Chicago Bulls Fairly Straightforward Press Conference
Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2017 4:58 pm
The Chicago Bulls are excited for the 2013-2014 basketball season, and we have reasonably high hopes.
Last year was a disappointing year for us. We finished just out of the 8th spot despite having a 34-48 record for the second year in a row. The climb out of the basement has been long and slow and we appreciate those of you who have stuck with us through thick and thin. We believe that many of our moves will pay off this year, and while we may not be in the NBA Finals next summer, the Bulls are going to continue to add pieces and keep improving for years to come.
First and foremost, we're more than happy to lock James Harden up for five more years. We believe that as good as he is, he has the potential to be a hall of fame caliber player. He looks incredible coming out of training camp and the preseason, and we think the tweaks we made to build around him will pay off.
Dwight Howard looks to have bounced back from a slower year last year. We believe he is much happier on the Bulls than anyone could be on the Hornets, and his work in training camp has really proved his dedication to the Bulls cause of getting better through hard work over tanking.
We're also happy to welcome Ramon Sessions to the Bulls. He's a pure, athletic point guard who will be a definite change of pace from Pablo Prigioni as the Bulls front-line gets more athletic. With Sessions and Harden in the backcourt, expect a lot more ball movement and a lot more offense.
On that note, we're sad to part ways with Gordon Hayward, but with Danilo's improvement last year, he's proven himself to be a great offensive option, and with such a great value on his contract, it was clear that Danilo would be an important piece of the Bulls team going forward.
Finally, Paul Millsap...the longest tenured Bulls player...will round out our starting 5. He is a workhorse of a player who can do a little bit of everything, and after several solid training camps, we expect a great year for him as his contract is expiring. We'd love to retain him if the price is right for all that he's brought to our team, not only in terms of play, but in terms of leadership. We think this is a very important year for both Paul and the Bulls organization, and despite tough competition in the Midwest Division, we feel we're in a better spot now to compete for a playoff spot than we were last year.
Our bench, meanwhile, has a nice mix of skilled vets and young talent. We were especially excited to land Drew Gooden and Larry Hughes, who are both coming off of solid seasons last year. We're happy to see Jae Crowder continue to develop, and while he might not see too many minutes right now, Nikola Mirotic is growing soundly as a player who can provide both solid defense and defensive rebounding at the 4 spot as well as 3 point shooting to stretch out the court. In a couple seasons, expect a tandem of Gallinari and Mirotic to be dangerous kickout options behind the arc.
Here's to a better season this year. We haven't had a winning record or a trip to the playoffs since 2004. It's about time that changed.
Last year was a disappointing year for us. We finished just out of the 8th spot despite having a 34-48 record for the second year in a row. The climb out of the basement has been long and slow and we appreciate those of you who have stuck with us through thick and thin. We believe that many of our moves will pay off this year, and while we may not be in the NBA Finals next summer, the Bulls are going to continue to add pieces and keep improving for years to come.
First and foremost, we're more than happy to lock James Harden up for five more years. We believe that as good as he is, he has the potential to be a hall of fame caliber player. He looks incredible coming out of training camp and the preseason, and we think the tweaks we made to build around him will pay off.
Dwight Howard looks to have bounced back from a slower year last year. We believe he is much happier on the Bulls than anyone could be on the Hornets, and his work in training camp has really proved his dedication to the Bulls cause of getting better through hard work over tanking.
We're also happy to welcome Ramon Sessions to the Bulls. He's a pure, athletic point guard who will be a definite change of pace from Pablo Prigioni as the Bulls front-line gets more athletic. With Sessions and Harden in the backcourt, expect a lot more ball movement and a lot more offense.
On that note, we're sad to part ways with Gordon Hayward, but with Danilo's improvement last year, he's proven himself to be a great offensive option, and with such a great value on his contract, it was clear that Danilo would be an important piece of the Bulls team going forward.
Finally, Paul Millsap...the longest tenured Bulls player...will round out our starting 5. He is a workhorse of a player who can do a little bit of everything, and after several solid training camps, we expect a great year for him as his contract is expiring. We'd love to retain him if the price is right for all that he's brought to our team, not only in terms of play, but in terms of leadership. We think this is a very important year for both Paul and the Bulls organization, and despite tough competition in the Midwest Division, we feel we're in a better spot now to compete for a playoff spot than we were last year.
Our bench, meanwhile, has a nice mix of skilled vets and young talent. We were especially excited to land Drew Gooden and Larry Hughes, who are both coming off of solid seasons last year. We're happy to see Jae Crowder continue to develop, and while he might not see too many minutes right now, Nikola Mirotic is growing soundly as a player who can provide both solid defense and defensive rebounding at the 4 spot as well as 3 point shooting to stretch out the court. In a couple seasons, expect a tandem of Gallinari and Mirotic to be dangerous kickout options behind the arc.
Here's to a better season this year. We haven't had a winning record or a trip to the playoffs since 2004. It's about time that changed.
