Bulls combine chronicles: NBA draft speculation and offseason insights

Bulls combine chronicles: NBA draft speculation and offseason insights

[Music] the NBA Combine is come back to Chicago and now they’re done that’s it but what did we learn what did the Bulls do what conversations are being had this is the Bulls Talk podcast brought to you by Toyota Let’s go places along with my friends my guys Kevin Anderson uh bull stats Guru here at NBC Sports Chicago and Bulls Insider Casey Johnson I am Tony Gil gentlemen the NBA Combine it is a tradition uh unique to Chicago they love it here Chicago loves basketball so uh it’s a private event but you know I feel the support of the city whenever the combine when it’s combine time uh in Chicago uh Casey you were there what were the Vibes like at the NBA Combine the sights and sounds for people that don’t have the privilege of of going to an NBA Combine well first of all it’s really turned into I mean it’s always been a good event but it’s turned into a just great event I mean that the setup that NBA has is phenomenal because it’s at win trust Arena and it’s connected to that great Hotel Mar Marquee with the walkway in between you’ve also got the walkway connecting you to the to some of the ballrooms in the mccormic play center so there’s just so much um it’s just ease of you know the all the a lot of the teams stay at that hotel lot all the players do so everything’s right there and I mean you can just mingle in the hotel lobby and run into you know execs agents um coaches and then obviously at the arena you do the same so the whole league is basically here it’s it’s obviously a great networking opportunity and um you know obviously this year there’s a lot of Buzz with with names like bronny James and and LeBron showing up for for the scrimmages uh on Wednesday um so it’s it’s definitely a cool event for sure Bulldog you have uh seen many of combines here come through uh Chicago and you being a sports broadcaster longtime sports broadcaster what what do you think it means for that that the combine is here um that they choose to bring it here uh and what it means for the city that the NBA wants to host the combine here even though you know the draft is obviously in New York it’s also the lottery in the combine have now become one big event and it’s um it’s worldclass City that we’re in right and so it of got to Showcase that I I think the resounding uh feeling from people in the media and the league Echo exactly what Casey just said I think they love having here not only in terms of ease of travel regardless of what city you’re coming from around the country to get in and out Chicago is very very easy but also the amazing restaurants we have here the networking opportunities that the executives and that the media love this is this is the perfect place for it I think you know certainly uh I don’t know the future contract and how how the league works and if they’ve committed to being here for the next five years or 10 years or however long it is but to me it’s it’s a staple of Chicago uh there’s I’ve never heard a single negative thing by anybody saying they wished it were in another city um it’s you know every May the the weather is maybe not as warm as we like it to be some weekends but it’s really nice most times and so it’s great for everybody like it’s it kind of just shows shows off our city and I think it kind of speaks to what we have to offer people as a city here in Chicago and certainly I think that’s one of the you know not to get too far down the road but I think one of the big reasons the Bears want to get a dome stadium and have in Chicago is to eventually host the Super Bowl now February in Chicago is a little bit different than May in Chicago but at the same time the reason is there it’s because we can host tens and hundreds of thousands of people of huge events around the world the lottery is on a much smaller scale there aren’t fans coming in for the lottery and for the combine but at the same time it’s a huge deal it’s good for everybody so yeah it’s it’s fantastic I’m curious KC what is the biggest thing that you go into the lottery and the combine trying to get out of it is it two Scout potential draft picks at uh number 11 overall is it is it to meet up with former friends and colleagues you only see one or two times a year is it to talk to NBA Executives and see what they’re thinking about the Bulls from the outside and and other things around the league like why what do you kind of hone in on when you come to the combine the latter I’m I’m not I’ve never I’ve never been a big draft guy uh obviously it’s important and the Bulls picking 11th uh maybe it’s just because uh you know when I first took over the beat uh full-time was right after the D y so I saw a lot of lottery picks come and go to different degrees of success um and so maybe I’ve always kind of been numb a little bit to the draft obviously it is important but I I focus Less on on that’s part of it I mean we spent one day with the prospects but I’m more into the networking and who you run into and what what you’re hearing I mean you know couple minor stories broke this this week out of the combine I mean uh the Josh long staff is leaving the Bulls staff to go to Charlotte um so I I wouldn’t have got that story unless I was at the combine you know so uh that’s that’s what I’m there for is trying to hear nuggets and like I said at our last podcast this is about the time last year when the Zack LaVine rumors first popped up I will say there was very little buzz on the Zack LaVine trade front uh that I heard this week um the name that I heard more and talking to people that I know around the league that I ran into was Brandon Ingram um that’s a name I think a lot of is kind of moving to the Forefront of trade possibilities this offseason Trey young is another one uh but he’s been out there before um but yeah it’s just uh it’s just you you literally are walking through the arena and you run into a coach or an agent or executive that you know and it’s just um and then quick aside now that I’m just rambling here it was wild at one point I ran into three former bulls that I’ve covered one after the other who all are in the executive ranks so I ran consecutively like within 30 feet of each other I I ran into Elton bran Kyle corver and Mike dun Ley Jr it was just like whoa the Bulls are representing in the in the in the executive ranks man so it’s that that’s the cool thing too is players that you’ve covered who now have moved into executive ship and it’s always good to see those guys Casey I’m curious regarding the Le LaVine front it obviously was new at the combine last year and so it was kind of a big deal for a lot of people the lack of chatter this year for you is it because it is old news so to speak or is it because there just isn’t Buzz surrounding wow where’s where the Bulls going to trade him to it’s both I mean the fact that he’s been known to be available for a while probably dimmed some of it and then the other reason is I think you know I don’t think you’re hearing a lot of U potential Landing spots for him as of May 16th you know I mean obviously that can change between now and the draft but it’s kind of where we are right now um so uh and again I’m not I’m not privy to every conversation or every rumor maybe another reporter heard something I didn’t but I did not hear much Zack LaVine talk in in the conversations I had at the combine I had a question um casc just kind of piggyback off Bulldog’s uh first question to you what do Executives you know when they go to the combine is it like is it more of the chatter the putting feelers out there for potential trades and stuff like that or are they you know are they actually watching what’s going on at the combine trying to get notes and develop profiles for uh these players and if they are or if some are more intent on looking and trying to scout out these potential traffics what are they looking for like we all know the NFL combine and what that is and you know guys are now opting out of the combine in the NFL uh ranks because hey you just go watch my tape and you can see see what I can do but that that that that there’s not a lot of guys oping out of the NBA draft combine um even though we have tape you know on them in the in the same Bane um so what do you what are NBA Executives of teams uh looking for and looking to do at the comine yeah so I mean teams have different processes um I can just tell you that uh and also teams have big staff so there’s probably both networking going on and paying attention going on I mean this this year was was good they got more participation from from the top prospects and so there was uh two two days of scrimmages and one day of testing and drills you know like shooting drills agility drills and measurements and all that stuff so you know here’s the other thing though I mean obviously all these teams and staffs have seen all these players so it’s just one more data point for these guys to add to their scouting process as the draft process unfolds and obviously as Bulldog mentioned it starts with the draft lottery so then you get the draft order set on Sunday it leads seamlessly into the combine it’s really well done now by the league and um you know uh Monday was the the testing and drills and and scrimmage drills day and measurement day and then Tuesday and Wednesday were scrimmages um but you know those scrimmages take a couple hours so there’s still Milling around and talking amongst the teams and I always say like and Executives will tell you this too but you know these guys talk all these teams talk throughout the year I mean that’s what Executives do throughout the that’s their job is to call and get a pulse on what’s going on around the league and have their contacts throughout the league but it’s always different when it’s face to face conversation you guys know that conversations are different when you’re in person with somebody than than when they are on the phone same thing for a reporter I mean you know when I run into an executive that I might have a source type relationship with it’s one thing to talk to that person during the season on the phone it’s another thing to talk to that person in person in Chicago at the combine it just is a little more heightened and uh impactful and it’s just always good to see people in the in in the face to face and in the flesh so it’s it’s it’s it’s so cool that it’s it’s landed in Chicago for for this long and is just a really big event on the NBA calendar Casey did the topic of either Demar dzan or Patrick Williams’s uh impending free agency come up and any any sense of what’s happening there I will say de I did have some conversations with people um about dear and you know a big thing in our a big Trend in our business now is you know uh league league rival Executives believe that’s a phrase you see a lot in journalism now rival Executives believe you know they’re they they don’t know they don’t know exactly what our ters are going to do so it’s still helpful to get a pulse on what the league is thinking but ultimately it’s a bulls call but I can just tell you that in the conversations I had with other teams most teams do believe dear will be back with with the bulls which isn’t a surprise but that’s kind of what the operating overall operating principle of the league is as of May 16th is that dear will be resigning with the bulls I’m curious about uh bronny James um you know certainly he’s got the name recognition uh I think a lot of people were a little bit surprised that he clocked in at 61 and a half without shoes in terms of His official height uh with the measurements um some people projecting him to be a second round pick you have this added Dynamic of is it team going to maybe pick him higher than normal with the hope that LeBron a year or two later signs with him I’ve seen some people speculate that uh you know Brony would most likely start in the G League regardless of who picks them um what was the buzz surrounding Brony and the expectation for what he could be as an NBA player yeah I don’t know if people have seen the the pictures of his media scrum uh so we got to talk to the prospects on uh Tuesday um I actually was not at brony’s session Ryan Taylor from NBC Sports chicago.com was covering the evening session for me I was there at 9:00 am for the 9: to 10 a.m session with a lot of prospects we’ll get into in a second um and by the way the access is phenomenal I mean all the prospects sit at a table and you just get to walk around and and talk to them for as long as you want they’re there for like 15 20 minutes so you can hit multiple tables and you know sometimes you’ll go over there and they’ll be two or three people you know sitting at the table or two or three reporters only at the table so you can ask them any questions as you want of these prospects that was not the case with Brony James because he was swarmed it was like a Super Bowl sized media scrum um but I I listened to it uh later even though I wasn’t there like I said Ryan Taylor covered for us um he handled himself really well you know I think the fact that he separated the fact that you know him his identity obviously he’s aware of the linkage to his father but he’s got to carve his own path and and make his own name uh he did shoot the ball well for whatever that’s worth on Monday in the in the drills portion and um also had over 40in vertical um which stands out for athleticism again things that probably were already known but it’s going to do them officially in front of NBA the whole NBA watching um but yeah he he to me I got a question actually just uh yesterday from executive they they they were just having fun they said is bronnie James drafted if his last name is not James or or he doesn’t have the name that he has and I would probably lean towards I I don’t know his game incredibly well I would probably lean towards no uh or maybe late second round I mean he had a uh because not only did he um does the size is is a concern but you know I don’t know where his Medicals are I don’t want to speculate but I mean obviously he’s been clear to play but that incident happened and that my point is like you’re definitely banking on Legacy and upside with him and hopefully he’s healthy and has a long productive NBA career you know LeBron showing up Wednesday at at wintrust certainly reminds everybody that the potential of maybe you know if you draft Brony maybe LeBron will be playing at some point with your franchise but that’s all just speculation for now I mean I was impressed with him answering that he’s not looking to play with his father and he wants to create his own kind of Des and the the realism of who he wants to play like right Derek white jaru holiday right like he recognizes and that to me signal to me like oh he’s a smart player like he understands like hey I’m not an athletic freak like my dad right like this one ofone type of body type because I’m a smaller guy but I know how to play basketball and I know how to win and I know how to contribute to winning uh on a roster and I think that I think that in itself should be an attractiveness uh to NBA team uh that the uh I guess the the weight in terms of to get him there it it probably won’t be long even if you have to send him to the G League uh to start but I think he can be a contributor to the NBA uh to an NBA team and a winning NBA team um put in the right obviously organization and I was I think that was probably the most impressive thing out you know outside of like his measurables his shooting and the shooting drills I saw was you know he performed really well in that um but that really kind of popped out at me of hey I know that hey if I become a superstar cool but he has an understanding of how he plays uh and how he can contribute to an NBA team and he doesn’t have these like outlandish kind of thoughts and that we typically see oh you know I want to be the of course everybody wants to be the best right but having a realistic view of your game and what you can provide I think is essential for NBA players you know that that self-awareness is a good point Tony and it actually reminded me of a conversation I had with Cody Williams who’s one of the names we’re going to get into that I’ve been writing about as you know maybe if he’s there at 11 he certainly seems like an AK type player um I asked Cody if if there are players that he admires or tries to maybe pattern or emulate some of his game after and he brought up Jaden McDaniels and it’s like you don’t you you don’t usually hear you know potential lottery picks citing you know Allstar level role player in a defensive minded guy like J McDaniels but to me it speaks a lot to his self-awareness and his presence of mine you know he said like look look I want to be an elite level defender in this league and you know you got to know the G NBA game to be citing Jaden McDaniels as a as an influencer role model so I thought I thought that was cool um would you guys want to go to work with your dad I don’t know if I would I know my son wouldn’t son I’m joking for my son’s not even sure what I do for a living by way I mean I mean not especially like with this L like I guess I guess when you watch Young Players they’re learning a lot right about how to control my finances how to have my own home how to you know say no to going out or yeah maybe I’ll go out with a team for like like these decisions that they have to make to grow into the men that they’re going to be at the NBA level like he won’t be able to do that because his dad will be essentially still be his dad um there so there’s like no going out no you’re not going out no you’re not doing this no you’re not doing that like allowing him to make his own mistakes to say no I stayed up too late I’m tired for practice today like him being able to do that on his own um I think it’s it I I don’t think it would be fun for for him like I wouldn’t want to do it I wouldn’t want to I wouldn’t want to go to work with my dad and I I think when my sons are old enough I don’t think they want to go to work with me either there’s just like the dynamic there is weird the only other cop I can think of I believe keng gy Jr and Senior played on a team together at one point right that’s the only other fatherson that I can recall uh that played together and I know that LeBron’s uh longevity in his career is certainly outstanding I know he stated it as a it’d be nice right to to play with his son but I you know I don’t get the impression necessarily that bronnie would be all about it um you know I I kind of like try to put my shoes but I want to go to work with my dad every day and I think there’s a you know certain separation that needs to occur from parents to children that’s probably healthy and the way it should be but if it happens you know I’m sure they’ll make the most of it and it’ll be a huge media story um if that occurs but I kind of get the impression that bronnie would like to pave his own path Casey uh you you made a a slight mention about uh Cody Williams um and I I guess this is the section where we kind of do a deep dive into you know the players that you uh talked to and you saw uh at the combine I guess I’ll start with this who are you most impressed by coming out of the draft uh out of all the potential picks that the Bulls uh could have uh at 11 uh as far as from a media standpoint or from a basketball standpoint oh is it two is it two different answers well yeah I mean I always I’m I always I always joke with people about how I you know I I love talking to these young kids to see like you know I remember talking to Paul George the NBA draft com man that’s how old I am a million years ago and going damn that dude’s impressive he’s gonna have a future in media and now he’s like podcast Mania you know it’s like so I don’t know I just I always connect with guys on uh on a media level um the two that of the mo I spent time with about six players and the two that really stood out from a media perspective were Cody Williams and um Kyle filipowski from duke um he uh so yeah I mean but uh from a basketball standpoint I I think it’s really going to be hard to predict uh as of May 16th where the who the Bulls are gonna end up with because I think this draft is really hard um to predict overall I mean somebody you might think is pegged for fourth or fifth might still be on the board at 11 just because beudy is really going to be in the eye of the beholder of this draft it’s that varied and that the the the range is just too too great um you know the four guys that I’ve written about the most to this point are the two I mentioned Cody Williams and Kyle Phil palowski and Dalton connect and Isaiah ker point guard from USC uh and yes Isaiah knows Caleb Williams and is friends with him so he’s got that connection if he were end up in Chicago um but uh yeah I mean to me I I already said this before Cody Williams to me seems like an AK type of player if he’s there at 11 I’m not sure he will be uh the the thinking on Philip palowski is like he’s a versal big and you’re gonna be losing Andre Drummond and he does kind of fit like the skill set that AK usually favors but someone made a good point like you can sign a backup center for the veterans minimum that will be less of a cap hit than the 11th pick so are you going to are you going to burn the 11th pick on that unless you project him to be a starter that can replace V in two years so this is why I think it’s so hard um you know connect obviously would add shooting and athleticism and he’s got a little more toughness than I would think and then for all the guards on this roster you really don’t have a true point guard although you know I don’t want to sound like I’m hating on Kobe white I like he showed great great growth in that department but he still to me is sometimes more lethal off the ball um so uh that’s where Isaiah Kier would fit in it’s interesting to me that that connect and Williams um in one mock draft to see heav going three and four right so like you would think you would think well there’s no chance they’d ever be there at 11 but there’s so much uncertainty regarding this year’s draft which mock drafts are those though which mock drafts are those because the NBA draft.net yeah nbadraft.net as Cody Williams going third or fourth to San Antonio and connect going third to Houston right and so it’s just it’s just like throw a dart out there yeah yeah you know I’m looking at I mean there yeah there’s certain yeah and again mock drafts are all over the place which speaks to the variance in this draft uh I’m actually looking at a dra mock draft I had not found yet that is done um by a pretty uh good draft expert Jonathan werman at nba.com yeah and by the way bronny James is not listed in either of the two rounds so um and he’s got Cody Williams at 11 with dton connected 10 right before so you know it’s another name and I talked to this guy for a while uh and you know he’s all over the place too I’ve seen him as high as three to a g-league ignite Prospect in Ron Holland um but you know there’s another guy that potentially could slip and and F 11 now he’s only 18 but and um and he hasn’t shot the ball well but he’s just got like so much athleticism and um great Rim attack uh physical specimen 66 204 um you know the scups that I picked that you that you you that you bank on I mean again it’s it’s going to be hard to predict in miday but they’re the Bulls I can tell you I said this last um podcast after the draft lottery the Bulls are confident that they’re if they stay at 11 that they’re going to get a contributor Bulldog I had a question for you what what does that say about a draft class that they’re isn’t a consensus at all about who should be number one that uh the variance uh is is is so crazy that nobody knows who’s going where that no team knows what they they’re going to take that it it seems like it’s it’s requiring like an extra Le level and layer of work for these teams to kind of figure out who which player fits them uh the best um when we look back at this and again there’s going to be Allstars there’s going to be maybe a superstar in this draft but going into this draft class what does it say that nobody knows what’s going on most years I think the consensus top three end up being the top three players picked right I think most most year certainly by June now that may change you some just got done the combine uh there’s no more film to watch but at the same time things could change between now in late June uh I think ultimately when it comes down to the draft I think it just says there’s a lot of it’s like the NBA right now there’s a lot of parody right there’s a lot of parody in the league parody in the draft there is I think the addition and the explosion if you will of non-north American talent is kind of added to this where um you know we’re probably first overall pick is not going to be American probably French again right um it’s so when we look at like the the European talent and the world class talent coming in every draft is going to have like you said it’s all stars it’s contributors it’s starters on Championship quality teams um I think it just speaks to overall how we look at scouting and how we look at drafting and yeah there may not be this franchise game-changing player at the top but I think a lot of you know a lot of the league right now like what are the skills that team’s value regardless of position shooting playmaking like the the amount of I think it was Zack heedy went out and correct me if I’m wrong Casey if you saw the numbers I think he hit like 14 of 25 threes right and like Edy was considered to be a horrible shooter right yet you look at the skill level of some of these guys and everybody’s got to shoot everybody’s got to shoot and regardless of what position you’re at and even like cling was was playing really well and like you know I I like watching these guys develop and watching like if you kind of like take a sample of like every five years of the combine and Casey I’m curious for this for you because you have been to the combine now for many many years um not don’t want to throw out you know the exact number I don’t want to you know say how old you are uh but when you look at the skills that you see the players it is very different from what you saw this week than from what we saw in the early 2000s when you were talking to Elon brand as a player and Tyson Chandler as a player right oh for sure and it’s funny BR because there’s another guy I I spent some time talking to um impressive kid very well spoken but actually somebody asked him should payter be fired for utilizing you incorrectly since you shot so well on Monday he had some he had some fun with that but yeah I mean you know it’s you’re talking about you know I said I talked to Phil palsky for a while I mean there’s a you know seven-footer that said he you know models his game somewhat after low marketing I mean seven-footers can shoot now and have to be Adept in the post but also you know pick and pop so that’s obviously one big difference and then just the position L the position L Nature to the game and then the defensive versatility that’s another big thing is you really need to you hear guys talk about their desire to guard from one through four because that’s really kind of what most players can or try to be able to do now it’s guard one through four um but uh yeah it’s uh and the league is is ever evolving and this is where it is and it’s going to stay here for a while I think I mean I know there’s some people that aren’t like thrilled with the modern NBA and how the uh steep stepic of the the league has occurred with the three-point shot and the explosion and you know you certainly see what with Boston’s offense right you have you what eight players who get four more three-point attempts a game this season with that team that the three-point shot is just so prevalent in the league and so many whether it’s copycat or not just so many teams are trying to mimic that approach is that you have to be able to shoot and the skill sets that guys have to work on when they’re in aou into High School into college if they play a year or if it’s in the the G League or overseas like those skill sets are not the same skill sets you had to work on 10 years ago they’re not and so it’s just interesting to me and see how like the the combine and the skills that are are just so important how it kind of lags behind the league by like a three to five year stretch with that because that’s what coaches and executives are looking for it’s not a coach who is an executive who is looking at a six foot1 power forward or even a center in today’s game is not going to be looking at the same skill sets right now that they were 10 years ago in that same position they’re not and so that’s just the reality of the league and what guys have to wor you know work on I think circling back to the question you asked Tony is what’s it say about this year’s class I think it says that there are so many guys who are so skilled in so many different ways that Executives don’t truly have a great bead on somebody and where they fit in terms of picking fifth or 15th because there’s so many high quality players out there like I I I know there’s the narrative that well this is a down year and you I get because there’s no like first overall franchise player but at the same time there are a lot of high quality players out there and because somebody May value a player at four and the other person has him on their board at 20 just speaks to me the quality of talent we have overall in the league and entering the league I don’t know about you guys uh but at least for the Bulls and this is how and we’re going to trust me Bulls fans we’re going to Deep dive in as the draft gets closer we’re going to bring you more and more information we’re going to get people on to talk about specific players um as we get closer we’re just a little bit too far out to get into specifics uh in terms of uh different players if you want just a rough one uh KC has uh definitely written out a NBA mck draft for the Bulls specifically and the different players uh that he thinks that the Bulls will be looking at uh but in my mind I’m I’ve already kind of taking out all the guards that that will possibly be there for the Bulls to take just because like we’ve had we’ve already had this conversation last offseason just about how many guards uh the Bulls have at at this present moment so K if he’s there you’re you’re you’re discounting him you don’t want the Bulls picking him no no unless there’s there’s some movement with the Zach trade like but if if there isn’t anything in terms of on that Horizon I I think you got to think about who’s going to be replacing Vu or who’s going to complement Vu or both uh and I think that is the highest on the priority list for uh for the Bulls um so for me if I’m going by Casey’s at least earlier list filipowski and Williams and if Ed’s there like honing in on the big forwards and the centers The Versatile centers that can protect the rim because it’s something and we’re gonna get to that in just a second uh that the Bulls can use defensively in a merad of ways uh to help change what they do uh defensively and be more consistent on that front defensively that’s kind of where my thinking is as we get closer to the Bulls uh taking uh some somebody at number 11 as the draft approaches so again I know what you guys were thinking but that’s kind of where my mind is at uh heading into the draft are you saying the Bulls need Rim protection is that what you’re were saying Tony I think so I think so I think think I’ve heard someone else Express that same sentiment recently that would be called what we call transition on this yeah so um The Fill people in uh are uh hopefully a future First Team all defense uh Ford SLG guard Alex cuso was on TNT uh on uh on Wednesday night uh he was part of the panel with Draymond and and and Shaq and and Charles and and uh Kenny and his he talked to his uh they had a good little bit with Ernie Johnson about being the son and it was it was good they had a good time uh and they had to kind of like introduce AC on the show in the tip off show they Ernie spent a couple questions and the guys did too just asking Kusa about how you know like one of the first questions was to Caruso did you have did you know you were a good Defender initially when end the league and did you have to kind of like base your game off of that or was that something you had to develop and AC said he had that was something he had to really work on and develop because that’s new it was a skill that was g g him mince on the floor Shaq asked a very general question that elicited a lot of response from people because of uh Caruso’s response Shaq asked him when you’re guarding a star player somebody who you know is capable of getting 30 and 40 at night when you’re guarding that player do you prefer to keep him on the perimeter and force him to take a jump shot or do you try and close off the jumper and let him you know get some drives which of the two would you prefer and Caruso’s response was this is quoting depending how your team is built too I played in Chicago in the last couple years we didn’t have the best Rim protection like I did when I was in LA and immediately Dray mod literally went whoa right and so they had a nice little back and forth about this and cruso said let’s not a shot even Kenny said well that’s not a shot at V right and but AC responded to it and it’s just the reality because in La he had ad as your backup Rim protection there and there are certain things you can do as a defensive perimeter player where you know you’ve got that safety net behind you in one of the best Rim protectors in the league and you’re going to defend a player differently when you have that versus when you don’t certainly I think even V would admit this he’s not a great RI protector but that that that quote in that moment went a little viral and the the reactions to it were people saying why did he use past tense when he said played in Chicago from I’ll get F out of here it was just it was wild to see the reactions to that and for anyone who said why do he use past tense the season’s over season’s over season’s over very his season’s over he’s not in the playoffs right now all right I have so many thoughts here all right first of all this is a clearly an offseason podcast topic it’s those of us who are star for Content okay that there’s that okay that’s the first reaction the second reaction is I liked how Kenny Smith jumped right in and said like that’s not a shot and then Caruso followed up with even V would say that which by the way he would he’s not a good Elite rim protector but guess what Vu started all 82 games for a top five defense in 2223 so he can be a responsible Team Defender in the right scheme it was not all V’s fault the Bulls dropped into the 20s last season now he did not have a great defensive season but and then last thing I would say is as we joked about in the uh in the chat uh our own text string uh no lies were spoken I mean it’s like what of of course what I said we all saw it yeah and also of course I I read I took away my biggest take away from the comment was it speaks to Caruso’s defensive intelligence and IQ of course he’s going to guard people differently depending on his P surrounding personnel and if you have ad back there you’re gonna crowd a guy and make turn him into a driver if you have um V back there you’re going to probably you know sag off a little bit and try to your best at Closeouts to keep them on the perimeter more that’s just common sense oh man but God bless Bulls fans for it and reading every little Nuance into the the past tense and everything holy cow man yeah yeah I mean it’s it’s like like if you’re that if we’re that honed in on what AC said that means I’m assuming that you watched a lot of Bulls basketball and so you saw it you saw all year how they play defense and how they had to play defense when V is on the floor versus when V was off like when you have a Hall of Fame Defender behind you that you know that can uh stop shots or impact shots on the way to the basket you can be a little bit more aggressive you can you feel you you feel a bit more Freer uh to take a little bit more risks uh defensively when you have that guy behind you now when you don’t have that guy behind you you do have to play differently um and I thought like what what you said KC I thought it spoke more about his basketball IQ that fans should and it’s the reason why they probably had him on the show is because he can speak to that uh on a very detailed uh level that we can all understand about what what he means and and what he’s trying to do when he’s on the basketball court and the way he goes into when he was talking about well how do you defend Joker he’s like I probably could defend him you know pretty well himself um because he’s a smart defensive player uh and I enjoyed what he brought to that broadcast uh in ways that really only Draymond can really speak to I don’t I don’t really view Shaq or Charles or Kenny as Elite Defenders while they were playing uh but it was nice to get a a a a a guy that’s in the middle of it in the thick of it knows what defensive coverages are current NBA Defensive coverages are to speak uh intelligently about it uh but also explain it in a way that we can all understand and Trust we all all Bulls fans understood what what he was talking about and then it wasn’t it wasn’t a shot it wasn’t a shot again selfawareness is is the thing here of understanding your personnel understanding who your teammates are who you’re playing with and try to figure out best ways to use each of their skill sets and weaknesses to help the team win and I think Alex is is and that’s why the Bulls want them around right that’s why they it’s hard for them to trade him away because of what he brings in that factor by the way one more thing who was uh the starting center when Alice Caruso earned his first team all defensive selection it was Nia vuich it was not Anthony Davis and obviously I’m having some fun with that because obviously his opportunity with the bulls was greater than when he was with the Lakers his role is much more significant but my point is like he’s not thrown V under the bus if he’s you know Vu started all 82 games for a top five Center while Alex kuso is earning First Team all defense he’s just playing out a simple fact nicoa vich is not anite rim protector breaking news okay like speaking to the basketball IQ part if Caruso would have answered that question by saying all I care is shutting down my guy I wanted him to have zero points I don’t care what else is happening I need to shut down my guy um which some players would have answered that question that way right but AC knows fundamentally that everything you do defensively you’re not on an island you’re all connected which is a huge thing that Billy D spoke to about the connectivity from a team defensively and I think if you were to ask Jaden McDaniels for example on how he defends somebody I think his answer would probably have something to do with r Rudy gobear right like he would say well if I know that Rudy’s back there that gives me a safety net I’m going to play my defender in such a way that takes advantage that if he does get by me you’ve got a defensive player four-time Defensive Player of the Year back there um that’s what smart players do so like Alex answered that question very honestly and candidly and people are kind of like raising their eyebrows about it but at the same time like he said the right thing for how a Defender you do take into account who’s on your floor with you at that time and yeah Vu listen Vu is not a great interior Defender and and yes to your point Tony when they look at number 11 they probably should in some way factor in interior defense defense there I mean I even have said that when they look at aack LaVine trade they should get a plus defender in return a big plus defender in return for Zack LaVine in terms of what compensation they should get that’s the first thing I should look at so we all know it’s an issue they finished 22nd in the league in defensive rating this past season that’s a massive drop off to go from five for 22 without that much of a Personnel change certainly Patrick Williams being hurt for much of the season is is part of that and we know that they’ve got defensive issues overall and that’s something they that will probably be a big theme heading into training camp with this roster and how they can improve that next year uh but at the same time Caruso is a incredible Defender one of the best perimeter defenders in the entire league and so take him at his word young players you know at Old when he does a hockey broadcast likes to say for all you kids out there watching this game look at what this player is doing I would say for all you kids out there who want to play basketball either at the high school level college level or Beyond um watch Alex kuso and listen to what Alex kuso has to say because he has a huge High basketball IQ and it’s his answer should make a lot of people feel good about kuso it doesn’t make him feel good about F but it should make people feel good about kuso and and and what his postc career TV might look like too speak of Caruso all defensive teams get announced next Tuesday um to all Bulls fans and that’s when we will do our next episode reacting to those news uh if or not he’s gonna make all defensive team is which one he’s gonna make um and and we’ll be able to talk about that talk with KC about what he’s heard and all things of that nature uh and also well do if you want to tease a little bit Yeah of the topic that we’re going to talk more in depth on next week uh along with uh the Caruso conversation about all defensive team uh but you had a very very interesting uh set of tweets that kind of spark uh this conversation that we’re going to dive more into next week so there is a a fundamental conversation happening in the Bulls fandom right now about what do you do with this team moving forward and the huge flasho exhibit a of this is AR D rozan like the there are are people who are fundamentally do not want D rozan back on this team not because he can’t contribute not because he’s not playing at an All-Star level and it won’t have 25 a game for the next two or three years they’re people that believe the only path to success to go from a playing team to a true second round Conference Finals team is to tear it down to the studs in bottom out and try and get first pick top five pick whatever it might be um and so I fundamentally disagree with that assertion overall I don’t think it’s as cut and dry as that so I I did a little research assignment for myself last week and I said okay I’m gonna look at the last five years in the NBA the last five Champions those five Champions which have all been five different teams we’re in an incredible um year of parody in the era of parody in the league right now the last five Champions how many of those teams had top five picks on those rosters of players that they drafted who played a single minute in the playoffs the year they won the title right so again a a championship team in the last five years you drafted a player they drafted top five overall uh or and played a single minute in the playoffs and of those five championship teams not a single one zero had player that they draft in the top five perform in that team in the playoffs and so that’s that’s interesting to me right there’s a lot of things we can take away from that and that’s part of the discussion that we’re going to have next week and the other thing I looked at is all right everybody’s talking about first overall right and certainly U Minnesota is having a lot of success uh with drafting first overall Oklahoma City as well currently in the playoffs though both teams may not be in the playoffs for very long um you know past this weekend uh but they’ve had certainly great seasons and it’s it’s because of you know in part because of the players contributing that were drafted first overall by those franchises I went back to the last 40 years in the NBA which is certainly a long time we’re talking three different eras of basketball in 40 years right go back 40 years teams that drafted first overall how many teams that made that pick a first overall won a title within 10 years of making that pick the answer is three three only and I would actually argue that two of those three are anomalies and shouldn’t count so the three are Houston Rockets drafting AEM elijahwan uh and then literally 10 years later winning the title in 94 with the Rockets could you argue they only won because Michael retired at that point probably however first overall with theem won a title exactly 10 years later the San Antonio Spurs had a very good team go completely South when their best player all NBA Center David Robinson got hurt and missed the entire season and theyve picked first overall and they got a generational player in Tim Duncan and Tim Duncan and Robinson formed the foundation for a dynasty for the next 20 years I think they went 18 straight Seasons without missing the Playoffs if I remember correctly it’s something there’s something extremely high at that point they of course won multiple titles after picking first overall the Third team is Cleveland it’s not because of picking LeBron James first of all overall they didn’t win a title within a decade of picking LeBron uh first overall they actually had a time period in which they picked first overall three of four years incredible I don’t know if it will ever be replicated and this is probably a big reason that the lottery odds got changed they had Kyrie Anthony Bennett and Andrew Wiggins who they eventually traded and flipped for Kevin Love and they won a title after picking Wiggins first overall but in reality to me they won that title because LeBron had rejoined them in free agency after leaving Miami and so they didn’t win the title because of that first overall pick it was just they they essentially flipped they had Kyrie certainly future Hall of Famer uh but they essentially flipped Wiggins for love and and made that the foundation of that title team so of those three teams two of them I I think are so the the foundational question is is tanking and picking first overall a viable path to winning a title and I’m not sure it is certainly history has told us that it is not um so that’s the basis of I think what we’re going to talk about in depth next week is how do you build a championship team and there are a lot of really good arguments on both sides and I had a lot of people so very smart basketball people in in my mentions make their case for why yes taking truly is the way and there are very good valid points in that I have a lot of points on my end that will push back to that and we’ll certainly talk about it and let everybody else decide on their own how do you best build a championship team should have been four teams with a number one pick if Derrick Rose didn’t get injured it would have been four would have been four would have been four you’re right for that debate and that conversation because I have thoughts uh as well I’m pretty sure casc has thoughts uh so this going to be an interesting conversation stay tuned for next week we’re going to be reacting to uh all defensive teams I think all NBA comes out uh next week there probably won’t be any Bulls on that but there certainly there’s a basketball cented podcast we love the NBA here so we’re gonna get into it a lot so and the conference title matchups to talk about conference Conference titles yeah by the way I I don’t think we’re going to get my predicted uh Thunder tea wolves match up into w I try to tell you slow down man I try to tell you slow down it’s G to be fun we’re going to enjoy it so this has been the bull Talk podcast brought to you by Toyota Let’s go places for Casey Johnson Bulls Insider for bull stats Guru Kevin Anderson I’m Tony Gil we’ll catch you guys next week on the bull podcast peace all right now that’s over I want to tell you the three keys to being a real Chicago sports fan it takes guts sacrifice and downloading the NBC Sports Chicago app when there’s highlights you can pounce on them when there’s exclusive insights you listen and take notes and you won’t get blindsided with the push alerts so download it

Join K.C. Johnson, Kevin Anderson, and Tony Gill on the Bulls Talk Podcast as they dive into the latest NBA Combine discussions and offseason chatter surrounding the Bulls. From analyzing prospects to evaluating team strategies, they share their thoughts on key topics like the lack of chatter on Zach LaVine (6:50). They also share reactions to notable players like Bronny James (11:40), and they break down Alex Caruso’s defensive comments on TNT Tip-Off (33:19).

#ChicagoBulls #AlexCaruso #ZachLaVine

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