WELCOME BACK TO STILL GOTTA COME THROUGH CHICAGO, your less-than-definitive guide to Chicago sports.
Last week’s newsletter, preparing you for what has now transpired. Too much has gone on to fit in one newsletter, so we’ll take it step-by-step. The Cubs exodus, the Sox big moves, the Bears training camp, and the Blackhawks’ massive steps toward the playoffs will all be covered this week.
I sit here and write to you as I suppress the urge to scream at my television as I’m alone watching the USA-Spain game at 12:10 a.m. Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.
These U.S. stars can start by driving to the basket, adjusting themselves a month in to the shorter three-point line, and not making Ricky Rubio look like the second coming of Michael Jordan.
Patriotism does not sleep, and nor does SGCTC, so thank you to those of you who probably inhaled illegal drugs, donned SGCTC t-shirts to Lolla this weekend, and likely skipped sleep until company time on Monday.
While the rest of you have sweet dreams, me and few others are whispering “flash” and “thunder” to each other as Monday turns into Tuesday.
Zach LaVine OVER 9.5 points would hit if the rest of the team realized he’s better offensively than half of them. (EDIT: OVER!)
Subscribe now to Still Gotta Come Through Chicago. Today we’ll hit the Bulls, and the rest of the week we’ll hit all the rest of the madness that has taken place of late:
After one of the saddest weeks of my Chicago sports lifetime, I have been energized by the Chicago Bulls in the year of our lord, 2021, of all teams.
"The Lord Gave, and the Lord Hath Taken Away,” except he reversed the order, and this time the lord came to us in the form of Arturas Karnisovas, that beautiful son of a bitch who has been re-igniting my faith in the basketball denomination of Chicago sports since he arrived a year and a half ago.
The Bulls made an immediate splash as free agency opened on Monday, signing Lonzo Ball to a 4-year, $85 million contract that includes a player option on the final year.
Ball was linked to the Bulls for months, and despite a ridiculous amount of hurdles — his restriction as a free agent, the Bulls cap situation, and others — Arturas got a deal done immediately that sent Tomas Satoransky (love you forever), a second round pick, and Garrett Temple out, and brought Ball in.
Ball wasn’t considered a part of the “tier one” group of point guards on the market, which included Mike Conley, Kyle Lowry, and Chris Paul. But he really should have been. For one, it’s likely that he could have more productive years than almost all of those guys in the coming three years, even next year. But even more glaring is the fact that he came cheaper than all of them, and is a decade — or more — younger than all of them.
This isn’t just a win-now move for the Bulls, it’s also a transaction that sets them up for the future, a feat that looked extremely tricky just a week ago.
Ball is the perfect fit next to LaVine. He’s a good facilitator and defender, areas that are not LaVine’s strong suits. Without a player like Ball — almost exactly like Ball — the Bulls undeniably had a cap on how good they really could be.
He had flaws in his game, too, no doubt. So did every player on the market. The good thing is, he’s not even the player he could eventually be — yet. If he can get better going to the rim, and making plays for others based on his own offensive creation, that raises the Bulls ceiling over the next few years even higher.
I’m genuinely shocked he didn’t get a deal closer to $100 million, which could have disqualified the Bulls from contending for his services. As crazy as it sounds, he’s already one of the best free agency signings in the history of the franchise.
Think about it, he’s younger (and maybe already better) than Boozer when he signed here. He’s younger than Dennis Rodman was and his signing will take the Bulls to a new level in a way that Rodman couldn’t have, given that the Bulls had already won three championships in the 90s.
Ball’s signing signals a shift in the way players are viewing Chicago.
Ball averaged 15 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds last year. He shot just under 38% from three on over eight attempts, a need for the Bulls, and an area where he has improved every single year in the league. Just as his three point percentage has gotten better in each of the four years he’s been in the league, his free throw percentage has as well.
In his rookie year, he shot a putrid 45% from the line. Last year, on plenty of attempts, he shot a completely respectable 78% from the line.
The knock on Lonzo was always whether he could become a good shooter. Frankly, he already has, and who knows how efficient he could ultimately become, especially alongside Nikola Vucevic and LaVine.
He immediately improves the starting line up’s defense. LaVine has gotten better defensively, and is playing some pretty great individual defense on the screen right now, as a matter of fact. Vuc is just not ever going to be a plus defender, though he’s not horrible, and can rebound.
Patrick Williams looks like he could be an all-defense type guy eventually, and now has plenty of starts under his belt to go off of. That’s why Billy Donovan’s reliance on him last year was such a shrewd move, so that when the Bulls needed him to actually be competent in more competitive years — like the next couple — he’d be ready. He’ll also have summer league to hone his skills against lesser competition before the season kicks off again.
Even with those four, that could feasibly be a decent team defense, and an awesome offensive one.
The Bulls could go a few different ways with their fifth starter, and there’s a good shot it’ll be the other free agent they nabbed on Monday, former Laker Alex Caruso.
You may know Caruso as the bald guy on the Lakers who’s circulated the internet through memes ‘cause he’s a white guy who can dunk well over the past few years.
But frankly, he’s a lot more than that. The Bulls signed him to a 4 year, $37 million deal Monday.
For what it’s worth, one of the of all-time basketball minds, John Hollinger, had Lonzo’s worth at about $22.5 million heading into next year. He’ll make less than that. He had Caruso’s at over $12 million, a number he’ll be under in all of his years with the Bulls.
When Caruso was signed, nearly every person I follow on basketball Twitter or Bulls Twitter expressed a bit of shock that the deal had happened. And that’s why you read this blog for all of your Chicago sports information.
June 11:
And just for good measure, to prove I’m not being biased, another blurb from that newsletter:
Caruso, in my opinion, should have been an all-defensive player this year, and probably would’ve gotten the nod had he been a more prominent player. He was one of the best defenders on the league’s best defense, and his worth is reflected by the agony that’s come from L.A. in the last six hours or so since the Lakers lost him.
Caruso isn’t worth that much to a team that stinks. But to a team that’s winning, which the Bulls will be next year, he’s the sort of guy that takes you to the next level in 25-30 minutes per game, like so many of the role players you’ve loved on former Bulls teams.
He’s always been a good defender, or a good “point-of-attack” defender as you’ve seen each media personality say today, which is just their way of plagiarizing what everyone else is saying. The Bulls now have two point guards that can play seriously good defense, and two point guards who can also both play off the ball as wings depending on who’s in the game and what the situation is.
He also shot 40% from three this year on over two attempts per game, again upgrading the Bulls in an area that they needed to see an improvement.
A former G-Leaguer, Caruso had made it in the NBA for a reason, and deserves every dollar of this contract. I’m ecstatic to have him. He also has one of my favorite quotes ever about the NBA grind, and making it in a league where he wasn’t originally wanted.
He carved out a role as the Lakers’ janitor and elevated himself to a point where he became a seriously meaningful player on a championship team (if you count that Mickey Mouse bullshit as a championship).
So, both Caruso and Ball could start from day one on the Bulls, and each could play without the other one as well with the second unit.
If Caruso doesn’t start, they’ll have a good back-up option on the bench, one that makes losing Satoransky sting less, and instead have Thad Young as a starter.
Young was arguably the best 6th man in the entire league last year, so there’s a chance he’ll stay in that role. But he could also end with the starting lineup, which would bolster the Bulls defensively and give them multiple people to run the offense through.
With just two moves to kick off free agency, the Bulls just became immediately much, much better. And it wasn’t easy. These moves simply don’t get done — through sign-and-trades and creatively manipulating the cap — if Gar/Pax are still around.
It remains to be seen what will happen with Lauri Markkanen, but the Bulls could also sign and trade him to upgrade their roster further, and now also have a trade exception thanks to a Daniel Theis sign-and-trade to the Rockets. I loved Theis as much as anyone, but the Bulls couldn’t have kept him with the deal he got, and this way (through sign-and-trade), the Bulls actually got an asset back for him, which is the trade exception. Essentially, that just means the Bulls can take on more money than they give out in a mid-season deal and not be penalized for it — which can be, in theory, very valuable.
In other words, if the Bulls are sitting at the 5 seed midway through the year, they can do even more to upgrade their roster.
All I’m hoping for is to keep hold of Thad Young, who provided immense value to the Bulls last year, and will likely do so again if given the chance. He’s also a player that becomes more valuable when the talent around him is enhanced. Well, it has been.
What’s left on the bench now is Coby White, who, if he is not traded, is even more valuable now. For once, he won’t be relied on to be a facilitator, and thus can do what he does best: score off the ball. Then there’s Troy Brown Jr., who was a great team defender for the Bulls last year. Finally, there’s Chicago and Illinois’ own Ayo Dosunmu, who the Bulls drafted in the second round on Thursday night.
WOOOOOOWEEEE that sounds good.
Round that out with a center who can defend the rim and rebound, a Javonte Green type (Bulls extended qualifying offer to him), and someone in exchange for Markkanen and you’ve got a serious playoff contender and this type of atmosphere in Chicago again:
S/O A Shot on Ehlo:
The Bulls are back to being the Chicago Bulls, and I can honestly say you STILL GOTTA COME THROUGH CHICAGO!
See you later this week, check your email for more newsletters… I’ll be here.
LETS GO!
Still Gotta Come Through Chicago
That slick SOB. Loved the moves. Interested to see what happens with Lauri. The over on season wins is going to get assaulted.
As much as we all love D Rose, that was very well said. Lonzo was absolutely the right choice cause of age and defensive versatility.
Can’t wait for whatever Stacey King screams when we get a Zo to Lavine oop. I hope Sato won’t be in any more of your nightmares waking you up in a deep sweat. Caruso will fill the void
BTW, I did the 25 hour day this weekend without the drugs though admittedly a lot of alcohol.
Love the moves by the Bulls and it is amazing how a change in leadership completely changes the outlook on a franchise. Looks like the Bulls are now back in the fold of a destination city for free agents. Plus only one year under Billy Donovan and Zach Lavine, the defensive weakness, is now beiong called on by Greg Poppovich as the chosen "on ball" defender in the Olympics. That experience will make him even better. 48 wins next year at a minimum.
Cubs are dead to me. Don't go there. I understand everything except Javy.