Still Gotta Come Through Chicago

For Fields and LaVine, It's Go Time

Happy Friday Chicago!

I really did not want to write tonight.

But every time the newsletter doesn’t go out at 6:30 a.m. on a Friday morning, ChatGPT smiles. LeBron James snickers. My high school teacher who said I’d never amount to anything rejoices. Jerry Reinsdorf’s shoulders decompress. My Dad gets bored at the office.

I can’t let that happen, even if no high school teacher of mine ever said that, ChatGPT is incapable of smiling, and LeBron James and Jerry Reinsdorf don’t know who I am. My Dad still may get bored at work.

Speaking of my dad and work, as the Bears head to Detroit this weekend to take on the Lions, I’m reminded of the last time I hung out with his co-workers, about a year ago. I bet one of them (under the influence) that the Bears would have a better record than the Lions this year. So this weekend’s matchup — Bears (3-7), Lions (7-2) — is a big one for your boy.

“What was the bet, 20 bucks?” … you’re probably wondering. No, the bet was actually a ticket to a Bears-Lions game in 2024, paired with a weekend reservation in either Detroit or Chicago’s nicest hotel. And I would have to go to the game as well, alongside another Bears fan I made the bet with. That’s two more tickets.

The same guy who made this bet was thinking about deleting DoorDash this past weekend to cut down on spending.

Needless to say, I’m going to need one of a few things to happen: the Bears to go on the most improbable run in their existence; my extremely limited investment portfolio to take off; or for Bane to interrupt Sunday’s game with the threat of nuclear destruction.

It’s honestly tough to look at the above options and find the one that’s most likely to happen.

That bet does offer a retrospective glance at just how high I was on the Bears heading into this year. It’s also probably a good indication I should stop watching sports, drinking, or both.

For now, that’s next year’s problem. Plus, that was the old me, the young me.

One of the only cool parts about nearing your 30s is being able to blame moronic behavior on “being young.” It’s honestly a thrill, to say things like “God, I was so young and dumb” about a decision you made 16 months ago.

But there’s some truth to it, you know. Like, when I was 25, I was in the camp with other people who didn’t like The Rock because he seemed sort of full of himself.

Oh yeah, you think The Rock is full of himself? And that’s a stain on his character? You fucking idiot? I know dudes that are full of themselves that will probably never be able to afford a house. The Rock played football for Miami, was a WWE superstar, became the highest paid actor in Hollywood, is jacked, and also just decided he’d start singing and make a few hits in a children’s movie along the way.

No shit The Rock thinks he’s the man. He is!

I’ve come around on that because I’m, again, older and wiser now. I’m older and wiser than I was when I made that bet, too, which is a fact that should realistically void it.

If we want to continue on this, I was also young and dumb when I thought the Bulls hiring a new GM and president of basketball operations in 2020 would change everything. Three plus years later, we’re about in the same place we were when they took over. You could even argue we’re in a worse place.

Finishing work and readying up for a Bulls game in December 2021 is the closest I’ve ever come to capturing the feeling I had when I’d beat my family home in middle school and watch the “Mario — Let Me Love You” music video on repeat in the computer room by myself.

Now, getting off work and knowing a Bulls game is ahead of me feels like heading to the gym for a workout an hour after you broke your headphones. Both dreaded reality checks.

I never had to boat to America, and then find a new job, in a new city, on foot. But I don’t think my great grandfather would trade places with me if he knew he’d have to listen to an electrical remix of a Katy Perry song blaring from the gym speakers while hitting the stair master for 12 minutes.

I also don’t think he’d want a life that revolved around the Bulls, only to watch them on some idle Wednesday and witness Patrick Williams dribble the ball out, down 2, with 1.5 seconds left in the game.

I’m not suggesting I’m a stronger man than my great grandfather, just asserting that every generation in the family has their own battles. I’m fighting mine. And even then, after listening to Katy Perry on the stair master against my will, I awkwardly and quickly tip toe into the locker room on the recently mopped floor to show the janitor looking on that I’m a good guy.

That’s what we call grace — arguably amazing grace.

I once was lost.

I no longer believe the Bears are going to win more games than the Lions. I have now accepted the Bulls will be the Bulls, no matter who’s “in charge” of basketball operations. The Rock and I squashed beef. And the version of me just two hours ago that didn’t want to write has been choked out. We’ve got a lot to get to.

But now I’m found.

Let’s go.

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After four weeks away, Justin Fields will make his return on Sunday against the Lions. The Bears are 8-point underdogs, which feels light, if anything.

Detroit is giving up 30 points per game over their last three. It’ll be Fields’ 34th start as a Bear, meaning he’ll have two “full seasons” under his belt after Sunday.

A, from left to right, Braxton Jones-Teven Jenkins-Lucas Patrick-Nate Davis-Darnell Wright front isn’t perfect. But it’s likely close to the best the Bears have had in four years.

Skill guys will be present, something that couldn’t always be said during Fields’ other 33 starts.

Caleb Williams and Drake Maye both look far less enticing at this point in the college football season than they did before it.

The situation may not be perfect, but whether Fields is ready or not, the time is now. These last seven games are put up or shut up time. It’s time to go.

Even the most fervent of Fields fans have to admit that, because it’s the reality. It’s not up to us whether Fields sticks around for another year after this one. It’s up to the Ryan Poles regime, and the biggest tenure extender that exists for NFL GMs is drafting a new, young quarterback that’s “their guy.”

The Bears will have that chance, no matter the two picks they ultimately land with in the first round.

The Bagent vs. Fields conversation was always just annoying noise that comes with the middle of an NFL season that’s fallen below expectations. Fields’ problem isn’t Bagent — who put in a valiant, solid effort — it’s Williams, Maye, and Michael Penix.

To beat out the college guys, he’s going to have to prove he’s, without question, the guy for the Bears. And even his best run last year, repeated, won’t be enough — in my opinion — to sway things his way.

Objectively, if he is the guy, the Bears are in an exponentially better position. They’d be able to use prime draft capital, yet again, to bolster the roster around Fields. But the unknown is generally much more enticing to both fans and front offices aiming to hold onto jobs.

This puts pressure on Fields, sure, and I imagine he’s feeling it. But it really should do the opposite.

He should go out there and play ball. (Good advice). He should watch some 2022 tape, pop in the Best Of highlights from OSU, and remind himself what he’s capable of. And then he should go out there and play with no fear. He knows the Bears can easily move on from him at season’s end. What else is there to lose?

And, while I think the Bagent-Fields conversation was ridiculous from the outset, it is impossible to deny the difference in sack rate between the two. With the same offensive line, Fields was getting sacked 12.9% of the time. Bagent got sacked 3.4% of the time.

That’s the no. 1 area Fields has to excel in over the next seven games. He has the arm talent. He’s tough, strong, and fast. But you cannot get sacked that often and expect to keep your job in the NFL.

It hasn’t always been his fault, but the side-by-side with Bagent there is damning.

I’m personally excited to take this storyline into the rest of the season, and I’m rooting for Fields.

It’s not just that I’m a fan, it’s that, again, if Fields is the guy heading into next year — if he proves himself in this stretch — the Bears are so much closer to contending in the near-term future than they will be if he’s not.

It’s go time, baby. Let’s see what he’s made of.

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The inevitable happened this week. Shams Charania reported that both Zach LaVine and the Bulls are interested in parting ways and finding a trade partner.

If you’ve watched the Bulls this year, I can’t imagine that elicits an “Oh, no” reaction out of you. LaVine has been awful.

But it should elicit that, because, if you read between the lines, this means that Zach LaVine has requested a trade, but just doesn’t want to be viewed as a bad guy. He’s a Klutch client, meaning that his agency will do whatever they can to manipulate the market, and also that the Bulls front office will likely fold and acquiesce to demands because they’re a bunch of pussies who are scared of agents.

It should elicit that because the Bulls should have traded LaVine at last year’s deadline. They should have traded him before this year. They should have traded him at any time but now, when he’s shooting 40% from the field, 33% from three, and cannot make it to the basket without screaming for a foul while he gets stripped cleanly. He, at one point, was 0-6 at the basket on Wednesday.

During any trading period over the prior two years, LaVine could have yielded a haul — a couple of good first round picks, a talented young player and an expiring contract. Now, my feeling is that the Bulls will be getting an expiring or bad contract, a protected draft pick, and a role player that won’t make a difference in the Bulls’ next five years.

Before pulling two three pointers out of his ass at the end of Wednesday’s loss, LaVine was brutal on both ends, just like he’s been the rest of the season. He’s either gone completely apathetic prior to a trade or he is incapable of ramping things up to a new level to impress suitors. It’s hard to distinguish the right answer there.

There will always be a market for scorers in the NBA, and I guess LaVine is still ostensibly one of those. But his market has to have dropped so significantly over the last month.

Worse yet, the Bulls have to trade him. He does nothing for them now, he’ll do nothing for them in the future. He’s disengaged, ruining the locker room from within, and carrying himself as someone of Devin Booker’s ilk, just with 60% of the capability.

My relationship with LaVine has been complicated. This whole newsletter was basically dedicated to bashing him circa 2018-2019. In this case, my younger self was wiser. I came around on him as he turned into an efficient scorer in 2020 and 2021, ignoring his still-poor defense and his consistently poor clutch play.

The Bulls had to pay him when they did. If they didn’t, they would have lost the asset for nothing. But they didn’t pull the trigger on a trade soon enough, because they’re cowards, and so now their cowardice will justly be rewarded with a poor return.

Even worse yet, the Bulls have no real ambition. At least 28 others teams (sans the Hornets) are looking to win an NBA championship, either now or in the next five years. The Bulls do not care. They want to “compete” and “make the playoffs” in a league where almost two thirds of the teams get to play postseason basketball.

That means, instead of getting back valuable picks and the right young players, they’ll opt for a package that brings them back role players that can help them win, I don’t know, 38 games right now.

The Athletic’s Darnell Mayberry also reported this past week that a source told him the Bulls roster “would look different a month from now”. The players will be different, but the future? It will likely look the same: bleak.

LaVine will be traded before the deadline, and I’m already becoming disinterested in the outcome, for all the reasons above.

Last week, I said Alex Caruso is a better basketball player than LaVine. I still believe that, and I guarantee that the Bulls will get a better package for him than they will for LaVine if they’re both traded separately.

But the Bulls have also reportedly denied calls on Caruso thus far. If that’s so, the Bulls need to immediately sign him to a four-year extension, even knowing that he’ll likely only be good for 60 games per year due to his play style.

If they’re not willing to do that, though, or if Caruso is not willing to re-sign here (who could blame him), the Bulls absolutely have to trade him for that king’s ransom in the next couple of months.

Caruso has been the only bright part of this Bulls team all year. Now, he may be their only chance at a sliver of a bright future, too.

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Thank you so much for reading today’s newsletter. Enjoy your Thanksgiving, and I will see you all the week after that. Don’t forget to drop a comment below, or to refer the newsletter to a friend.