#SLOE: People's Basketball Sim League

About two-and-a-half years ago, Patrick Edmunds sank a game winning three pointer in game 7 of the 2032 PBSL Finals. It was the highest point in Bulls history, and rather than run it back, perhaps a little less successfully and a lot less financially stable, the Bulls made some moves to rebuild around Silky Johnson, trading Edmunds and Silva and officially starting a rebuild.

The next season, the Bulls still were able to notch a winning record, although they missed the playoffs in a post-contraction season where only 6 teams made it per conference. That took its toll on Silky Johnson, the only remaining starter from the 2032, who came into 2033 looking like he’d lost some of what made his game look like it had an untouchable ceiling.

The season started out with mixed results, but after adding Jaren Jackson, Jr. through trade, the Bulls were able to claw back to get on the other side of .500 and back into the playoffs. The team wasn’t strong enough to win, being knocked out of the second round in 5 games by the defending champion Toronto Raptors, However, the story there was that the 42-40 Chicago Bulls were able to take the 3rd seeded Oklahoma City Thunder to the limit and win a crucial game 7

That moment proved that the Bulls were on the right track with our rebuild, but with the memories of the 2032 championship wearing out, when opportunity presented itself, it was clear that we had an opportunity to reach championship heights once again, all with a fresh tax repeater status, and the best player in the league, coming off his best season, in RJ Barrett.

In addition to our returning stars, Silky Johnson, Jaren Jackson, and the ever improving Norris Turney, we went all out in the offseason to build a championship contender with RJ, drafting Adam Mokoka for some ready-to-go depth, signing Norrin Radd to a great 3 year deal, and trading for Eldridge Candelaria and Aubrey Bynum. In training camp, we saw improvement in Cristiano Felicio—our #1 draft pick from last season—and he’ll be ready to see some minutes this season.

We’re excited to start the season with a team that’s built to compete. It might take a little time to jell, but we’re confident that this is the most talented Bulls roster that’s ever been assembled. We’ve got our sights set on hanging another banner in the Madhouse on Madison’s rafters, but before we get ahead of ourselves, there’s a lot of work to do, and before we do that work, we have probably like four or five questions to answer.

Random Reporter: Though the city of Chicago's thrilled to see a return to contention, such lofty goals come with a high price - specifically the 3rd-highest tax bill in the league. With such a large bill incoming and the potential for an even bigger payout when Turney and Silky sign new deals, is this a championship-or-bust season?

Xist2Inspire wrote: Sun May 24, 2020 10:26 pm Random Reporter: Though the city of Chicago's thrilled to see a return to contention, such lofty goals come with a high price - specifically the 3rd-highest tax bill in the league. With such a large bill incoming and the potential for an even bigger payout when Turney and Silky sign new deals, is this a championship-or-bust season?

Nope. We think the gamble was fairly calculated. Having a contending team brings in a lot of income, and we think that since we were under the apron last season, the 1st year tax is very manageable to the point where we expect we'll be able to be profitable until at earliest, our third year in the tax. If I didn't think we'd be competitive throughout the rest of RJ Barrett's contract, I probably wouldn't have let go of Gary Loredo...who is also going to command a supermax next season.

We believe that by going this route, we'll have a much stronger team in our first year in the tax and our best shot of having a run that lasts through our core players' prime years.

RJ Barrett is a dominating player on both sides of the ball. Which side do you think will be most important to the Bulls this year?

Though the team is uber-talented, are there still any spots you'd see yourself attempting to shore up if the opportunity presented itself?

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You traded up to #12 to draft Adam Mokoka - what do you see in his game to help the Bulls moving forward?

How hard was your erection when you got Barrett? This team is stacked and I think I just picked you to win the whole thing this year. If health is not an issue, do you feel anything less than your 3rd championship is a bust?

Also as a bonus commish related question, what are your thoughts on multiple teams currently being over $200M in salaries? Not in a "is it good or bad" but just the overall investments GMs are making to attempt to win it all.

Bowtothebill23 wrote: Mon May 25, 2020 1:51 am RJ Barrett is a dominating player on both sides of the ball. Which side do you think will be most important to the Bulls this year?

They say defense wins championships, and with JJJ and Barrett in the frontcourt and Norris Turney and Silky in the backcourt, we think that opponents are going to have a hard time scoring on us.

We have the depth to move RJ between the SF and PF spots, depending on matchups, to have a very strong starting lineup against any opponent we face.

MexicanMamba wrote: Mon May 25, 2020 3:56 am Though the team is uber-talented, are there still any spots you'd see yourself attempting to shore up if the opportunity presented itself?

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Aside from Barrett, our bigs are kind of foul prone--despite their other talents. I probably won't look to make any big moves, but I feel like if we needed one thing, it's another big man who can play limited minutes so we can be as flexible as possible moving Barrett between the 3 and 4.

Keepit100 wrote: Mon May 25, 2020 7:56 am You traded up to #12 to draft Adam Mokoka - what do you see in his game to help the Bulls moving forward?

At 23, we knew what we were going to get with Mokoka, and we felt like he was a good fit for a team that was going to be going for championships in the next couple seasons over a younger guy with higher potential. He's got great athleticism, but we're really not concerned with how he'll fit into things three or four seasons from now.

NOLa. wrote: Mon May 25, 2020 9:18 am How hard was your erection when you got Barrett? This team is stacked and I think I just picked you to win the whole thing this year. If health is not an issue, do you feel anything less than your 3rd championship is a bust?

Also as a bonus commish related question, what are your thoughts on multiple teams currently being over $200M in salaries? Not in a "is it good or bad" but just the overall investments GMs are making to attempt to win it all.

The championship is going to be our goal the next 2 or 3 seasons, but we've got a lot of work to do in coming together as a team and figuring out where everyone fits best. More important is making sure the Bucks don't win a championship.

As for the high salaries, I think that's more of a byproduct of inflation--the cap increases, the max salary increases, and implementation of the MLE and its related tax rules. 200mm is basically one MLE contract and one max contract over the cap. It's a high-sounding number, but not one that doesn't make sense to me.

Your cohesion is currently bad- do you think that's the biggest hurdle you'll have during the regular season?

Titles aside, what's your favorite memory of the last 25 seasons?

What is it about Aubrey Bynum's versatility that made him a necessary cog to the making the Chicago Bulls run? Do you see him as a starter or 6th man?

false9 wrote: Mon May 25, 2020 10:58 am Your cohesion is currently bad- do you think that's the biggest hurdle you'll have during the regular season?

Titles aside, what's your favorite memory of the last 25 seasons?

Yeah. I don't know. It's always bad, regardless of what I do.

As for favorite memory of the last 25 seasons, non-title related, the most fun I have in this game is probably the Horns and Fangs podcast.

NickMalone77 wrote: Mon May 25, 2020 11:05 am What is it about Aubrey Bynum's versatility that made him a necessary cog to the making the Chicago Bulls run? Do you see him as a starter or 6th man?

Bynum allows us to swing our lineup. If we put RJ at starting PF, Bynum is a great glue guy at SF. If we start RJ at SF and go big with Candelaria or Felicio at one of the big positions, Bynum can play multiple positions off the bench. He allows us to be flexible, which is a key component of winning a championship. I can't understate his importance.

Should you meet the Bucks in the finals, do the Bulls have what it takes to defeat them? Would you match Barrett opposite Bjorn?

How do you handle slime coming out of your mouth and your butt?

greepleairport wrote: Mon May 25, 2020 2:55 pm Should you meet the Bucks in the finals, do the Bulls have what it takes to defeat them? Would you match Barrett opposite Bjorn?

Yes we do.

IamQuailman wrote: Mon May 25, 2020 3:01 pm How do you handle slime coming out of your mouth and your butt?

I just drip it into your mouth from both ends.