The Chicago Bulls trade Justin Holiday to Memphis, a Recap of the last week’s games, Will a Bull be on the All-Star team? And a look ahead to the coming week’s Chicago Bulls games. 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.
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Bulls Trade Justin Holiday to Memphis for MarShon Brooks and Wayne Selden
The Bulls traded away Justin Holiday to the Memphis Grizzlies for two shooting guards, MarShon Brooks and Wayne Selden. Both players are on 1 year deals, so we aren’t stuck with them for any duration of time. We also get two 2nd round picks from Memphis, which is pretty much two G-League guys for the Windy City Bulls.
Holiday is currently operating on an expiring contract worth $4.38 million this season, whereas Brooks and Selden combine to make just north of $3 million total. While there could be some value in the future with a player like Selden, Chicago is likely targeting the picks as assets to build with moving forward and Holiday profiles as a potential two-way threat for a team in the Grizzlies angling for a playoff run.
MarShon Brooks is a 6′ 5″, 200 lbs shooting guard out of Providence. He’s 29 years old and a 4 year NBA vet. This season he’s averaged 6.6 PPG, 0.9 assists and 1.6 rebounds. He’s a career 8 PPG player.
Wayne Selden is a 6′ 5″, 230 lbs shooting guard out of Kansas. He’s 24 years old and a 2 year NBA veteran. This season he’s at 5.4 PPG, 1.1 assists, 1.4 rebounds and has a 7 point career average.
What kind of impact will these players have for the Bulls?
Should the Bulls be making any more trades?
With all the talk of taking on other team’s long-term bad deals, is it even worth considering trading guys on our team to take on the problems of others?
Marcus: I say we should just keep what we have left, get a fat bank account for next year and sign whoever we can in free agency. With Robin Lopez, Jabari Parker, Cam Payne, and Bobby Portis all with expiring deals, the only thing I would trade for at all would be first round draft picks. There are no players out there short of Klay Thompson or Anthony Davis that are worth picking up in a trade scenario.
Game Recaps:
This past week we had 3 games. One of them was a win, the Raptors game was close, and the Orlando game was a complete disaster.
Bulls vs Wizards: Bulls WIN 108-92
Wendell Carter Jr had 17 points, 12 rebounds and 2 assists
Bulls vs Raptors: Bulls LOST 95-89
Bulls vs Magic: Bulls LOST 112-84
The last 3 games was a good indicator of where the Chicago Bulls are as a collective unit.
While they haven’t had their core four (Lauri Markkanen, Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn, and Wendell Carter, Jr.) on the court together much this season, a deeper look into the numbers suggests it may not matter. The Bulls currently rank last in total points per game, 28th in free throws attempted, 27th in field goal percentage, and 25th in three-point field goal percentage.
They’re also attempting the second-fewest three-pointers in the league. The Bulls are also 27th in 2-point field goals attempted. So to recap, they’re not getting to the free throw line, they’re not shooting many three-pointers, nor are they shooting many two-pointers.
It looks like Jim Boylen wants to play more of a grind it out type of basketball. This worked well in the 1990s for the Pistons and Knicks, but the game of basketball has evolved since then. Unfortunately, for Bulls fans, the Bulls team has not.
If this team is going to be anything other than the laughing stock of the NBA, there has to be a monumental shift in the makeup of the Chicago Bulls. Starting with the Front Office. I think it goes without saying that Gar/Pax have to be excused after the season if over, or sooner.
They get credit for draft picks, but frankly anyone with a pick can choose a high caliber player based on what is available. It’s not rocket science.
Broadcast Bright Spots
One thing worth noting was the debut of Mark Schanowski as the play-by-play man next to Stacy King. Mark was a very entertaining addition to the team. Certainly better than the other guy who is filling in for Neil Funk on away games. I don’t know why they don’t just let Chuck Swirsky be the play by play guy, as he’s really good on the radio and would provide at least a bit of excitement in the TV broadcast.
Bulls Injury Updates:
Bobby Portis is participating in full-contact practices again, so we should see him back on the court soon. He needs to perform in a big way to get the kind of contract signing he is looking for. This is one case where betting on yourself may have backfired. He’s probably going to lose millions of dollars over the long haul because of his injuries this season. Word is that he did not practice today. Not sure if that’s related to his injury.
Early All-Star Voting results have been released.
Golden State’s Stephen Curry holds first place among West guards with 793,111 votes. The Minnesota Timberwolves’ Derrick Rose is second with 698,086 votes. The Houston Rockets’ James Harden (541,606) and Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook (459,792) are third and fourth, respectively, among West guards.
Antetokounmpo, an NBA All-Star in each of the previous two seasons, is the top vote-getter among all Eastern Conference players, receiving 991,561 votes in the frontcourt group. Joining Antetokounmpo at the top of the East frontcourt are second-place Kawhi Leonard of the Toronto Raptors (774,172) and third-place Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers (648,002).
In the East guard group, the Boston Celtics’ Kyrie Irving leads with 910,329 votes. The Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade is the second-leading guard with 409,156 votes, while the Charlotte Hornets’ Kemba Walker (319,519) ranks third and Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons (259,993) is fourth.
Currently there is only one Chicago Bull in the running and that’s Zach Lavine, coming in at 7th in the guard position. My personal opinion is that not one Bull should be at the all star game at all. We don’t deserve to be. No one has performed as a leader or player well enough to warrant any accolades at all this season.
Most notable in the voting is that Derrick Rose is 2nd among guards, right behind Steph Curry, so it looks like DRose will be at the All Star Game this year, hosted by Charlotte.
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Upcoming Games and Predictions:
Friday January 4th – Indiana Pacers (25-12)
Sunday January 6th – Brooklyn Nets (18-21)
Wednesday January 9th – Portland Trailblazers (22-16)
Friday January 11th – Golden State Warriors (25-13)
Predictions:
Marcus: We’ll lose all 4 of those games. The only shot we have is against Brooklyn.
Wyse: Same!
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Marcus:
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Remember Bulls Fans, we’re just 132 days away from the NBA lottery!
Until next time, Thank you for listening everyone, Go Bulls!