more stuff that Montoya does at an elite level that Safi hasn't quite grown into yet. It's probably one of those pointless basketball debates, but right now, I say Montoya's still the better player.

Fair enough. Better question: who wins in a fight


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I dunno, man. They're both imaginary.

[AngryBanana]

Chet Youbetcha, Dimmadome News: How much longer do you think Montoya both stays as good and versatile as he is? How many of those years will he be a Bull?

[garbageman]

Chet Youbetcha, Dimmadome News: How much longer do you think Montoya both stays as good and versatile as he is? How many of those years will he be a Bull?

At 6'11 with the skillset he has, Montoya still will be a great, versatile player. He may be declining every training camp, and he may be past his peak, but he'll still be an impactful player through this contract.

I don't know how many of those seasons he'll be a Bull. It's going to be hard to keep an 80 million dollar contract on the books and reset tax status, which we're going to have to do sooner or later

[K-100]

As a former commish, what do you think of the state of the league?

Will Garbageman Law be a recurring media contributor this season to cover the other positions?

[garbageman]

As a former commish, what do you think of the state of the league?

I think Mamba's doing a great job. I know that with the FTP Import function of TV going down, it's a huge pain in the ass to be the commissioner right now, and I wouldn't want to be the one doing it.

As for the league, I feel like it's in a state of flux and the longevity of the league is going to be determined by the latest batch of new GMs from the Mamba and greeple trees. As long as these dudes start picking up on the league quickly and are eager to make moves and win, I think we'll be in a pretty good spot once most of them start figuring things out for themselves.

However, I do think that without a boost from new talent, there's not as much motivation from some of the old heads in the game.

Will Garbageman Law be a recurring media contributor this season to cover the other positions?

Depends who Doug puts on the block.

[Eazy P]

Seems like your Bulls are primed for a title aside from the Lakers is there any other team you think that will give you a challenge?

[garbageman]

Seems like your Bulls are primed for a title aside from the Lakers is there any other team you think that will give you a challenge?

There are a few teams out there I think have a shot. The Grizzlies are still stacked with a lot of talent, and depending on what configuration they roll out with in the playoffs, they might be able to outguess a lot of opponents with unorthodox lineups.

I think the Pacers are under the radar good. They have the potential to put out one of the strongest starting lineups in the league. The Wizards always figure it out and have more consolidated talent than they've had in a while. The Nuggets are missing maybe only a single piece.

It's a long season, and teams can still make moves...including the Bulls and Lakers. But it has been an encouraging first two weeks, and we're off to a good start.