Bulls REKAP Podcast 🏀 (S2 – EP1): What are storylines for 2025-26 for Chicago Bulls as camp begins?

Bulls REKAP Podcast 🏀 (S2 – EP1): What are storylines for 2025-26 for Chicago Bulls as camp begins?

Welcome to season two, episode one of the Bulls 
recap podcast. I’m Joe Collie of the Chicago Sun Times. You can obviously read me in the Sun Times 
sports section. You could follow me on X, Twitter, whatever you want to call it, Jay Collie Hoops. 
might have an Instagram channel coming soon, but we’ll see. Um, more importantly, we are in 
season two of this pod and that means media day and the start of Bulls camp. It’s uh the offseason 
kind of flew by. Uh, not a lot of huge action by the Bulls. Um, obviously Isaac Aurora was the big 
addition in the Lonzo Ball trade. The Josh Giddy drama for the contract kind of dragged on. But 
what you see is what you kind of get with this team. Um you we’re going to see a very similar 
roster. We’re going to see a very similar style of play on the offensive end. Uh defensively, do 
they take that step back to what Billy Donovan likes when he had a top 10 defense a couple years 
ago? The defense slipped um and it cost them. So coming into this camp, fall camp, storylines, the 
the main five storylines that are are going to everyone’s going to be watching, the Bulls riders 
are going to be talking about, asking about. Um, all eyes will be on it. You know, they start camp 
uh the workouts. They’ve been in town working out the advocate center, running scrimmages and stuff 
like that, you know, open gym type stuff. Uh, but now it gets real. and the first preseason game 
October 7th at Cleveland. Nice little uh early season challenge. Um so it’s coming quick. This 
thing goes by quick now. Uh so first number one, I I don’t care what anyone says. The number one 
storyline, modest, modest, modest. Um you know, we had uh IO Dumu on the on the pod earlier 
in the summer, midsummer. One of the things he talked about was the open gyms they had out in 
Los Angeles as a team and the open gyms they were having. And then obviously we saw in summer 
league and to a man all the talk was modest, you know, added some muscle, added some weight 
and was unstoppable in these runs. Uh, you know, because of his ball handling, because of his 
newfound physicality. That’s great. That’s all that’s all nice preseason talk and hype and 
stuff like that. We got to see it. I think we will. I think this kid wants to be great. All 
eyes are on Modest because if this team has a hope for a Allstar slash eventual superstar, it’s 
with this kid. There aren’t a lot of 610 611 kids walking around with that kind of ball handling and 
that kind of offensive skill and rim protection, a willingness to be great on the defensive end, 
to learn to be great on the defensive end. So, this is it. This is storyline number one. Uh 1 A, 
1 B, 1 C. What does Modest look like? What is the jump he takes in year two? Can he be the superstar 
that this team desperately, desperately needs? So to me, that’s number one, and nothing else is even 
close. Number two, the starting lineup’s going to be interesting. So we saw a lot of Kevin Herder 
in the starting lineup the last five, six weeks of the season. They go 15 and five with this lineup 
of Modis, Kevin Herder, Josh Giddy, the Vouch, and Kobe White. Seven and one. Again, it was in 
March. Dangerous time to be falling in love with your basketball team, unless you’re AK who falls 
in love easily with his with his own product. Um, but the fact is Billy Donovan really liked Kevin 
Hurder in the starting lineup. I don’t think it’s going to end up playing out that way. I don’t 
think defensively. Uh, you know, they they need to slow teams down right away. So, I think 
ideally the best starting lineup that we’ll we’ll eventually see is going to be Bellis. That’s 
not going to change, Josh Giddy, Kobe White, Vu, and I think it’s going to be Isaac Kakuro. He’s 
their best defensive stopper, wing stopper. He can guard one through three, maybe a small four. 
Um, so I I think it’s going to play out that he’s eventually the starter. Maybe I’m wrong, but what 
that does is that that allows Herder to come off the bench with that second unit of IO. You’ll 
have Herder, Zack Collins, P. Will U, and then, uh, Trey Jones, and then Phillips, Jaylen Terry, 
guys like that will be kind of fighting. Uh, Jaylen Smith will kind of be fighting for Am am 
I in the rotation? Uh Noah Essen Gay, the rookie, you know that we’ll get to him in a second. But 
storyline number two is the starting lineup. What does it play out to be? Does Billy just say, “Hey, 
if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. We’re going with these guys.” And that means Kevin Herder. Um, but 
I I I think we’re going to see Isaac Curl because I think they they need a true defensive stopper 
that can be that wing stopper and guard the team’s best best offensive player. So, we’ll see. But 
that’s what I’m I’m I’m banking on. Number three, does this roster even stay the same by the time 
camp ends? Uh, talked about it in the finale of season one podcast. Houston Rockets have already 
had a major injury with Fred Van Vleet. Say what you want, but I think the perfect fit is Kobe 
White. Uh maybe some people argue IO would be the fit. I think they would want Kobe White. Uh he’s 
a little proven off more proven offensively and I think he fits more of what Van Vleet does for them 
than than IO. So, not to say that Iowa can’t just be a straight point guard, but I just think Kobe 
been around a little longer, better track record. Is Mooch there by the end of camp? I think he will 
be, but if there’s an injury in camp and or a team feels really small all of a sudden, Golden State, 
and they go into these preseason games and they just feel like the lineup has has shrunk even more 
because teams are getting looking to get bigger. uh does Vu become a a movable piece? So, that 
remains to be seen. But does this roster, the one we see at this and and are interviewing 
this first week of training camp in two weeks, two and a half weeks, is at the same same 
line or same roster as uh the games start to matter. That’ll be fun to watch. Number four, 
already mentioned this guy, the rook, Noah Essen. What is he? I mean, the first day of of summer 
league, it looked like watching an awkward olive oil. I know a lot of people probably don’t get 
that reference. Google it. Uh, but he looked like he was on skates. He looked like he was completely 
overwhelmed. He got better as the games went on. I think the nerves probably left his body and he 
kind of settled in. And then after a couple games, Modis wasn’t out there. So, that kind of freed 
up some things, but I don’t see him cracking the rotation. He’ll get some looks in these preseason 
games. Obviously, he’s going to get some runs, some heavy minutes, especially in games two, 
three, and four. Um, when they kind of don’t want their starters playing much. Um, look, he he 
he is a raw prospect that needs tons and tons and tons of work. And I think the best way for him to 
get that work early on is to stay with the big boy team and get practice time when they’re able to 
practice a lot more early on or they try to as the year goes on. Practice times become harder and 
harder. uh not only because they’re trying to keep guys off their feet, but the schedule seems to 
always uh tighten up a little bit where practices just become harder to do. So, we’re going to see 
a lot of Noah Essen Gay early on. Um but he has to jump, when you think about it, he has to jump the 
likes of Julian Phillips, Jaylen Terry, and fine, he might be able to do that. Um, I don’t think 
they’re married to those guys. Patrick Williams, uh, Jaylen Smith, um, you know, Zack Collins. I 
mean, these are all guys, rotation guys that are going to be in front of him. Forget, you know, who 
the starters are, Kevin Hurder, Cororo, whoever it is. So, when you just do the math, I mean, 
he’s probably 13th, 14th on the pecking order right now. So, I think the best thing they can do 
with him is let him stay with the big boy team, let him start to learn the game, understand the 
physicality of it. You know, the development guys, the way this works, a lot of people I don’t think 
understand it just because the veterans are just going to a shoot around or the starters, even the 
rotation guys go to a morning shoot around, say we’re on the road in Boston and uh they do their 
shoot around and media members, we all talk to them, blah blah blah. leave the player development 
guys stay behind with the guys that need run and need minutes and they basically have just an open 
gym and pick up games and sometimes some of the guys want to stay. You know, Dalon Terry’s a dude 
that just likes to play ball. He’s I’ve seen him stay behind when he doesn’t need to just to get a 
run in. Uh Trey Jones did some of that last year before he got hurt. Um so that some of these 
guys just like to get a run in and get a sweat going and help these young guys develop. Noah 
SN is going to be in a lot of those games. So, uh, and I think especially early on as they’re 
trying to find minutes for him and stuff and then once Windy City starts up about a month 
into the regular season or three weeks in the regular season, they can play with with with his 
where he is. if they’re in fall camp for the uh Windy City Bulls and the Bulls are, you know, 
obviously a couple weeks in the regular season, they could send him to the fall camp to 
get grinded out one, two, three, four, five straight days of practice. Uh, you know, the 
nice thing is they could bring uh the Windy City Bulls into the Advocate Center to practice for the 
week. So, Noah SMG can just, you know, stay there if the team’s on the road especially. So, they 
have a lot of flexibility, a lot of things they could do with them. I’m not writing this kid off. 
I I’m not saying he’s a bust pick by any means. There are some tools there, but I just think he’s 
going to need a lot of work and that the storyline to me is don’t get too excited about what you 
see in the preseason, these preseason games, because those minutes aren’t going to be there for 
them. They just aren’t when the games matter. So, um that’s storyline number four. Uh, number five, 
outside shooting, Peter Patton. They fired him. We talked all about it. He was the, you know, Yoda 
for, you go right down the line. Josh Giddy, Modis, you know, B is a selfarter. He does his 
own thing. Um yeah, but Giddy, uh I all those guys praised his his ability to communicate with 
them to fix the, you know, little flaws in some of their shots. Um he was obviously fired. He 
was not the yes man that our tourist loves to have around him, so he was sent elsewhere. They 
really didn’t go outside and say, “Hey, we have a new shooting guru.” They promoted some guys. 
Uh it sounds like it’s going to be by committee. We’ll see how that works out. But um not only do 
they have to figure that out with Peter Patton, but the other storyline is is defensively 
do they does the offense stay where it is, but does the defense take a step up? So, it’s 
kind of two-sided. I mean, are they going to lose a lot with Peter Patton? Are guys going to 
get in their own head? Is the shooting going to drop? Because that was huge for their offense. 
And then obviously how does that go hand inand complementaryary basketball with with the defense. 
So to me I I’m anxious to see who steps up, who becomes the shooting whisperer for these guys. Um 
we probably won’t know that till the games really matter, but uh in camp it will be discussed. It 
will be talked about. A lot of guys like Peter. A lot of guys did not were not appreciative of that 
move. So you know it’s a by committee thing. So, you know, and there’s other, trust me, there’s 
other things that we’ll be watching, but those are the five storylines that stand out the most 
as this thing uh ramps up. Uh Bulls Camp 25, 26. We’ll see where it’s going to go. So, um all 
eyes on those five things this for this week and and the next couple weeks. So, all right, let’s 
go to Cowi Island. So, I know how this works. I’m not going to try 8 mileing AK, but I am going to 
try eight eight mileing AK. I know exactly how the Monday press conference, whenever you see this, 
this might be on the Monday, it’s media day. Um, I have a feeling I know exactly how it’s going to 
go because he’s very predictable. He’s going to beat the 15 and5 finish. He’s going to beat that 
drum. He’s going to beat the Pacers. Look at the way they made it to the uh to the NBA finals 
with depth. We’ve already discussed that the numerous times on on several different podcasts. 
That’s great. You want to compare yourself to the Pacers depth? Okay. But the comparison ends 
there. There’s no Hallebertton. There’s no champion in Seakkum. There’s nothing like that 
with the Bolts. There’s no Allstars. I mean, there’s nothing. So to compare yourself with the 
Pacers from the depth st standpoint. Okay. And that’s where the comparison ends. So we’re going 
to hear that. We’re going to hear about how you don’t need two or three superstars anymore. 
Looking at you Lakers. Looking at you Golden State. This is about just having really good 
players one through 12. Okay. They’ve got good players one through 12. Really good remains 
to be seen. Um, this is not a rebuild. Uh, the the 26 class is loaded. We don’t give a damn. 
We’re not going to tank. We don’t do that. Uh, competitive integrity we’re going to hear. These 
are all the things we’re going to hear. Prepare yourself for it. Don’t buy into it. It’s the same 
song and dance. This is what our tourist does. Um, and the fact is they were all given extensions. 
So, no one’s going anywhere. That’s just a fact. But Kie Island’s a very simple place right now. It 
is aka you do you. You say what you feel like you got to say to get these fans to show up. They’re 
going to show up anyway. The sheep will come and I’m just not going to buy into it. And I don’t 
think rest of the media will because it’s the same old song and dance. So, uh, excited to hear your, 
uh, big speech, AK, and let’s go to the list. All right, we’ll have an NBA regular season preview, 
but the odds are out for MVP for the 2526 season. So, I did my own odds. These are the five guys, 
and there’s a couple uh, at least one that might raise some eyebrows, but these are the five guys 
that I have for MVP candidates. And we’ll go from five to who I think will win it. When it will 
not be a surprise. Number five, little bit of a surprise. Skinny Zion Williamson. Look, give me 75 
games. You give me 75 games. I think it’s a double double assist. I think he can take his game to 
new heights that we haven’t seen. I’m excited for it. Could be a colossal fail. We’ll see. Number 
four. Hey WBY, how about we play a full season? Because when you play a full season or when 
you play numerous games, you are really, really good. You are a freak of nature, especially on the 
defensive end. The offense, we’ll see how far that takes another jump, but you got to be healthy, 
bro. If you’re healthy, I think he’s a top five MVP candidate. Three is going to be our defending 
champ. I think he’s going to drop down from MVP SGA. Shay Giligious Alexander. Uh, look, Target’s 
on his back, but it’s a really good team. I have some a feeling some other guys on that team are 
going to continue to jump up. He is the heartbeat of the team. He’s the best player on the team. 
Let’s not make any mistake about that. But they got some other dudes on that team. It’s just a 
really, really good squad, a really great roster, one that could be almost a dynasty for a couple 
years. We’ll see. But I think SGA takes a couple steps back. Voter fatigue, whatever you want to 
call it. Number two, Skinny Luca. We already got Skinny Zion. Now we got Skinny Luca. Number two, 
uh, it’s his team. And for the first time, LeBron James is Robin. He’s no longer Batman. You know, 
Gotham is now belong belongs to Skinny Luca. So, I think he’s had a phenomenal summer uh with 
the the FIA Cup and and all the Euro Cup and all that kind of stuff. So, um I think Skinny 
Luca is going to be a problem. And we all knew he was going to become Skinny Luca because when 
you look at LeBron and you show up and you’re just some fat mo from Dallas, uh who can just put the 
ball in the hoop and not really be interested in doing anything else, little peer pressure comes on 
you. So, Skinny Luca, number two. And number one, the Joker. Where do you get a load of me? Nicola 
Jokic. I think re he regains his title. I think um voter fatigue hurt him because his 
numbers were ridiculous, but he’s he’s the best all-around player in the game right now. 
So, that puts let’s see Joker foreigner Euro Skinny Luca Euro SGA Canadian. We wi French 
one through four no American players. Zion, First American. That list will change in about 
three years when Cooper Flag is firmly sitting in that one and two spot. Uh but let’s give 
that a little time. But right now, hey, USA, let’s step up, boys. Um so that’s 
who I have for the MVP candidates, at least my my top five as the uh NBA camps 
are about to start. Uh we’ll be checking in with some practice updates. Uh hopefully we’ll 
be getting some very good guests this season. I’m excited for year two of the podcast and 
hopefully you guys are too. Until then, I got next

The #chicagobulls unofficially opened the 2025-26 season with their annual media day as training camp begins. Joe Cowley opens Season 2 of the podcast with what the expectations and storylines are for the upcoming #bulls season and team. What and how will #arturaskarnisovas spin the narrative for a team that’s stuck in the middle? Will #cobywhite still be here at years end? Will #joshgiddey take another step and will #matasbuzelis make big strides to become the face of the Bulls going forward? Cowley answers these questions and more as well his weekly Cowley Island Rant and The List.

#takethat

CHAPTERS:
00:00 – Intro
02:00 – Patrick Williams Appearance
03:33 – Starting Lineup Overview
05:42 – Roster Stability Analysis
07:11 – Ayo Dosunmu Rookie Profile
11:24 – Team Defense Evaluation
13:26 – AK’s Media Day Insights
15:54 – 2025 NBA MVP Odds Discussion
19:20 – Conclusion and Wrap-Up

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