PRESS CONFERENCES: Is This Bulls Training Camp the MOST PHYSICAL in Years? | CHGO Bulls

PRESS CONFERENCES: Is This Bulls Training Camp the MOST PHYSICAL in Years? | CHGO Bulls

Patrick was all in today. He was fine, recovered fine, everything was good. Anybody else? Uh, thank We kind of held Josh Giddy out of kind of some of the running stuff. He kind of I think the day, what was I was today? Thursday, I think on Tuesday, maybe. He kind of like tweaked it his ankle a little bit. Nothing major. He practiced all all of yesterday. But they wanted to hold him out of some of the running stuff that we did non-content just to give him an extra day, more precaution than anything else. But as of right now, he should be totally full go tomorrow. Um, you mentioned uh on media day about kind of catching some teams by surprise this past year. Uh, just about how fast you played. Um, I I feel like every year teams kind of like look and see what happened in the finals and they try to emulate some of that with the Pacers and Thunder playing as hard and fast as they did. Um, do you feel like teams will kind of catch up to that and how do you plan to adjust that? Um, well, I think the league had been trending, you know, pace-wise for a while. Like, I mean, it two years ago maybe Indiana clearly played faster than everybody else, but it wasn’t like so the teams were so far behind. But I think if you just look at the evolution over the last 10 years and you take the fastest place team 10 or 12 years ago and put them in today’s NBA, they wouldn’t probably even be close to being the So, the game evolves that way. Um, I think the other part of it too is, you know, the rules have changed. You know, so much of it was there was a lot of defensive protection, you know, for the offense, you know, where you were worried about a big part of it was not fouling, you know, keeping teams off the free throw line. Then I think last year they kind of evened it up with maybe they felt like the defense was at such a disadvantage that it was really too far lopsided towards favorability towards the offensive player and there’s way too many advantages and they kind of tried to maybe even that gap a little bit. So I think maybe last year pre I should say last year the previous year like right after the all-star break I think they kind of got back to more. So you’re always adjusting whether it’s rule changes whether it’s the pace and speed of the game. Um, I think the physicality for everybody’s probably got a lot higher than maybe it was four years ago where I think everybody was concerned like listen we just can’t keep putting teams to the free throw line defensively and a big part of defense was like not fouling. That’s still the case in terms of you don’t want to foul three-point shooters or jump shooters. But there was a lot more on the handing. Remember remember all that stuff all those really smart players with you being in the bones they catch it and just swing it through and they walk to the free throw line. like some of that stuff’s gone now, right? And players have to adjust to it. So, there’s been way more physicality, I think, in a good balance way. I just think that they felt so much the defense was at such a disadvantage of like, how do we guard? We can’t do this, we can’t do that. And I think that they tried to even that out a little bit. So, when rules change, players change, things change. I think, you know, you kind of have to keep changing with it. It’s just just inevitable. So, for you guys, do you feel like you have to ramp up your pace even more to kind of like get ahead of that? Um, I mean, I think we’re still going to try to play fast. Um, in reality, they’re only going to move as fast our legs go, right? So, I mean, I I think we played at a good speed. Um, somebody told me this, I don’t know if this is true or not, but someone said maybe we had scored or more transition points or played out more in transition than any team the last 10 years. So, you know, we want to maintain that pace, but I would also say, you know, looking at the last game of the year where the game kind of got bogged down as it does sometimes in the half court against Miami, you know, we didn’t handle a lot of that stuff very well and that’s the area that we got to get better at. Um, so I do think we’re going to need to play fast. Um, can we play faster? I don’t know. I don’t want to do it at the expense of taking bad shots or turning the ball over, but certainly we want to play with good tempo. I mean you you talk about the sort of shifted physicality like it’s a league watching and I I just remember when I was at OKC they kind of had there was points of contention where you know they staff would be worried about like folks all summer changing official that’s been the past year so it can’t like how are you sort of addressing that going into the season knowing you have to address physicality also trying to understand how you have to play to dance with officially yeah I mean I think it’s a good point you know just from the perspective of you Well, every September we’re going in the head coaches meetings and generally a good portion of that meeting is okay, here are rule changes, here are points of entries, here’s what we’re focusing on. You know, clearly to your point, you know, coming back a couple years ago after the All-Star break, it looked like they were going to let a little bit more go and I think it probably took a little bit, you know, it took a lot of people by surprise. Wow, this has changed, you know, but inevitably you’re going to have to change. Um, I think they thought maybe the game was getting, you know, too many free throws and like I said earlier, too many advantages for the offense. So, I don’t know if there’ll be any change at the All-Star break. You kind of have to deal with that when it comes, but it’s not like you go to those meetings and they’re saying, “Hey, we’re going to do this and at the All-Star break, we’re going to change.” You don’t really see that. I think that they feel like the the balance between the offense and defense is at a pretty good place right now leaguewide. Well, you can’t play everybody, but last year Jaylen Smith lost his job really for no reason, right? Just Zach was playing. You had three centers who were playing at a high level, right? How do you kind of plan to approach that position? Well, you know, I think I think uh a couple things. One, I really appreciated the way Jaylen handled himself in that moment. I think one of the things I felt like our team needed was we needed more room presence. I think I talked about this uh you know, prior to the All-Star break. That was a major problem. We were getting outscored by almost five layups per game, coupled with the fact that teams were getting more shots than us. And I just felt like, you know what, Zach could maybe give us some rim protection. You know, I think he did a really good job and I think Stixs, to his to his credit, kept himself ready. Um, I don’t know if there was necessarily at that point in time enough time to try to work two two bigs at the same time. You know, we didn’t really know if that was good for our team with the way we were playing. You know, how would it change our pace? Would it change our tempo? Not a lot of practice time, but like Stixs has been good the last three days in camp. He’s done a really good job. Um, so is Zach and so is Voot. So, like I said, we’re going to need all of them. Um, but he’s come in and he’s worked. Um, and he’s put the the the effort in. He’s doing what he does. He’s shooting the ball real well. You know, do we have to maybe find some opportunities to play two bigs together? Yes. Maybe. Maybe there’s opportunities where certain lineups with him out there may be a little bit better. Um, but I I don’t think we can read into, you know, all of a sudden the season starts and here’s a 10 or 11 man rotation and well then that’s this is who’s playing for the next 82 games because you have fatigue, you have different you start to learn your team, you make different adjustment of changes, different things happen, injuries, foul trouble. So, I think it’s important they all keep themselves. And then the other part of it too, I think, as you look at the playoffs, it was pretty consistent that right when the playoffs started, everybody’s rotation went from like 9 or 10 down to seven or eight. And now you’re starting to see because of the pace that teams are playing more players, you know. So, you I think you’re going to start to see more and bigger rotations throughout the league. What have you seen from Patrick so far? Obviously last year he was like not totally healthy with the summer um and kind of a little bit slow getting into the swing of things. Do you feel like he’s kind of in a better position now to like take a step forward this year? Yeah, I think he’s had a good healthy summer which is I think good for him. Um certainly I think the pace and speed we’re playing at and him to be in good shape and good condition not only for Pat for all those guys is important. Um, the one thing I noticed with him is I think he’s been a lot more physical just all the way around when the ball’s been in his hands, trying to go rebound, trying to use his body a lot more. I’ve seen that. Um, you I think coming off of last year, uh, and the way the season went for him, he’s a pretty prideful guy and he’s also a team orientated guy. So, I think he knows that he can impact the team in a positive way and help us, you know, but at the same point too, I think he wants to be in a position where he’s contributed in a part of that as well. Um, but he’s been fine the last three days. You know, again, it’s only been 3 days. We played a lot on Tuesday and Wednesday. Today was way way much much lighter. There really wasn’t any contact. It was a lot of install scripting. five on five on against some of the player development coaches underneath out of bounds side of the bounds jump ball situations free throw situations. So we’ll get back to playing again tomorrow but I think as time goes on you know probably give you a better idea of where he’s at. But so far I think he’s done a good job. Listen and when these guys don’t come in the first two days of practice and don’t play hard and get after right now then you got a lot of problems. So I would say everybody’s done that which is a a good sign. But we’ll see how things unfold. the the physicality piece of it has been kind of the big issue for Patrick. I remember Dear a couple years ago was like bribing him to take charges. Oh yeah. Um how fought in do you feel like how do you get him to buy into that with that being such a huge focus for the entire team this year? I think that like listen I I I give the guys a lot of credit from this perspective. It was a total total overhaul last year about how we needed to play offensively and some of it stemmed out of the fact that we had guards like Zack, like Kobe, like Josh, like I Lonzo was here. You know, they’re all really good with the ball and we couldn’t accommodate everybody with the ball. So, we had to play in a way I think that was going to take advantage of those guys skill sets, right? But then, you know, as you’re doing that, you start to and listen, it wasn’t like the charges we just talked about. Now, it’s been talked about, but you can’t pick and choose things that you want to do or not want to do and then say you want to win. Like, it’s it’s not a buffet. Like, the rules are the rules. Winning takes what it takes and you got to be willing to do it. So, listen, we’ve taken more charges in the last two days of practice than we took in 82 games. So, that’s a to me a positive sign and I and I appreciate what they’re trying to do. And quite honestly, as a coaching staff, we’ve got to do a good job of putting it in situations that we’re doing some of that stuff. I do a like I almost uh like I say, I took his first charge yesterday in practice. It was great. You know, Aaro’s in there doing it. Um Dalon Terry’s done it. Julian’s done it. They’re all trying to do it cuz I do think the group wants to win and compete. And I think when you put things in front of them and show them like, listen, we’re giving up four extra shots a game. We’re 28th and 27th in the league and taking charges. Those are extra possessions. Offensive rebounds are extra possessions. Deflecting a pass is an extra possession. Taking care of the ball maintains possession. So, there’s a lot of things that they’ve got to understand. And I think for younger players and our team’s young, so much of them they of their performance they think is whether or not they make or miss shots and there’s a lot more things they have control over. And I think putting that on their brain is what you’re trying to do. But Patrick has been very good in terms of trying to be more physical in my opinion. He hasn’t taken a charge yet, but we’ll we’ll get him we’ll get him there. for tomorrow. That’s right. Last one. I think the sort of at least from my point of view, the shift toward wanting to take charges probably due to personnel, I would assume. But yeah, you know, I think a lot of times there’s two things. There’s the verticality piece of it, you know, and then there’s also the charge piece of it. And like quite honestly, I think it’s a it’s it’s it’s a shared responsibility. We got to do a better job as a coaching staff, you know, spending time teaching it and understanding it. And then, you know, they’ve got to do a a better job of like understanding what are the times to take the charges, what are the times to go vertical, what are the times to hold your ground. Like all those things are things I think we got to help those younger guys with. You think it’s a lost art in the league the charges. I don’t know if it’s a lost art, but I think when you look in the playoffs and you watch the playoffs, there’s guys trying to do that because they know the importance of those extra possessions. Um, you know, LeBron James is one of the greatest players of all time. He takes him. Steph Curry takes him, you know, and I think that that’s why their teams win is they’re willing to do those kind of things. Um, and I think if you look at the finals with Oklahoma City and and uh Indiana, both teams are doing it. I had Alex Cruso here. He does it, you know. I think you got to there’s an art to it and there’s a skill to it. Like Kyle Lowry to me has always been amazing at it. He’s always great at drawing charges and he’s always up there as one of the league leaders. There is a skill to it and there’s a sadness to it and there’s an understand you just can’t stand there and hope the guy runs you over. There’s there’s there’s a gamesmanship to it. We need to help our guys with that. How many flops in the first? Not too bad. No, we we had uh actually we had the NBA officials in here the last two days officiating which was good. So, we got no flop calls which was good. But which what Listen, they’re really trying. I think they’re putting their foot forward to do those things and I really appreciate what they’re trying to do to make the commitment to do that. When did you get back? Was it shortly after Labor Day or So, I was here in June for about a month and then I went back to Vegas and then uh came back in first week of September. Okay. Yeah. So, you mostly were here for the summer. What’s been kind of what was your focus in the offseason in terms of what you wanted to accomplish or what you wanted to do? Yeah, just get in better shape, get stronger, and make sure my body was ready for a long season. You know, I just want to be able to stay healthy, keep myself on the floor, and be available. And I know good things will happen if that’s the case. So, it was really just trying to work on my body. Yeah, you’re going for, knock on wood, third season in a row of in the 60 game range, which is how you started your season before you had that blip in that middle obviously that we don’t like to talk about. Exactly. Do you feel like you kind of those injury I know if injuries are out of people’s control, but do you feel that like what plagued you back then is in the past fully? Yeah, I think so. I think once it it was my ankle, right? And there was a bunch of bunch of surgeries that had to keep happening. But once the last surgery got it done and fixed, it’s a bone. So once the bone is healed, it was good and it’s been good ever since. And I haven’t had any problems. So like I I feel I feel great. One of the things we keep hearing from Billy is the theme of physicality this season at the defensive end. talked so much about you adding in that department when they acquired you last year. You have you seen a difference on the floor in terms of just the mindset and your teammates and how well do you think you fit in that plan? I definitely think I can feel a switch. I think everybody was kind of motivated about what happened last year and how we ended the season last year and especially because we were playing so well and we were so confident and we had we we finally found something with with some momentum and then it kind of ended the way it did because of you could probably point to physicality. You could probably point to a lot of things but that’s probably the main thing and you can tell the first two days the coaches are setting a good tone but I think the players have done a good job of realizing that that’s one of the things we got to shore up. You had to get to know this team and the system kind of on the fly last season. What’s it been like just being able to come in and kind of spend some time have a little bit more of that comfort level uh as you’re coming into the season? Yeah, I mean you said it. I mean, just having all those reps, having a whole summer here to spend time with the guys and to spend time with the with the staff and get on the same page on like what I’m thinking, what they’re expected of me and to go into a season with a training camp with the, you know, with the team and to everyone be on the same page. You know, last year was such a whirlwind and it almost was a good thing for me in some ways, but I think overall I’m I’m very happy that I got to have all those reps. Uh ju just defensively last season when you were in the lineup the team was really performing well. Why do you think that was? I think it was the whole trade, me, Kevin, and Trey coming here, it was like a breath of fresh air for all three of us. And I think we were able to come out here and play free. I didn’t I don’t think anybody, you know, really expected much from that trade at the time. And I think we came in and we all kind of took that personal. We wanted to really play well and show that we could, you know, contribute. So there’s there’s that layer, but then also guys really started to pick up their game at that point. I think everybody kind of had a reset moment there and we all just had a final push to the All-Star break and credit to coach. I mean, he he really set the tone and said, “Hey, let’s let’s try to make some noise here and we just followed his lead and I think that all that played into it.” The East obviously on paper looks so much different this year with those terrible injuries to Tatum and Hallebertton. I mean, what what do you what’s kind of the vibe internally? Do you guys feel like you can make some noise in this conference? Yeah, we’re we’re we’re trying to get better every single day. We’re trying to build off what we did last year. I think we ended last year so strong minus the playing game. I think our goal is to build off that. And if we do that, we’re going to put ourselves in a great spot. I’m curious, we’ve talked with VC a bit about just kind of him coming into this part of his career. Longevity at y’all’s position specifically can be kind of a tricky thing. What sticks out to you in terms of what has allowed him to have the longevity that he’s had? Yeah, I I I have such an appreciation for, you know, going what I’ve threw and through with my body and and and just seeing guys who have stuck around in the league for so long. I think there’s a couple things. Obviously, you have to be a very good player, which, you know, check that box obviously, but there’s also a layer that nobody else sees that I’m sure off the court, he’s very diligent and he’s very smart about what he puts into his body, the rest he gets, the work he puts in, having that balance. Uh I don’t think it’s an accident that he’s been this successful for this long. Obviously, there’s a lot of work that goes into it. So definitely have an appreciation for that. I’m sorry. I’m from Japan. Uh having played uh alongside Yuki, what kind of point of guard do you think he is? He makes everyone better. Uh he really pushes the pace and uh one of the better passers that I’ve ever played with, you know, by far. I mean, he’s there’s a lot of angles that I, you know, on my roles where I’m like, “Okay, I’m not going to get it, you know, just roll next action.” but he gets me the ball and that and you can you can ask anybody else on the team, they’ll say the same thing whether it’s a guard or a big. He just really knows how to pass the ball and get guys involved, make guys better and he’s he’s tough as nails. You real quick, you mentioned uh the trade and how there’s few so low expectations and all three of you guys found roles. I know there’s the business of basketball and it’s totally out of your control, but did you personally think Trey Jones would be back back here Chicago? Uh, I mean, you never know. Like, like you said, it’s a business. You never know. I I do know that the success he had last year put him in a great spot. I mean, who wouldn’t want to I mean, he came in and was super tough. He was efficient. He was making the right reads all the time. And he was he was doing a lot of different things that, you know, he wasn’t just locked in the point guard position. He was moving without the ball. He was shooting threes. He was getting stops. He was making clutch plays in in crunch time. So, yeah. I mean, I think it’s a no-brainer on my end, but like you said, it’s a it’s a business. Yeah. emphasized that this was maybe your first long stint of health in a while. Like what what what did that mean to you? What did that do for you? Uh man, it’s something that you don’t take for granted anymore. I think obviously just coming into the league so young, you kind of take for granted your health, you know, up up to a certain extent, you know what I mean? Just I think whatever year that was where I played all all 82, you know what I mean? I kind of didn’t really think much of it. I just wanted to play. Um and each game that I that I was able to suit up I did and then at the end of the g end of the season they’re like, “Oh, you played 82 games.” Okay. But um really you really kind of value your health. Um it takes a lot more uh for me mentally, physically um to to preserve that to make sure that I’m on the court each and every day. Um, so for me it is is it was huge just in terms of being able to, you know, trust my body going going into the into the summer, being able to push myself, um, and not really having any any restraints, um, all summer. And Billy kind of know obviously he’s been vocal about the whole team needing to be physical, but he mentioned that was a point of emphasis for you. Like how are you being mindful of, you know, like injuries and wanting to keep your health while also trying to be more physical? Um, well, once you get on the court, uh, I like to think that you put in the work, you know, pre-practice in the summer, in the weight room, um, in the training table, so that that way when you’re on the court, you don’t have to think about anything. You know what I mean? I’m just able to trust my body like I should be able to. Um, and a lot of the things you can’t control. A lot of injuries that I had, I really couldn’t control. Um, but you know, now being healthy, um, really really this summer, um, the work that I put in on the court, the work that I put in in the weight room, watching film, being in in the training room, really just was mindful to be unmindful when you when I step on the court. Patrick, your role has changed so much over the past few seasons. What’s kind of your expectation of what that’s going to look like coming into this? Yeah. Um, the great thing about it is that, um, we haven’t started yet, you know what I mean? So, um, nothing I say, nothing, um, anybody says is is is going to win us a game as of yet. We have to go out there and we have to, you know, win a game for ourselves. Uh, for me is just trying to be vocal. Try to be a little a little bit more vocal. And then obviously on the court, um, being that presence, um, I think on both ends comes to a point now where I think me me and Kobe and VU are are are the longest tenure bulls here. So, we kind of know, um, you know, our schemes. Obviously, we’re changing up a little bit, trying to be more physical, but I think the initial schemes are are are um the same kind of the struggles that we have had over the years. Just trying to be vocal with those. Um and then just having a presence on the court. What did you work on over the summer? Um for one, it was just I don’t I don’t know if you can tell, I kind of slimmed down a little bit. Um so just trying to stay healthy in that respect. Um trying to you know, make sure my my my joints um are are are good to hold up for the season. Um, in terms of on the court, ball handling has been one, just slowing the game down a lot. Um, I think I’ve always been a guy that could, you know, always get to my spots, but just make sure I can get there and just make make plays from there, whether whether it be scoring, getting guys involved. I always love to, you know, pass the ball, pass the ball, and have my, you know, teammates involved as well. Um, then defensively, just, you know, being a dog on that end. I think uh we definitely had some really good pickups um in the offseason that I think Isaac Coro is definitely one of those who, you know, he’s he’s he’s had a reputation for being disruptive on on that end of the ball. Um so I think it’ll be good just, you know, being disruptive on that end. Um, I know you are a very team oriented guy and like we’ve always asked you what your goals are and you always just say win, but with some space and hindsight from, you know, how things ended last year, how do you assess the season that you had and, um, what are some of the things that you’re kind of focused on improving on next year? Um, in terms of the last season, obviously I don’t I wasn’t my best. Um, no excuses for that. No excuses for that. Uh, so one just being better. I think I think that’s that’s part of being a leader. you have to look yourself in the mirror and say, “Okay, I need to be better.” Um, before Billy does it, before the coaching staff does it, before my teammates do it, I look myself in the mirror and say, “I got to be better for for those guys and for myself.” Um, so to start there, um, but then in in terms of goals to win, I think that that that that’s always the goal. Um, a lot a lot of people want to win on their terms. Winning may not always be on your terms. It may be it has to be whatever it takes. And each night, it’ll take something different. each game. Billy always says each game, each possession has a has a identity of its own. So, you never know what it’s going to take. Um, I think I’ve been around enough to kind of be able to mend and and and bend it to whatever needs to be done at that moment. Um, so I think that’s that’s pretty much the the main focus. When you have guys that have the talent, skill, and ability to do everything, you you need to rely on them to be able to do everything. And uh that’s been the focus for me going going into this season. I think the focus for us. I did notice that you’re slimmer. What do you weigh? Uh I won’t I won’t put the weight exactly out there, but I am a little little bit slimmer. Feeling good. Uh just trying to stay healthy. Trying to stay healthy, man. That’s that’s been the biggest thing. Stay on that court. Um that’s the biggest thing, staying on the court. Why did you why did did you want to slim down? Like what was um some of it I don’t think was was was really uh planned. um not last summer not being able to kind of do things on the court, do things in the weight room. I think I was a little bit, not to say heavier cuz I think I was still in shape and fit last last season. Um but just being able to do more. I think I’ve, you know, lost some weight. Um just kind of just being able to do more all summer really. Conditioning has been huge. Um going out to LA, the sun, training in the sun, training the sand pit, training sand dunes, things like that. You just end up losing weight. Um, but I always wanted to be strong. I think I always be strong and fit, be able to, you know, guard fours, guard fives, guard ones, guard twos, guard threes. Um, so I think that was kind of the the mindfulness of it, not want to be too slim where I can’t guard different positions, but also being slim enough where, you know, my joints and stuff aren’t just aching after games. Um, not just taking that constant beating and pounding with, you know, however many pounds of weight driving on them each and every day. Um, just things that over time you just become mindful of after you deal with a few injuries. Do you feel like that’s helped you athletically so far? Like do you feel like you’re kind of in a better spot in terms of just like wrench and stuff? Yeah, for sure. Um and that that those are kind of things that I didn’t really pick up on, but kind of my teammates have noticed. Um my coaching staff has noticed and it’s it’s um I’ I’ve definitely felt better whether it be, you know, the next day um after practices. I I’ve definitely felt better just whether it be, you know, whether it’s 5 lbs, 8 lb, 10 lbs, whatever the case may be. Um, you’re always going to feel better if you, you know, shed a few pounds.

Billy Donovan, Zach Collins, and Patrick Williams meet with the media following day 3 of Chicago Bulls training camp. With Williams back to being a full practice participant, what does he want out of himself this season? What role does Collins think he’ll play off the bench? And how has Donovan seen the physicality breaking through?

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