Bulls Podcast #21

January 9, 2019 admin Podcast Comments Off on Bulls Podcast #21

Bulls Podcast 21 hosted by Marcus Couch and Wyse Black. Farewell to the Tank Commander – Cameron Payne, Bulls Trade for MCW, Memphis pulled the trade trigger too soon, Thibs is out in Minnesota, Bobby Portis is Back and a look ahead to upcoming games this week.

Welcome to the Bulls Podcast, coming to you from BullsPodcast.com. This is where we bring you the latest news, reviews, rants, rumors and opinions on the players, coaches and front office of the Chicago Bulls.

We’d like to welcome all the new listeners to the show, perhaps you’ve been watching the Chicago Bears since the Summer and suddenly find yourself without a team. We are glad you came over to the Bulls side of sports and we promise you that you’ll not have to experience the agony of a last second playoff loss with the Bulls, or any playoffs for that matter!

Come TANK with us! 

Now on Spotify!

We are happy to announce that the Bulls Podcast is now available on SPOTIFY, so be sure you look for us there, or just go to BullsPodcast.com/Spotify and it will forward you to the right place so that you can add it to your favorites and catch every episode as they are released.

Cameron Payne is no longer a Chicago Bull.

Last Thursday the Bulls finally waived Cameron Payne, affectionately known on this show as “the Tank Commander”. He’s since been picked up by Cleveland on a 10 day contract. This may be his last shot at playing in the NBA. Payne scored 10 points in 22 minutes off the bench in his debut with the team on Tuesday.

Payne was traded to the Bulls from OKC along with Anthony Morrow and Joffrey Lauvergne, in exchange for Doug McDermott and Taj Gibson, who the Thunder thought would pair well with Carmelo Anthony to compete against Golden State. Obviously this trade didn’t work out well for either of the teams.

Payne was the 14th pick in the 2015 NBA draft and averages  5.8 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in 144 games played. For the Bulls his best game was this season on October 24, 2018, Payne scored all of his career-high 21 points in the second half of the Bulls’ 112–110 win over the Charlotte Hornets, going 7 for 11 on 3-pointers.

This departure means that the Brazilian Marshmallow, Cristiano Felicio has been promoted to the new Chicago Bulls Tank Commander. We know he will serve us well in that capacity, just as we expect him to.

Bulls get Michael Carter-Williams from Houston and Immediately waive him.

The Houston Rockets agreed to trade guard Michael Carter-Williams and cash to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for a protected second-round pick in the 2020 NBA Draft on Monday.

In corresponding roster moves, Carter-Williams and MarShon Brooks were waived by the Bulls.

The Rockets made the deal to avoid Carter-Williams’ contract guarantee for the season. Houston would have had to guarantee the remaining money on his deal at 5 p.m. ET Monday.

Carter-Williams averaged 4.3 points and 1.3 assists in 16 games with the Rockets. He began the season as part of the rotation but has sat 13 of the past 14 games.

It’s highly unlikely the draft pick will convey since it is heavily protected, according to Wojnarowski. The deal was likely structured to be a straight cash dump on the Rockets’ part. The Bulls get cash considerations for taking on a cap hit while never actually paying out any money, while the Rockets avoid having Carter-Williams’ number added to their tax.

Memphis suffers a blow that makes them reconsider their recent trade of Wayne Selden.

Last week we broke the news that Justin Holiday was going to Memphis in a trade that brought Marshon Brooks and Wayne Selden to the Bulls. Since the trade, Holiday has gone 1 for 10 in a Grizzlies jersey, but more significant is the injury to Dillon Brooks who will now be out for the season. This would put Selden in the starting role for Memphis, but since they traded him to the Bulls, it’s going to be a very long season for the Memphis Grizzlies.

We’ve yet to see Selden play in a game for the Bulls, but it’s pretty likely that we’ll see him in the next few games. It will be interesting to see how he gels with the team and what kind of numbers he’s capable of putting up. Anyone who’s watched any Selden highlights on youTube, the guy loves to dunk on opponents. Should be fun to watch him in a Bulls uniform.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW!

Remember, we are a new show and we do need your support in social media. We’ve made it really easy to find us with some special redirect links.

Also, please make sure you are subscribed to the show, at a minimum on YouTube because we have some new things happening pretty regularly starting in a few weeks on YouTube, but also if you want to subscribe to the audio version, Here’s where to find us:

Minnesota fires Thibs

The Timberwolves have fired team President and Coach Tom Thibodeau. What’s weird is that they fired him after a big win, confusing players like KAT and Wiggins, who were notified of the firing by text message.

The Wolves appointed assistant coach Ryan Saunders, Flip Saunders’ son, as the interim head coach. There are already rumors that Fred Hoiberg will be Thibs replacement next season, which probably means Derrick Rose will be available for duty with another team next year.

Thibs probably already had his head on the chopping block due to the drama and dismay over the whole Jimmy Butler situation. Let’s rewind a bit and consider what Minnesota would have if they had kept Zach Lavine and Kris Dunn and added Lauri Markkanen to their roster. Chances are pretty good that they would be a huge contender in the West. As it turns out, they may be lucky just to make the playoffs this year.

Crazy Eyes is back and looking like he never left

This past week we saw the return of Bobby Portis to the Bulls lineup, coming back from ankle injury. Bobby netted 17 points off the bench in his return to action on Sunday, adding 3-pointers, five rebounds and one turnover in just under 20 minutes.

This was Bobby’s first game back following a two-week layoff, so Jim Boylen had him on a 20-minute restriction, and that minutes cap could hold over the next few games. Portis is shooting a career-low 41.3% from the field this season, so he’s really going to need to step it up if he’s going to get a decent contract for next season. With him back in action, Jabari Parker dropped out of the rotation entirely.

Upcoming Games and Predictions:

  • Wednesday January 9th – Portland Trailblazers (22-16)
  • Friday January 11th – Golden State Warriors (25-13)
  • Saturday January 12th – Utah Jazz (20-21)
  • Tuesday January 15th – Los Angeles Lakers (22-19)

Predictions: We’ll lose all 4 of those games. The only shot we have is against the short-handed Lakers, who may not have LeBron back in the mix by the time the game rolls around. It was reported that Lebron will not be flying with the team for their game against Utah on Friday the 11th,, staying behind for a medical evaluation. There are rumors that he may actually have a “sports hernia”, which would be disastrous for the Lakers, who have gone 2-5 since Lebron’s Christmas day injury. I would have loved to go to this game in person, being that I’m on the West Coast, but $98 dollars a ticket for a 300 level seat in the nosebleed section just isn’t my thing. Last year, without Lebron, this would have been a $35 ticket. But since Queen James got signed, they raised the ticket prices through the roof.

In terms of Golden State, we will just miss seeing the return of Demarcus Cousins for the Golden State game by 7 days. He’s on track to return on Jan 18th against the LA Clippers, making his way back from a torn Achilles injury that he suffered last season while playing in New Orleans.

Wyse Social Links:

Marcus: You can find me on social anywhere, Youtube, Instagram, Twitter and the like, all @marcuscouch.

Everything show related you can find @bullspodcast. Please make sure you are connected with us everywhere we are.

Also remember to check out our compilation website where you can get all of the Bulls Podcasts from every single Chicago Bulls show out there over at http://bulls.fm

Remember Bulls Fans, our magic TANK NUMBER is down to just 40 more losses, and we’re just 125 days away from the NBA lottery!

Until next time, Thank you for listening everyone, Go Bulls!