Tag: Bulls

2024-25 Chicago Bulls: A quick preview

The Chicago Bulls appear ready to dismantle their roster and focus on a full rebuild around their remaining young talent. After years without significant roster changes, the Bulls shook things up this summer by trading away DeMar DeRozan, their top …

The Chicago Bulls appear ready to dismantle their roster and focus on a full rebuild around their remaining young talent. After years without significant roster changes, the Bulls shook things up this summer by trading away DeMar DeRozan, their top offensive weapon, and Alex Caruso, their defensive anchor. Although they missed the optimal window to get maximum value for both players, their trades have now positioned the team for a youth movement.

The future now centers around guard Josh Giddey, rookie forward Matas Buzelis, Coby White, and Patrick Williams. Buzelis, the 11th overall pick in this year’s draft, had an impressive Summer League showing and is expected to play a significant role this season. Standing at 6-foot-8 with rare ball-handling skills for his size, Buzelis brings much-needed versatility to the Bulls, though his shooting remains a work in progress.

Despite persistent trade rumors, Zach LaVine remains on the roster, leaving questions about whether the Bulls will trade him before the season or if he still fits into their future plans. Nikola Vucevic has also failed to meet expectations in Chicago, leaving the Bulls with a depleted frontcourt. The only reinforcement heading into the season is the addition of Jalen Smith on a bargain contract.

Matas Buzelis: ‘I feel like I work harder than anybody in this draft class’

Chicago Bulls’ rookie Matas Buzelis generates excitement with his versatility and high basketball IQ. At 6-foot-10, he combines size, skill, and athleticism, making him a valuable addition to the Bulls’ roster. Buzelis comes from a rich basketball …

Chicago Bulls’ rookie Matas Buzelis generates excitement with his versatility and high basketball IQ. At 6-foot-10, he combines size, skill, and athleticism, making him a valuable addition to the Bulls’ roster.

Buzelis comes from a rich basketball heritage. His grandfather, Arvydas Jankauskas, was a former player and coach, and his other grandfather, Petras Buzelis, captained Zalgiris Kaunas, winning six Lithuanian League titles. His grandmother, Elena Buzeliene, is one of Lithuania’s greatest handball players, winning two European Champions Cups. His mother, Kristina Jankauskaite, stood out in Lithuanian youth basketball, while his father, Aidas Buzelis, played in the Lithuanian Basketball League and worked as a massage therapist for the National Team.

In an interview with HoopsHype, on behalf of Call of Duty Black Ops 6, Buzelis discussed his NBA journey, the pre-draft process, his basketball idols, and his goals with the Chicago Bulls.

(During the NBA Summer League in Vegas, Buzelis, rookies and vets participated in the Call of Duty Two-Minute Drill at the War Room suite. After two days, Bronny James won the $10,000 prize).

Nikola Vucevic’s days might be numbered as a Chicago Bull

One former USC Trojan could join another in leaving Chicago.

Nikola Vucevic and his national team Montenegro did not advance past the group stage in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Riga, Latvia, for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Now he can focus on his summer with the Chicago Bulls — or more than likely, without them — as he is projected to get traded before the season. The Bulls look to rebuild their roster, which might mean that “Vooch” will join former USC basketballer DeMar DeRozan in leaving Chicago.

The Chicago Bulls picked Matas Buzelis in round one of the 2024 NBA draft. They acquired former Oklahoma City Thunder guard Josh Giddey in late June, parting ways with Alex Caruso and also trading DeMar DeRozan. The 6-10 Vučević has two years left on his Bulls contract and had this to say about the Bulls last season:

“I think we do have enough on this team to have a better result. For whatever reason, we are not able to do it. We have the talent, we have the players who can do it. The problem is we just haven’t been able to put it together consistency to be able to do it like we need to to be a good team. We show flashes here and there, we do it for a couple of games and then it kind of goes away. That’s been our issue, something to be fixed.”

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Chicago paper report adds to belief USC’s DeMar DeRozan, Bulls will divorce

Will DeMar DeRozan come to the Lakers? The drama builds.

Six-time NBA All-Star Demar DeRozan, one of the best basketball players USC has ever produced, is likely to leave the Chicago Bulls. According to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, the trade that brought Josh Giddey to Chicago was the “final straw” for DeRozan.

“A source told the Sun-Times late Sunday night that the Alex Caruso-Josh Giddey trade was the final straw in DeRozan’s mind for any sort of return, as the 34-year-old will now use his free agency to shop elsewhere,” Cowley reported.

The Bulls’ front office and head coach Billy Donovan have been happy with DeRozan over the last few years. General manager Arturas Karnisovas said about the shooting guard that “DeMar’s been great for us for three years. He’s been invested in the city of Chicago and has been really great to our young guys. So both sides are interested in continuing.”

Yet, the Bulls’ moves paint a different picture.

DeRozan, a USC Trojan and Compton native, will likely want to go home to L.A. to play for the Lakers or Clippers. He deserves to be in a winning situation competing for a NBA title. The Bulls, at this stage of their rebuilding, unfortunately can’t provide that for him.

The Lakers’ interest is genuine, and the Bulls are open to sign-and-trade possibilities, sources indicated. However, any sign-and-trade would have to be for at least three years and at less annual salary than what DeRozan wants. We shall see where he lands, but my best bet is he’ll take less to play for a contender like the Lakers. My sleeper pick would be the Miami Heat.

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Potential Warriors target Alex Caruso traded from Bulls to Thunder for Josh Giddey

The Oklahoma City Thunder acquired all-defensive guard Alex Caruso in a trade with the Bulls.

Shortly after the Boston Celtics were crowned 2024 champions of the NBA, the rest of the association got busy as the doors to the offseason opened up. Before free agency officially got underway, the Oklahoma City Thunder and Chicago Bulls completed one of the first impact trades of the offseason.

The Thunder acquired two-time All-Defensive guard and former champ Alex Caruso from the Bulls in a trade for former lottery pick Josh Giddey. Caruso will join the Western Conference on a stacked young Thunder squad built around a dynamic core of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams.

Via @wojespn on Twitter:

Since last season, Caruso has been connected to the Warriors as a potential target in trade chatter. According to Will Gottlieb of CHGO reported the Warriors were one of multiple teams interested in Caruso at the trade deadline.

The former Texas A&M Aggie is coming off a career-best season with 10.1 points per game on 46.8% from the field and 40.8% from beyond the arc. Caruso added 3.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.7 steals and one block per contest. Caruso was named to the NBA’s All-Defensive second team last season.

This post originally appeared on Warriors Wire! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

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NBA Twitter reacts to Trae Young struggling in play-in game vs. Bulls: ‘He’s a Spur’

Here’s how NBA Twitter reacted to Trae Young’s performance against the Chicago Bulls in the play-in game.

Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks have been eliminated from the NBA’s playoff contention after losing to the Chicago Bulls 131-116 in the play-in game.

Despite finishing the game with a double-double (22 points, 10 assists), Trae Young struggled from the field, shooting 4/12, while he also turned the ball over six times.

Here’s how NBA Twitter reacted to Young and the Hawks missing out on the playoffs.

Watch: Blake Wesley’s Posterizing Dunk vs. Bulls

Oh hello!

While most of the sports world was watching the Kansas City Chiefs dismantle the Miami Dolphins in the freezing cold Saturday night but there were other sports going on as well.

In San Antonio the Spurs were playing host to the Chicago Bulls and former Notre Dame basketball standout Blake Wesley thew down quite the highlight dunk.  You can check it out below:

Those were the only two points Wesley would score on the evening and the Spurs stumbled down the stretch as the Bulls outscored them 15-5 in the final six minutes.  Final score Bulls 122, Spurs 115.

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Fans shamefully harassing Diar DeRozan after the Bulls-Raptors game show some people don’t deserve sports

I wish I could say I was surprised by this shameful behavior from fans

Well. The Diar DeRozan thing was fun while it lasted. But then Toronto Raptors fans had to go on and ruin it by harassing a 9-year-old for cheering on her dad.

Yes, you read that correctly.

Diar DeRozan stole headlines last week during the Bulls play-in matchup against the Raptors. Every time the Raptors went to the free throw line, she screeched. And, coincidentally, it actually seemed to work. The Raptors shot uncharacteristically poorly from the free throw line and lost the game.

Now, obviously, whatever help Diar DeRozan gave the Bulls that night was minimal at best. These are professional basketball players. People scream at them every night. A 9-year-old girl ain’t making a world of difference here. Sorry.

But some fans didn’t take it that way, for whatever reason.

Diar DeRozan actually had to be escorted out of the game because she received online threats after the game, according to reporting from Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes.

Listen, man. There’s not really much to say about this. There’s no need to really break it down. This is just shameful behavior by some fans looking for a power trip.

So what if your team lost? Or maybe your parlay didn’t hit because the team missed some shots. Diar DeRozan didn’t have anything to do with that. She was just there, supporting her dad the best way she could. Doing what we all should be doing — having fun. We’re all here to have a good time because — say it with me — it’s truly not that serious.

This is why some people don’t need sports. Nah — I’ll take it a step further. It’s why some people don’t deserve sports. What a shame.

Jaden Ivey pulling a Chris Webber by calling a phantom timeout cost the Pistons dearly against the Bulls

Poor Jaden Ivey

In basketball, there’s never really one play that absolutely makes or breaks a game — that includes the plays in the waning moments of the game.

Yes, obviously, some plays feel bigger than others. But each moment and action builds and builds until we get to the final result. So it’s hard to say that one play impacts the game more than another.

With that being said, Jaden Ivey’s Chris Webber moment for the Pistons on Wednesday night certainly didn’t help the Pistons against the Bulls.

Detroit had the ball with a chance to pull ahead or tie the Bulls with just under 10 seconds left in the game. Ivey is inbounding the ball for Detroit and the team has no timeouts left. The Pistons have to inbound the ball.

But Ivey doesn’t like what he sees, so he calls a timeout. Normally, that’s the right thing to do. But in this case? It cost his team dearly.

The Pistons didn’t have any timeouts.

Poor Jaden Ivey. You could tell immediately that he’d recognized his mistake after he made it.

The Bulls shot the technical free throw and got the ball back after this. The Pistons had to foul again. The Bulls made all 3 free throws to push the lead to 117-112.

That’s rough, man. It had to be a tough pill for Ivey to swallow knowing that this play put the game out of reach.

But, again, no one play makes or breaks a game. Dwane Casey said as much after the loss, writes ESPN.

“He panicked, but the game wasn’t won or lost on that one play…It was lost in the first quarter. With the laissez-faire approach we had defensively, they got whatever they wanted. It’s such a mountain to climb when you get behind in this league.”

And he’s right. Detroit gave up 38 points in the first quarter and then got outscored 32-18 in the second quarter. The Pistons played catch-up through the entire game and ti’s hard to come back from that.

Ivey shouldn’t hang his head on this. Though we rarely see this, it’s an honest mistake. And one that I’m almost certain won’t happen to him again.

Five Notre Dame Connections to celebrate Michael Jordan’s birthday

Happy 60th to the GOAT!

The greatest basketball player to ever walk the earth is turning 60 today as Michael Jordan celebrates his birthday (sorry Kyle Hamilton).  Jordan starred at North Carolina long before Notre Dame joined the ACC but that doesn’t mean he didn’t have connections to Notre Dame throughout his playing days.

Five of these connections were highlighted during the 2020 documentary series, “The Last Dance”.  For a kid growing up in the ’90s, that documentary was a great walk down memory lane and incredibly informative for stories about Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls dynasty.

What connections to Notre Dame did that documentary have?  Let’s look back at just a few: