#SLOE: People's Basketball Sim League

Hello, and welcome to Chicago Bulls Media Day 2017.

I'm General Manager Gar Bageman, and on behalf of the entire Bulls organization, we're very excited to get this PBSL season started.

Last year, the Bulls reached a milestone by becoming division champions for the first time ever, and while the ring still was slightly out of grasp, we feel like we're ready to compete again in the hunt for a PBSL title.

Admittedly, we weren't initially committed to reloading to compete. I won't bore you with the tax talk, but our initial goal was to get younger and rebuild around Victor Oladipo. We traded Thomas Robinson to the Orlando Magic for Vernon Desantis as the beginning of that process in a trade we valued so highly that we would have made it even if we were committed to competing from the get go.

From there, we were able to obtain WIlson Chandler in a sign and trade deal with the Wizards. Carmelo gave us a huge offensive kick last season, and we wish him the best in Washington where he'll surely play a great mentoring role for some of their younger guys.

We were able to surround our core with some great pickups in free agency. Jeff Teague, Nicholas Batum, Nick Young, and Tyler Zeller bring solid experience that will help make for a much deeper roster than we had last season. We are optimistic that this year's team can win a second straight division title and advance further in the playoffs than the Bulls have ever been, and we look forward to seeing you all at the United Center!

Now in the spirit of the Halloween season and the immortal words of David S. Pumpkins, any questions?

How do you plan to balance VD's development and playing time with your "win now" mandate?

false9 wrote: Thu Oct 19, 2017 11:31 pm How do you plan to balance VD's development and playing time with your "win now" mandate?

The power forward spot will be our biggest uncertainty this year, and we eventually envision Vernon as a center. Nicholas Batum will be getting the bulk of the power forward minutes to start. We really think he's an underrated player who gives us a good stretch four option on a team that should be dynamite from beyond the arc.

We also brought in Tyler Zeller for an option at the 4 with a little stronger post defense and work on the boards.

We like what we see in a lot of areas already from Desantis, but if he's still lacking in other spots, we have other options.

GWR: How are things in the locker room? It seems that the cohesion isn't what it should be for a team of your talent.

Have you thought about a better nickname for Vernon Desantis besides VD? Perhaps Herpes? Syphilis ? The Cap?

Zack LaVine is a young guy with great potential that seems to be destined to the bench this year. What is going to be his role and how is he taking that news?

JNR wrote: Fri Oct 20, 2017 8:06 am GWR: How are things in the locker room? It seems that the cohesion isn't what it should be for a team of your talent.

Well, when you have a notorious conservative whose most notorious physical trait (aside from his size) is a man bun, there are going to be problems with cohesion.

We've got a lot of talented players, but they're in different stages throughout their careers and lives, and that's fine. All I care about is whether or not they can gel together on a basketball court. It's going to take some work, but our main pieces are there, and the players we brought in were brought in because they play a complementary style of ball.

logpmess wrote: Fri Oct 20, 2017 9:24 am Zack LaVine is a young guy with great potential that seems to be destined to the bench this year. What is going to be his role and how is he taking that news?

His role won't change much from last year as long as we see him meet our expectations. We'd really like Zach to grow into our future point guard. We believe he's got the athleticism and talent to start there in a year or two. He's made it clear that he wants to be playing more now, but he's going to have to be patient, and he's going to have to perform with 6th man minutes behind Goran and Vic.

Random Reporter: Which player is more likely to eventually start at some point in the season, Desantis or LaVine?

Xist2Inspire wrote: Fri Oct 20, 2017 12:07 pm Random Reporter: Which player is more likely to eventually start at some point in the season, Desantis or LaVine?

Probably Zach. He's our primary backup at both guard spots, and we feel he's more ready to step into more playing time. We do want time on the court for Vernon to develop, but at least at the time, we feel he's going to perform best coming off the bench...even if Hawes needs a rest day.

Where do you see the Bulls amongst the Eastern Conference elite this year?

ballsohard wrote: Fri Oct 20, 2017 8:38 am Have you thought about a better nickname for Vernon Desantis besides VD? Perhaps Herpes? Syphilis ? The Cap?

No, but his name is an anagram for Nets Adorn Veins, so there's basketball in his blood.

NickMalone77 wrote: Fri Oct 20, 2017 1:38 pm Where do you see the Bulls amongst the Eastern Conference elite this year?

I think this team is stronger than it was last year. It's not going to be an easy road, but I think this team can go deeper into the playoffs than we did last year.

How exciting is it to start over with a young nucleus? What are you specifically looking for with this group?


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Are you trying to set the record for most presser questions asked? Either way, I think you got it...

78# wrote: Fri Oct 20, 2017 3:17 pm How exciting is it to start over with a young nucleus? What are you specifically looking for with this group?


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I'll let you know when that happens. While we traded Robinson for Vernon DeSantis, we still have Dragic, Hawes, and Oladipo from last year. We traded Melo for Wilson Chandler, and while Carmelo is moving towards the end of his career, Wilson Chandler is a seasoned vet in his prime.

I'd say we're more of a win-now team than last year once you factor in the pieces we were able to add in free agency.

TheSyndicate wrote: Fri Oct 20, 2017 3:26 pm Are you trying to set the record for most presser questions asked? Either way, I think you got it...

I always try to ask every team a question so nobody feels left out...plus: