The comments from Anfernee Simons were somewhat surprising.<\/p>\n
Not only that an NBA free agent-to-be was insisting that he wanted to return to his current team \u2014 that\u2019s just smart business \u2014 but also how many times Simons said it.<\/p>\n
If he were trying to sell the media on his happiness while playing in a Bulls uniform, despite appearing in just six games before a wrist fracture ended his season, it worked.<\/p>\n
How realistic is it, though?<\/p>\n
A month ago, not very. The 26-year-old shooting guard seemed to be buried behind a line of guards who were younger \u2014 and cheaper in some cases \u2014 but that was when the Bulls were still invested in restricted free agent Jaden Ivey.<\/p>\n
Once Ivey started going on his social-media platforms and making discouraging comments, well, Simons re-signing with the Bulls became a bit more realistic.<\/p>\n
But it comes down to this: What do the Bulls get out of two first-round picks?<\/p>\n
Say the Bulls get lucky and hit No. 4, draft North Carolina big man Caleb Wilson or Duke\u2019s Cameron Boozer if he should drop a spot, and then when No. 15 comes around they grab a rim protector like Aday Mara or Jayden Quaintance. That bodes well for Simons.<\/p>\n
His ability to play next to Josh Giddey in the backcourt would give the Bulls a solid 1-2 scoring punch. Simons didn\u2019t have the reputation for ever being a good defender in his Portland days, but bought in on that side of the ball while playing for the Celtics.<\/p>\n
Even so, between Matas Buzelis, Wilson or Boozer, and then a Mara or Quaintance, there will be plenty of rim protection behind that backcourt to help out.<\/p>\n
If the Bulls stay at No. 9, however, and grab one of the many guards in that area code of the draft, well, it has been nice knowing you, Anfernee.<\/p>\n
Mikel Brown Jr. would change things for Simons. Could he come off the bench? Sure, he did for the Celtics. But that\u2019s an easier sell for a championship team like Boston. If that\u2019s the scenario, and the Bulls are looking for veteran leadership and scoring off the bench, that\u2019s where Collin Sexton might be a better option.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s only a year older than Simons but likely would come cheaper.<\/p>\n
The Bulls have $58 million to spend thanks to adding a second first-round pick, so money won\u2019t be that much of an issue, but there are also numerous holes to fill on this roster.<\/p>\n
So are Simons or Sexton keepers? That will depend on the draft.<\/p>\n
The rest of the free-agent decisions for the Bulls:<\/p>\n
C Zach Collins \u2014 If the price is right, Collins is a keeper. The injuries are a major concern, but the physicality he brings off the bench and the high IQ make him a great mentor for young frontcourt players. A solid two-year deal to pass the baton? KEEPER<\/p>\n
C Nick Richards \u2014 The Richards Experiment had a few flashes but far too many down moments. Sure, he\u2019s a rim runner and alley-oop guy who the Bulls haven\u2019t had in years, but he seems to have borrowed the hands of Cristiano Felicio far too often. PASS<\/p>\n
F Guerschon Yabusele \u2014 Nice guy who played hard out of position for an undersized Bulls frontcourt, but Yabusele was a fill-in for a team that needed bodies to finish out the season. There is bigger game to hunt this offseason than \u201cLe Bear.\u201d PASS<\/p>\n
F Leonard Miller \u2014 There\u2019s definitely something there for Miller, who has a team-friendly $2.4 million option. It will be a no-brainer to pick that up, as Miller could develop into a high-energy rotation forward. KEEPER<\/p>\n
G Mac McClung and G Yuki Kawamura \u2014 These two are in the same boat as two-way players and should be kept in that capacity depending on the market. They are both great end-of-the-bench locker-room guys but also replaceable. KEEPER (One or the other for filling out the roster and fulfilling the need a two-way player.)<\/p>\n
C\/F Lachlan Olbrich \u2014 It was great to see the rookie end the season with a triple-double and he does play with an edge, but if the Bulls draft and use their money wisely, he becomes very expendable. He was on a two-way contract. PASS<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The comments from Anfernee Simons were somewhat surprising. Not only that an NBA free agent-to-be was insisting that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":714121,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3771],"tags":[7,920,919,329,3824,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-714120","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago-bulls","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-bulls","10":"tag-chicago","11":"tag-chicago-bulls","12":"tag-chicagobulls","13":"tag-nba"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116432921098603042","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/714120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=714120"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/714120\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/714121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=714120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=714120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=714120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}