Still Gotta Come Through Chicago
Bye Week Bliss, Theo Leaves, a GOOD Bulls Draft
Happy Tuesday, Chicago! It’s a great day to act like you’re working and instead grab a cup of coffee, read Still Gotta Come Through Chicago, and get ready to enjoy a wonderful long weekend. Let’s go.
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We’ve got a lot to cover, so buckle up: First, an intro on the Bears, then Theo leaving, the Bulls draft, and Sox and Blackhawks notes at the bottom.
Bye Week Bliss
A lot has actually transpired in the Chicago sports world over the last week, and I could not be more grateful that I can dive right into it.
Instead of deliberating over whether we should start the 29th best quarterback in the league or 31st (pick your own path), I can jump into other sports and update you on things that may actually be on the up moving forward.
Instead of talking about why Matt Nagy should be fired for the fourth time in a row to hundreds of people who also believe he should be fired, I can talk about the Bulls, Cubs, Blackhawks and Sox.
COVID took sports away from us, and then sports came back to distract us from COVID, but in my head, the two have sort of merged in this cruel, disgusting way, where COVID’s effect on my life has turned into me just spending my days sitting in my apartment letting sports takes burn in my soul like a psychopath.
When people got mad about the Bulls drafting Patrick Williams, despite having watched zero Florida State games last year, two Bulls games max, and not having a clue about how basketball works in general, I was so unreasonably mad that I honestly had trouble working the next day.
‘Boss, sorry, a lot has been on my mind. No, it’s not the presidential election, it’s not the pandemic, it’s not that Thanksgiving will be basically just a family dinner, it’s that these goddamn clowns won’t shut up! They won’t shut up, Boss! He’s got incredible upside! You still there?’
The idea that people still have it in them to argue about which quarterback the Bears should start legitimately wakes me up in the morning. I don’t even need an alarm, just a dream that someone told me that they need to go back to Trubisky and things will all be okay.
It’s such an insane thing to be worrying about right now that it gets me through my day, just thinking about the fact that there’s people out there who think if we start Mitch again we’ll be right back in it.
Mowing the lawn with the house on fire is not an apt comparison.
Here’s a better one: It’s like J.B. Pritzker letting gyms stay open and keeping the locker rooms open, but not allowing people put their actual backpacks into the lockers.
The cases are rising, presumably because people are just, like, talking to each other, and now I can’t put my backpack in a gym locker or I’ll immediately contract an airborne virus.
That’s what arguing about Foles/Trubisky is right now. If you have watched that offense over the last two years and think either of those quarterbacks is the answer (or the problem, to be fair), I honestly don’t know what to tell you.
If you’ve seen the movie Spotlight, it’s like when the editor of the Boston Globe tells the reporters not to print the story about a priest molesting kids until they have evidence that the cover up came from the top down. Nothing will change, he says, until they can prove that the church knew about it all and did nothing about it.
That’s the only way they’d affect change with the story — if they got the whole system.
(Widespread coverups of molesting children may have been a tad bit much there, but I do have some Penn State readers here too, so I think we’re all used to it. My apologies to the catholic readers as well, but God will forgive me because according to Russel Wilson, he (OR SHE) plays their hand in these NFL games and if God is watching the Bears, he (OR SHE) is thinking the same things as I am.)
It’s the same thing here, it’s the system. Foles and Trubisky are the priests, they’re just symptoms of the larger problem. Nagy, Pace and Ted Phillips — they’re the church!
Focus on the church, ladies and gentlemen. You want to know what Matt Nagy loves waking up to? Discussions on Twitter between dimwits screaming at each other about who’s a better quarterback for this offense. That way, he can continue pointing the finger, as he’s wont to do, and not pulling the thumb.
Don’t let him do it.
Have you watched the Chiefs offense one time over the last two years and thought, ‘Boy, they’re really missing Matt Nagy.’
When the Bears asked to interview him the Chiefs were probably like, ‘Uh, yeah, go ahead. He just talks about ambiguous processes all week and yells BOOM in the locker room.’
According to Mike Lombardi, who used to work in the league and now covers it, Ryan Pace has endeared himself to the McCaskeys and probably is not on the hot seat. Now, I have no clue if that’s true or not but if I’m George McCaskey and I see that we have two incompetent QBs behind and an incompetent offensive line and signed just Jimmy Graham, Robert Quinn, and Ted Ginn Jr. this offseason, I wouldn’t be endeared to shit.
It’s a godsend for these guys that Lori and J.B. haven’t allowed fans in the stands this year. Even if they let 3,000 in, the BOOs would be so embarrassing that they’d have no choice but to initiate a fire sale.
The worst part about it is, the Bears are somehow going to beat the Packers this week and their logo is going to be on “in the hunt” playoff graphics and all will be well again because we beat our rival for the 5th time in 20 years.
You know it and I know it. And I’ll probably be doing the macarena as the clock hits zero and checking out our schedule to see if we have a chance. We’re all screwed.
Back to the rest of Chicago sports.
A Bittersweet Farewell
One time, when I was on the way back from a spring break trip in Mexico with a few pals, two of those pals were about to take Xanax pills so they could pass out like slobs on the flight and drool on my shoulder. They planned to take them on the flight until we got to security.
Bear with me here.
When we got to security, the man running the show — I kid you not — was basically a combination of General Patton, Jim Harbaugh, and every high school strength coach in the nation wrapped in one. If you took your shoes off the wrong way he would be up your ass.
This is not an exaggeration, if the 9/11 terrorists would have met that man at the gate, September 11, 2001 would just be another day in U.S. history.
Panicked, they both took the pill before it was our turn in the line.
Once we got to our gate, we saw Theo Epstein (we were in Arizona). He was clearly trying to lay low and be the last one on the plane, but one of the drug takers said with all the confidence in the world “I’ve got to go shake his hand.”
Eventually, we shot the shit with him for a few minutes, and it was exhilarating. We yelled in his face like losers about how much we loved him, took a picture, and then boarded the plane.
But once we got on the plane, something else happened. The Xanax had been neutralized. Now, I’ve never taken Xanax, but I’ve seen it turn people into legitimate zombies and also seen it knock people out for 12 hours straight before 9 pm.
My buddies were so excited to see Theo Epstein that the adrenalin rush had worn off the effects of the Xanax completely. No drool ended up on my shoulder that day.
What other GM would elicit that kind of emotion? Theo Epstein is stronger than Xanax.
And Theo Epstein is stepping down.
If you think Theo Epstein is anything less than one of the five most important Chicago sports figures in — at least — the last 50 years, you’re either a hater or an ingrate, depending on who you root for.
In sports, people forget very quickly. It’s why people make lists of top-10 players all time that have the likes of Kobe Bryant and Allen Iverson on them. We are largely incapable of considering what something meant when it happened, and carrying it over to the present.
Without Theo Epstein, the Cubs do not win a World Series. It’s just that simple. And if the Cubs do not win a World Series, it would now be 112 years since they last won one.
Can you imagine watching that Marlins series without 2016? Better put, can you imagine watching anything that has happened over the last four years without 2016?
A lot of people have started their Theo Thank You’s with ‘He made some mistakes…’ That is absolutely ludicrous. Before Theo Epstein arrived, the Cubs were one of the most archaic, worst-run organizations in all of sports. It’s easy to forget that. Sure, they had some good teams along the way, as every MLB team does, but they were mostly known as the laughing stock of league.
I miss the old Wrigleyville, no doubt. I miss sitting in the bleachers without a bunch of frat boys who paid 100 bucks for a ticket spitting on each of my shoulders behind me. I miss walking up to games and not even realizing I was close to the field until I saw the sign. All of that came because of Theo, and the Ricketts capitalized off it.
But all of it came because of winning. Under Theo, Cubs fans rid themselves of the worst nickname in the history of sports “the lovable losers” and became fans of one of the top-tier teams and brands in all of sports. The reason we get so mad about the Cubs struggles now is because of the expectation Theo set for us.
He put in a five-year plan to win the World Series for a team that hadn’t won one in over 100 years and then actually won it in five years. Do you know how absolutely insane that is?
It’s not just that, either. He was in love with Chicago, the Cubs, and everything that came with those two things. He lived right by the field and embraced the fans who would yell his name and scream ‘Go Cubs!’ on his walk to the park.
He made it his core mission to end our misery as a collective fan base and he delivered on his promise. Before you mention anything about Jason Heyward or the struggles over the past few years, remember that.
Our struggles now are getting out of the first round or the wild card game.
In Theo Epstein’s first year with the Cubs, the team he inherited won 61 games. The previous season, the Bulls had won 62. They played 80 less games.
Once he was able to turn his plan around, the Cubs made the playoffs in five of six years, advanced to the NLCS three times, and won a World Series.
Die-hard Cubs fans had lived long lives and died of natural causes without seeing the team win a World Series. Some lived relatively long lives without ever seeing them make the World Series. What Theo has meant to this city can not be understated.
He signed Jon Lester. He traded for Jake Arrieta and Kyle Hendricks. He traded for Anthony Rizzo. He drafted Kris Bryant. He convinced Joe Maddon, the most coveted manager in baseball at the time, to join the party.
He has always said that no executive should be with a team for more than ten years. After that, the relationship between the executive and organization reaches a point of diminishing returns. I think that makes sense.
Next year would be ten years, but he left early for a selfless reason. A lot of big decisions need to be made this offseason, and it wouldn’t make sense for him to play a hand in that.
Instead, Jed Hoyer, who has been Theo’s right-hand man from the start, and led teams of his own, will take over. He inked a five-year deal just the other day.
I have almost as much confidence in Hoyer, who overhauled the player development department just last year, as I did in Theo.
Good things may be coming. Bad things may be coming. Either way, Theo Epstein should never pay for a beer in the city of Chicago again.
(P.S. Ricketts said yesterday “I don’t think anyone is tearing down anything.”)
The Bulls ‘Controversial’ Draft
Now I’m really ready to get fired up.
But first, the nuts and bolts.
The Bulls have done this in the last week:
Drafted Patrick Williams out of Florida State with the 4th overall pick
Drafted Marko Simonovic out of Serbia with the 44th overall pick (will not play in NBA next year, he’s a draft and stash)
Signed undrafted Devon Dotson out of Kansas after the draft to a two-way deal
Signed Jarret Temple in free agency
Did not re-sign Kris Dunn or Shaquille Harrison
Did offer a qualifying offer to Denzel Valentine, who will be back
Now, you already know I feel about Artūras Karnišovas, the Bulls new VP of basketball operations.
When the Bulls got rid of Gar Forman and John Paxson and replaced him with AK, I spent a week making a five-minute pump up video that literally 48 people have watched in full since it was released like six months ago.
So I am undoubtedly pumped up just due to the fact that the Bulls are not being led by a couple of guys who hardly did their jobs for the last two decades.
By the way, it’s AK-4-7 to you. As in Arturas Karnisovas for seven championships. Get with the nickname or get lost. Am I thinking about making t-shirts with AK holding a machine gun with seven rings on his fingers? Uh, yeah, you’re goddamn right I am.
But, I am an no way blinded by AK’s promise yet. When I read a rumor, for instance, that the Bulls were thinking of trading up in the draft and getting rid of Wendell Carter Jr., I was infuriated.
Since, we’ve learned that the Bulls never even thought of trading up or down and were not considering trading WCJ.
But I would have been upset with AK if they had. I have been hurt too much to put blind faith into any Bulls figure. Matt Nagy has done that for me, if nothing else.
Now to Patrick Williams, who is a 6’8, 225 pound forward out of Florida State and the youngest American-born player in the draft.
Of course, because Bulls “fans” knew two guys in the draft, LaMelo Ball and Obi Toppin, they were disappointed by the pick. They hadn’t seen his dunking highlights so they assumed he was bad.
Here is my response:
For one, this draft had a consensus top-3 (who went in the first three picks), and after that, it was a crap shoot. Between pick 4 and 15, virtually any player could have been drafted elsewhere and it wouldn’t have been that big of a deal.
Secondly, the fact that Williams didn’t start in college. Sigh. College coaches are dumb. They start and don’t start people for a million different reasons. Do a second of research and you’ll find that he was one of the integral parts of the team as a freshman and played the 4th most minutes overall, which is all that matters. Worrying about a pick because of how their college coach used them is shortsighted, and frankly, dumb.
Thirdly, if the Bulls hadn’t made this pick, someone else would have — quickly. The Pistons were trying to trade up to no. 3 to get Williams before the Bulls and he was the sole focus of the Spurs’ draft. By no means was this some insane stretch by the Bulls. They got their guy.
Obi Toppin is a fine player. You know him because he was televised heavily and the national player of the year at Dayton. He’s also 22, which means he’s much closer to his ceiling than a 19-year-old. He has far less potential than Williams and is a bad defender. Could he be a nice rim rolling player? Sure. The Bulls don’t need a ready-to-play rim roller.
The last time two times the Bulls went with the older, national players of the year, they drafted Doug McDermott and Denzel Valentine. Those picks worked out great, right?
It’s okay to say you don’t know who the hell Patrick Williams is and that you don’t know what he does well. Really, it’s fine. Just don’t run your mouth about the pick if you have no clue what you’re talking about.
Williams has the tools to be an incredible defender in the NBA. He’s incredibly long and athletic and most importantly — he tries. Every single NBA team needs that, especially the Bulls. People often think you can teach defense, but the tools are hard to come by, and the effort is impossible to implement if a guy doesn’t have it. Williams does.
He also has incredible potential on the offensive end. He’s big, but dribbles and shoots like a guard. He shot 32% from three on just under two attempts per game last year, but also shot over 80% from the line, which is a sign that his shooting has plenty of room to improve. He has a great stroke.
He’s also the antithesis of LaMelo Ball from a personality perspective. Spend 10 minutes listening to him being interviewed and you’ll be glad the Bulls have him.
Here’s just one excerpt from Darnell Mayberry’s pre-draft story in The Athletic:
He’s going to get a lot better over the next few years, and not just because he has the tools, but because he has the mindset that lends itself to growth. That’s not nothing.
The draft is a funny thing. If you judged players based on if you knew them out of the draft, you would have thought that Giannis Antetokounmpo, Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, Luca Doncic, and Damian Lillard were all dumb picks too.
Williams is perfect for the Bulls. He’s barely 19, and needs plenty of time to develop. The Bulls, hate to break it to you, are not competing for a championship next year. You’ll see the flashes over the next couple years, and by the time he’s 22 — then you’ll see why he was the no. 4 overall pick in the draft. Be patient.
When he’s a knock-down three-point shooter, lock-down defender and SGCTC-certified man in three years, you can apologize in the comments below.
The Bulls also nabbed a draft-and-stash player in round 2 who does have some potential. He’ll be over seas for at least one more year, though, so I’ll hold back on the analysis for now.
Then, in one of the best moves of draft night, the Bulls signed Devon Dotson to a two-way deal after the two rounds had concluded. Dotson was one of the best players in college basketball last year at Kansas. John Hollinger, the former Grizzlies exec and an overall NBA basketball genius, had him as the 20th best player on his board. The Bulls didn’t even have to use a pick on him.
Oh, and you may even know him! So there you go.
The NBA season is a month away and I cannot wait to see what Billy Donovan will turn this team into. At the very least, the Bulls will be worth watching again.
From what I can tell, the Bulls O/U win total this year is going to come in around 29, which is two to four wins than the mark set for them last year.
The fact that that number is lower this year, with virtually the same team and Billy Donovan as the coach and not Jim Boylen, is laughable.
And you know what that means? We’re throwing our bank accounts at the over, and then throwing the biggest SGCTC party ever when it hits, which will be right around the time the pandemic finally subsides. I get chills just thinking about it. Hit the over, enjoy this Patrick Williams clip, and shut up. #SEERED
Quick Hitters:
The Sox will also be on the first Sunday Night Baseball broadcast of the year against the Angels on ESPN. How far they’ve come.
The Blackhawks had a few new hires in the hockey ops department, one of which is Kendall Coyne Schofield, who joins the team as the organization’s first-ever woman Player Development Coach.
Comment below, we’ve got a lot to talk about! Thank you reading, as always. And thank you for spreading the word, as always. STILL GOTTA COME THROUGH CHICAGO!
WOAH WOAH WOAH - Keep Church & State separate my man! LMAO
I think the P Wills pick is amazing. The fact he didn't start is even better. Some people only look at who's starting, not who's in at the end of the game which is....idk way more important? (Thank you The Athletic). But seriously, thats just basketball 101. Being a starter was cool because you get your name called and get to do a sick handshake in front of 15k people, or if youre in high school it increases the chances of getting a handy in between lunch and theology (thought religion class fit well with the theme at hand). P-Will is 19, he is literally 6 years younger than me, and look at me, the world is my oyster and im still getting better every damn day, bitch!
Bulls over will actually be the lockiest lock of the locks. Laughable that vegas will just set this line instead of just send us a direct deposit. Only one preventing this season over is Lavine. Idk how they still have him, there are a handful of teams that could use his skill set right now in order to put together a deeper roster to compete and the bulls are maybe 28th? 29th? on that list of places he fits. Idk some people think he's all we got, I would just like to see him flipped while he's worth something.
Wow coming at the Catholic Church and Kobe in one Newsletter! Hop on the SGCTC train or get out the way.
I think that this draft was a crapshoot so I don't have a whole lot of expectations for P-Will. Its tough to convince people that are excited to be patient on a guy that just went 4th overall. Gives me a similar feel to Jonathon Isaac or Marquese Chriss, but time will tell. But man I got fired up watching that guy dunk!
Now, I didn't do a whole lot of draft research but I just assumed that Devon Dotson would be a mid to late first round pick from watching him in college. I'm sure I will never see him play a minute of NBA basketball but I am fired up. In AK we trust!
I don't wanna get riled up about the Bears, so I'm gonna leave that for my man Z.
Theo is number one most important sports figure in my lifetime since I am too young for Jordan. DRose, Urlacher and Jonathon Toews would probably round out my Mt. Rushmore.
I'm hoping for next weeks Newsletter we get an extensive breakdown of Isiah and Dr. J's longstanding cut throat rivalry.