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Chicago Bulls 2031-2032 2nd Best Pre-season Presser

Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2019 8:22 am
by garbageman
In 2020, the Chicago Bulls trotted out a roster with a young Dennis Smith, Jr. and Vernon Desantis, a lockdown defensive pair of Otto Porter, Jr. and Bismack Biyombo in the forward spots, and PBSL all-time great Russell Westbrook commanding the team. We handily won the PBSL title (and perhaps would've repeated if the Pistons hadn't taken out Dennis Smith, Jr. in the last game of the following season). By ring logic, that was the best Bulls team ever.

However, last season, the Bulls had an incredible season. We went 74-8, which tied the league's previous best record held by the Denver Nuggets, and we made it to the Finals. However, we had the misfortune of having a 74-8 season the same year that the Orlando Magic BROKE the regular season record and went 75-7. We thought we could give them a better fight in the Finals (we accounted for two of those seven losses during the regular season), but they proved too tough for us to snatch more than one win. There is disappointment there, but it's hard to remain too disappointed given the tremendous effort and success the team showed.

Looking forward, our goal is to get back there and take another shot at the ring. We did part ways with Leroy Haugh, sending him back from whence he came, to get younger and taller, and most importantly, less expensive. Taking swings for the last two seasons, we have really flaunted the tax. We're fine with going over again, but with Haugh's contract exceeding 40mm both this season and next, we wanted to explore other options before the tax really started hurting us. We were able to get Dragan Bender back in return. We believe his size and skill set will strengthen our starting frontcourt, and swapping our shooting guard for a center allows us to put Patrick Edmund at the 2 guard spot where we believe he'll be one of the most dominant players at his position in the league.

Our plan in free agency was to use our MLE to get a true starting SF and add depth to our second unit to complement Nassir Little. We were able to accomplish all those goals. Daniel Bowens returns for a third season, and Hyman Low comes back for a second season...both of them important parts of our run last year. We were also able to ink a deal with Julio De La Rosa, who should provide both an offensive punch and a literal punch off the bench with his all around scoring and fouling skills. To add to both of those elements, we also signed a nice one year deal with Clemente Torres, a young player with an intriguing stretch-4 skillset. Finally, Michael Manis brings us a 3 and D specialist in the backup PG spot.

The biggest need, a true starting SF, was filled when we agreed to terms with Andrew Wiggins. It's his second stint here with the Bulls, and we were glad to have him back after he initially signed with our division rivals in Portland. He's still got plenty of gas left in the tank, and since he's played a few seasons with Wanderlei and Patrick, he steps back into a natural leadership role. We're glad to have him back and feel like he's going to be an important part of our success this year.

We're happy to take on any questions you have about the upcoming Bulls season!

Re: Chicago Bulls 2031-2032 2nd Best Pre-season Presser

Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2019 9:30 am
by JNR
GWR: Your team was the best offensive team this preseason. Do you intend to make any tweaks or are you happy with what you saw?

Re: Chicago Bulls 2031-2032 2nd Best Pre-season Presser

Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2019 10:38 am
by false9
-Who’s your biggest threat in returning to the finals?
-Is a pending free steak enough of a salve in not winning the finals?

Re: Chicago Bulls 2031-2032 2nd Best Pre-season Presser

Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2019 12:45 pm
by garbageman
JNR wrote: Mon Dec 23, 2019 9:30 am GWR: Your team was the best offensive team this preseason. Do you intend to make any tweaks or are you happy with what you saw?
I'm happy with what I saw, but it was preseason, and we weren't being challenged as much as we would be in regular season games. I'm happy with the lineup, but might make a few tweaks to the gameplan to make up for areas where we were weak...especially fouling. Most of our new players have pretty rough reputations for getting into foul trouble, but our team is deep, so we're looking forward to leaning into bruising our opponents around a little.

Re: Chicago Bulls 2031-2032 2nd Best Pre-season Presser

Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2019 12:49 pm
by garbageman
false9 wrote: Mon Dec 23, 2019 10:38 am -Who’s your biggest threat in returning to the finals?
-Is a pending free steak enough of a salve in not winning the finals?
I think the Nuggets really took ownership of Division 3 after stepping back and missing the playoffs. Don't think I didn't notice that they didn't play Jerry West when he returned from injury. They were able to flip their draft pick for Erik Haynes. They pretty much forewent free agency and won on the trade front this offseason. To me, they're clear favorites in Division 3, but I've got my eye on some Division 1 teams. Whoever comes out of that division will be pretty battle tested, too.

And nah, I would take an imaginary internet championship over a steak any day of the week.

Re: Chicago Bulls 2031-2032 2nd Best Pre-season Presser

Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2019 1:33 pm
by NOLa.
74-8 is a ridiculous record in any year, but do you think you can match that again, or even top that record, this season?


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Re: Chicago Bulls 2031-2032 2nd Best Pre-season Presser

Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2019 2:27 pm
by greepleairport
There is a real chance of the Bulls meeting the Magic again in the finals. If you win, you rejoice, of course! What if you lose? How do you regroup, recoup, and come back for another title contention?

Re: Chicago Bulls 2031-2032 2nd Best Pre-season Presser

Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2019 2:58 pm
by garbageman
NOLa. wrote: Mon Dec 23, 2019 1:33 pm 74-8 is a ridiculous record in any year, but do you think you can match that again, or even top that record, this season?


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Without Leroy, we're going to be playing a slightly different brand of basketball. Our focus is going to be less about beating our regular season record and more about preparing for a stronger postseason by finding out how the new pieces fit on this team...but it's possible until we get 9 losses.

Re: Chicago Bulls 2031-2032 2nd Best Pre-season Presser

Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2019 3:00 pm
by garbageman
greepleairport wrote: Mon Dec 23, 2019 2:27 pm There is a real chance of the Bulls meeting the Magic again in the finals. If you win, you rejoice, of course! What if you lose? How do you regroup, recoup, and come back for another title contention?
We're not really focused on that this season. Our horizon ends at the Finals this year, and we're not factoring anything after this year into our decisions right now.