Good morning Chicago!
If you missed last week’s newsletter check that out here. Otherwise, tell someone to subscribe for what is set to be a massive newsletter on Monday.
I’ve battled the urge to write a newsletter this week, thanks to the threat of everything I covered being moot the next day.
But it’s more than worth it to discuss what’s ahead today.
As the oppressive heat approaches and is paired with the late-night cicada sounds, football is all that creeps up in my mind. But right now, the Bears are in the least interesting situation of any team in Chicago.
Perhaps more than any time in my lifetime — thanks to COVID-19 messing up timelines — a ridiculous amount of organizationally significant things can happen, and are happening, in the same week.
The Blackhawks have already added defenseman Seth Jones via trade, and promptly gave him a massive 8 year deal, which will assure the team will have at least three of the top-20 to 25 highest paid players in the NHL in the coming years between him, Patrick Kane, and Jonathan Toews.
They’ve also made a slew of moves elsewhere, even trading for players — Marc-Andre Fleury (last year’s Vezina trophy winner) — who may not play next year, and trading away players (theoretically) — Brent Seabrook — that will not play next year.
The Blackhawks are going for it, whether they’re equipped to or not, and whether their cap situation will even be manageable if everything shakes out how they want it to from a talent acquisition perspective.
As for the merit behind the moves, that’s besides the point for now.
The Blackhawks are not alone, either.
Sox fans are begging for a somewhat exciting move to fill the holes in their bullpen and at second base. July 30 can’t come fast enough for Cubs fans, who are both subject to the daily agony of waiting for one or all of the Cubs core players to be traded and to White Sox fans throwing out dog shit trade hypotheticals as they suddenly recognize Javier Baez for the player he is.
The Bulls roster will also undoubtedly look drastically different by next week. The NBA Draft is tonight, and despite the Bulls only having a second round pick, draft night is always much more than just the selections, and free agency is soon to follow.
The smoke surrounding the Lonzo Ball rumors have been rampant for what seems like months now, which means there’s definitely fire. But that does not mean they’ll be able to pull it off, especially after the Pelicans — who can match any offer made to Ball — just cleared salary by trading Stephen Adams and Eric Bledsoe to the Grizzlies.
But it is my hunch that the Bulls will not sit on their hands. In fact, they really can’t. They gave up too much draft capital in the Nikola Vucevic trade to not begin upgrading their team immediately. Unfortunately, that has limited their options for now, and has also put them in a precarious position in a year where the free agent class is quite poor.
Here’s a take: I would not be surprised if Coby White is no longer on the Bulls by the time the NBA Draft is over tonight. He’s one of the only pieces that the Bulls could feasibly move — and get value back for — without sacrificing their ability to win now.
It’s a tough route to go, especially for a guy like White who has shown marked improvements over the last few years. But in order to fit in a legitimate point guard that can accelerate the rebuild that should be close to its conclusion, they may have to.
The Bulls hold the 38th pick in the draft as well, which normally would not mean much, but with their limited cap, it would really help if they hit on a back-end role player. Iowa’s Joe Wieskamp (I’m biased) would be a perfect fit here. He had a vertical leap of 42 inches at the combine, and overall, he proved he belonged in the NBA athletically. Add that to an over 6’7 height, 6’11 wingspan frame and incredible shooting numbers from three in college, and you have a legitimate NBA prospect. I’m also confident he could be a good enough team defender to be an overall plus for any team almost immediately.
I’d like the Bulls to keep Thad Young and Tomas Satoransky as well, but financials may not allow. I frankly think the team gets immediately worse if we lose either one of them, not considering any other pick-ups. At the very least, I’d love to keep Young, who was as important to the Bulls as any other player this year.
The bottom line is that the Bulls window has now been forcibly open by its new front office — a good thing — but it needs to be jammed open further if they’re going to be that much better this year.
LaVine, by the way, currently looks like a top-5 player on the USA Olympic team, which has been giving me nightmares. He played less than only Jrue Holiday and Damian Lillard in their win over Iran, and had a very efficient night — 13 points, 8 assists, and zero turnovers.
For any of you that were talking shit about Team USA, bet you aren’t now after we fucking WALLOPED Iran, are ya? That’s what I thought.
The Cubs have already gotten great returns, all things considered, in their first two deals. They got a top-20 organizational prospect from the Braves for Joc Pederson, who was not in their long-term plans. They then dealt Andrew Chafin to the A’s for two players, one of which is currently tearing up AAA and will likely be starting games in the Cubs’ outfield next year.
That is, if he can get time over Jason Heyward, who is hitting 32% worse than an average baseball player right now and still raking in a disgusting amount of cash.
As buyers get more desperate over the next two days (the deadline being July 30), the Cubs could get some significant returns for Bryant, Kimbrel, Baez and Rizzo.
At this point, I’ve bid farewell to all of them besides Baez. As he’s wont to do, he ended a game the other day — just days before he could be traded — in the most electric way possible off of Amir Garrett, proving again why he’s more than just an All-Star.
Baez’s value on the field is immense. But even more, he’s the kind of player that fans will rally around in a way that most baseball players cannot be rallied around. I see no reason why the Cubs shouldn’t keep him, even if they deal the others.
The issue will be whether they like the deals that come through for Rizzo or not. Where Kimbrel and Bryant will undoubtedly yield decent returns thanks to a lot of suitors, Rizzo may not, despite heating up to a point where his OPS is back up at .800.
The Cubs will not look like the Cubs we’ve known for the past seven years in a couple of days, and that will make me count down the days until college football. It will be incredibly sad knowing that all of these guys want to stay in Chicago, but in the end, won’t get their wish.
The best case scenario, in my mind, is extending Baez, getting a great return for Kimbrel and Ryan Tepera, signing Rizzo to a reasonable deal OR biting on a great trade offer elsewhere, and trading Kris Bryant only to re-sign him in the offseason.
But that seems like wishful thinking.
The last week has been a weird, sad one, watching Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo hit homers and the fans reacting, with each party knowing it could be the last time they do so together.
A change had to come eventually, but for some reason, it still doesn’t feel right.
The Sox got Eloy Jimenez back, who promptly hit a crucial bomb that led them to victory, and will soon be getting Luis Robert back as well.
But that’s not what fans want to hear, that getting players already rostered back is enough for them.
Sometimes a championship window arrives abruptly, as it sort of has for the Sox. It can also abruptly close. There’s no reason to not be extremely aggressive right now to fill holes, especially when there’s plenty of teams that could fill them, including the Colorado Rockies, which I think are their most likely partner.
I had a Sox fan tell me this week that, for Javy Baez, he’d give up Jake Burger, who was just sent down to AAA to make room for Eloy. I know that stupidity does not represent all Sox fans, or even most of them, but it does reflect a position that the team’s fanbase is in right now that isn’t unfamiliar.
When you get good, you don’t want to give away prospects or young guys you thought were a part of the future, whether they really are or not. It’s bittersweet, but a handful of them are going to go.
If the Sox do pull the trigger this week, just don’t be the Cubs fan that years later is still whining about giving up Gleyber Torres for Aroldis Chapman, despite the result being the first championship for the team in 108 years.
As Bears training camp gets underway, a million storylines will surface, and some will be worthwhile and others won’t. We’ll get to all of those in the coming weeks.
Football arriving, I can only assume, is like being on a battlefield and seeing friendly back-up in the air above. The summer ending is not worth crying over when months and months of football are on the horizon.
As we wait, we’ll have to temper expectations. The only real upgrade the Bears made this offseason will not even be on the field to start the season.
(That’s of course, besides Anthony Miller, who is a case of addition-by-subtraction if I’ve ever seen one. A 5th round pick for Miller and a 7th? Sure. Would have done it for less, and I guarantee the coaching staff agrees.)
But regardless of expectations, who really gives a shit if it means NFL and college football are around the corner, with full stadiums on the horizon. I imagine the tickets for preseason Bears games may be as sought after — given that Fields will play — as the first couple regular season games. Or at least much closer than usual.
Even if Fields doesn’t play, or play well, this season, at the very least, he gave us something to be excited for. That’s enough for me.
As you crack the first weekend beer, understand that this is likely to be one of the most monumental weekends in Chicago sports, one that could dictate how we look back at each franchise a decade from now.
Enjoy the weekend, and I’ll see you all on Monday for more. STILL GOTTA COME THROUGH CHICAGO!
I got actual chills when you said college football season is around the corner. Best time of the year in my opinion. Nothing better than waking up on a Saturday morning knowing a great slate of games is on the horizon.
Wouldn’t hate to see Coby move. Interesting point about the weak free agent class. I was all in on the Vuc move but you have to capitalize soon on a move like that. I would be happy with Lonzo or Conley. I like Coby’s energy but don’t see him as a key piece on a CHAMPIONSHIP contending team.