Bulls Podcast #31

It’s the Chicago Bulls Podcast #31 with Marcus Couch and Wyse Black. We’ve got Bulls vs Blazers Post-Game, Anthony Davis Trade Rumors, 3 Potential Guards to sign for next season and our predictions for next week’s 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.

We’ve got a lot in store for you this episode. Including:

  • Bulls vs Blazers Post-Game
  • Absurd Rumored Bulls Trade Scenario for Anthony Davis
  • Potential Free Agents: Point Guard Edition
  • Preview of upcoming games with Our Win Predictions!

Come TANK with us!

Before we get under way…

Celebrating Episode 31, there are a number of former Bulls players that sported #31..

Jim Fox 1971-1972, Bill Hewitt 1975, John Laskowski 1977, Sam Worthen 1981

Granville Waiters 1987-1988, Brent Barry 1999, Norm Richardson 2002

Roger Mason 2003-2004, Thomas Gardner 2008, Erik Murphy 2014

R.J. Hunter 2017, Jarell Eddie 2018

In this day in Bulls History…

On this day 6 years ago, the Chicago Bulls ended the Miami Heat 27 game winning streak. The game was actually one of the best games of the Nate Robinson era. Boozer had 21 points and 17 rebounds, and Nate Robinson had 14 points, nearly equaling the Heat bench single-handedly. It was one of those games where Joakim Noah, Derrick Rose and Marco Belinelli, Rip Hamilton were all out with injury. Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer, Taj, Jimmy and Nate took over the game, stunning Lebron, D-Wade and Bosh and ending Miami’s nearly 2 month long winning streak.

Bulls vs Trailblazers Post Game Analysis.

The Bulls starters were: Shaq Harrison, Antonio Blakeney, Brandon Sampson, Wayne Selden and Robin Lopez. The Bulls called up 2-way players Rawle Alkins and Brandon Sampson even though Windy City Bulls had playoff game tonight, which seemed odd being that it was a 1 game playoff, which they LOST because Sampson and Alkins were playing for the Bulls tonight instead of with the Windy City Bulls.

The Bulls LOST 118-98.

Not much to talk about here except the great play of Robin Lopez continuing. Shaq Harrison added 21 points, 10 rebounds and 2 steals for the Bulls who were playing against a good Portland team that was still reeling from the tragic loss of Jusuf Nurkic’s injury, which was among the most gruesome thing in an NBA game next to Gordon Hayward and Paul George. His ankle basically shattered as he landed on it wrong. He may be out for a full year in recovery, so you have to feel for Portland going into the playoffs without one of their leading stars. Even our buddy Cristiano Felicio got some tick, getting 15 points in the game. Rawle Alkins, who just last week on the show we wanted him to get called up. He did, and got 2 points in 16 minutes of play.

Last Week’s Overall Predictions:

Saturday, March 23 – Bulls vs Utah Jazz (Wyse – L, Marcus – L)

Tuesday, March 26 – Bulls @ Toronto Raptors (Wyse – L, Marcus – L)

Wednesday, March 27 – Bulls vs Portland Trailblazers (Wyse – L, Marcus – L)

In the last 3 games, we both predicted a 0-3 record. Both called a perfect prediction!

 

Rumored Bulls Trade for Anthony Davis

There is a rumored trade in the works that would depend on where the Bulls land in the NBA lottery. This trade would immediately shift the rebuild timetable and place a legit All-Star in a Bulls uniform.

Trade Package: Lauri Markkanen, Zach LaVine, 2019 first-round pick

The Pelicans’ primary focus in a Davis deal is landing “a young player … who has the potential to become an All-NBA performer,” per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Markkanen and LaVine might both fit that bill, plus there’s a 12.5-percent chance that pick becomes this summer’s first overall. That’s quite the mammoth offer.

LaVine has effectively erased concerns about his post-ACL recovery, hitting career-highs of 23.8 points, 4.6 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 46.7 percent shooting. Five players hit those marks last season; four were All-NBA selections, and the fifth would’ve been if not for an Achilles rupture (DeMarcus Cousins).

Markkanen is averaging better than 18 points, eight boards and two triples. Only nine other players have previously done that. Eight have been All-NBA selections; the ninth, Antoine Walker, was a three-time All-Star.

There are legitimate questions of whether Chicago would offer this much, especially when there are whispers Davis doesn’t want to play for his hometown team. But if the Bulls decide to gamble, they’d hold one of the strongest hands at the table.

 

Potential Free Agents to Watch: Point Guards

There are plenty of free agents in the guard market coming after the season. Utah Jazz standout Ricky Rubio, Indiana Pacers guard Darren Collison, Jeff Teague of the Minnesota Timberwolves, and Goran Dragic of the Miami Heat are some of the bigger point guard names. But there are some off the radar guys that could potentially help our bench and even come in as a starter for extended times if needed.

Best Budget Friendly Potential Targets:  Malcolm Brogdon (restricted), Tomas Satoransky, Delon Wright

Malcom Brogdon (Milwaukee Bucks)

Brogdon is currently out on injury with a minor plantar fascia tear in his right foot. It will be interesting to see how he performs when if and when he comes back in a few weeks for Milwaukee’s playoff run. He was initially set to be out 6-8 weeks, but his status is currently set as out indefinitely.

Brogdon is a restricted free agent this year, which means the Bucks can match any offer. But Malcom Brogdon might be a perfect bench player that can back up our #1 or #2 guards, or a starter if we can’t get Ja Morant. He’s right in the range of points, FG% and 3pt% that we’re looking for and has an incredible 93% Free Throw percentage.

Tomas Satoransky (Washington Wizards)

A native of the Czech Republic, Satoransky may be most remembered by Bulls fans as the “other” guy Bobby Portis knocked out last year. Last season, Portis forced two of the Wizards’ guards to leave because of injury in a game against Chicago. Tim Frazier had to leave because of a knee to the head. Most notable though was the hard foul by Portis on Tomas Satoransky that forced Sato to leave the contest with blood pouring out of his head. Portis was ejected from the game because of it.

Since then, Satoransky has been running the show in place of John Wall, who is out for the season.

This year he’s played in every game, averaging 8.8 points a 5 assists while shooting 49% and 40% from 3-point range. His salary would be very Bulls Cap friendly while providing a quality guard that can play the 1 or 2 off the bench.

Bulls fans can window shop this guy in just a few games when we play the Wizards on Wed, April 3rd.

Delon Wright (Memphis Grizzlies)

We’ve mentioned a potential deal to get Mike Conley to join the Bulls, but the other guard worth noting for backup potential is Delon Wright.

Wright is a true point guard, playing in 67 games so far this year, averaging 8 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists as a reserve guard. He clips at 43% FG%, but only 28.8% from 3-point range this year. Wright just came off a monster game where he recorded 18 points (8-14 FG, 0-3 3Pt, 2-3 FT), 13 assists, four steals, and three rebounds in 35 minutes during Monday’s 115-103 win over the Thunder. Wright started in place of Mike Conley (thigh) and finished with a career high assist total while matching his career high in steals. He has reached double figures in scoring in three straight games while combining for 27 dimes across that same stretch. Furthermore, Wright has snagged at least two steals in six of 11 appearances thus far this month.

 

Upcoming Games this week:

Sat March 30 – Bulls vs Toronto Raptors  (Wyse X, Marcus L)

Mon April 1 – Bulls @ NY Knicks (Wyse X, Marcus W)

Wed March 3 – Bulls @ Washington Wizards  (Wyse X, Marcus L)

 

Wyse Social Links:

http://twitter.com/radical_creator

http://instagram.com/radical_creator

Bulls Podcast Call-in Line: 312-239-8586

You can find Marcus 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

If you can’t remember any of these, you can check out our show notes for this show over at our website, which is BullsPodcast.com where we have all the links we mentioned in today’s show.

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