Half of my brain is telling me to keep a wall up. The Chicago Bears QB history has been rancid enough that we should wait for at least a taste of Caleb Williams in uniform before allowing ourselves to be too hyped.
The other half of my brain thinks … THIS IS THE BEST PROSPECT THE BEARS HAVE EVER DRAFTED AND THE CITY IS SAVED. CALEB WILLIAMS IS THE NEXT GREAT CHICAGO SPORTS LEGEND. REJOICE!
The opportunity the Bears have in front of them makes the Chicago Bulls’ obsessor in me extremely jealous. Not only are they about to select a generational talent at the most important position in the league, but they are also in that spot because of their front-office leader! Ryan Poles pulled off a miraculous trade last season to set this organization up for long-term success. Meanwhile, the Bulls front office has continued to risk the future for immediate gratification. And despite what Arturas Karnisovas said in his end-of-season press conference, I still fear this is the path that they’ll continue down.
When is the last time we can say the Chicago Bulls had both a memorable and successful first round of the draft? Do we need to go all the way back to Derrick Rose? I’ll map out the first-round selections since that beautiful night in 2008 …
2009 – James Johnson (16), Taj Gibson (26) 2011 – Jimmy Butler (30) 2012 – Marquis Teague (29) 2013 – Tony Snell (20) 2014 – Doug McDermott (11) 2015 – Bobby Portis (22) 2016 – Denzel Valentine (22) 2017 – Lauri Markkanen (7) 2018 – Wendell Carter Jr. (7), Candler Hutchison (22) 2019 – Coby White (7) 2020 – Patrick Williams (4) 2022 – Dalen Terry (18)
I mean, that’s a pretty darn bleak list! The Jimmy Butler pick obviously proved to be a great one, but I’m not giving the organization a ton of credit for that. Nobody in the league knew what that guy would become, and they ended up trading him in the middle of his ascension. Lauri Markkanen is an All-Star … who was also traded. Taj Gibson was a great role player but nothing more than that. Bobby Portis is the same story, and the Chicago Bulls moved on from him fast. The Coby White draft night was a fun one, and he’s now finally in the thick of a breakout. However, I’m not ready to declare him a truly successful draft night story for the franchise until we see some more postseason basketball.
Every future draft will now come with tons of weight on the front office’s shoulders, especially after how the last couple of first rounds have gone. Williams still has some good upside, but there is no denying the start of his career has been extremely underwhelming for a top 4 selection. Dalen Terry has struggled to crack the rotation over his first two seasons and has shown very little all-around improvement. They’ll now have another chance to grab a potential difference-maker in the lottery this June. Please don’t go 0-3!
(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
BBall Index shared the forwards that take the toughest shots in the NBA. To absolutely no surprise, DeMar DeRozan ranked second behind only Brandon Ingram. The last thing the mid-range maestro cares about is shot quality, and he’s got a 50.2 percent field goal percentage over the last five seasons which shows why.
The bottom 10 forwards in Overall Shot Quality
1. Brandon Ingram 2. DeMar DeRozan 3. Jerami Grant 4. Khris Middleton 5. Kevin Durant 6. Zion Williamson 7. Kyle Anderson 8. Brandon Miller 9. Julius Randle 10. Bennedict Mathurin
They take the hardest shots— BBall Index (@The_BBall_Index) April 25, 2024
Joakim Noah continues to do great work with the NBA Africa League. SLAM spoke with the Chicago Bulls’ legend about his investment in the organization, as well as what else is going on in the big man’s life. Per usual, it proved to be a great Q&A with a very thoughtful and introspective Noah. I really encourage you to give it a read here.
"My ultimate goal is when you see African kids, like, doing a tween-tween hesi, then you know that we did something right."
Tyrese Maxey has become the first player to be named Most Improved Player after averaging 20 points per game in the prior season, per @hoopshypepic.twitter.com/DIU7tbwJsF— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) April 24, 2024
Elias Schuster is the Lead Chicago Bulls writer at Bleacher Nation. He started with BN full-time in 2019 immediately after graduating from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign with a degree in Journalism (yes, he started with the Jim Boylen Era). Since joining, Elias has been the driving force behind Bulls and NBA content for both the site and social accounts. You can follow him on Twitter/X @Schuster_Elias.
We are one week away from the Chicago Bulls being rewarded with the No. 1 overall pick! The NBA Draft Lottery projects to be a pretty uneventful night for the Chicago Bulls. The team is currently locked into the No....
Lonzo Ball picked up his player option for the 2024-25 season, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. All things considered, this might as well be the most obvious transactional news of the season. Ball had to choose between making $21.4 million next...
Believe it or not, the NBA Draft Lottery is only eight days away. As the NBA playoff enters the second round, the rest of the league will turn their attention to the 2024 prospect pool. While this draft class has...
Round 1 of the NBA Playoffs is wrapping up, and it's been a really fun postseason thus far. We have new stars emerging, current stars making early exits, and some really fun series to look forward to in Round 2....
The Chicago Sky will begin a new era on Friday night. The organization is gearing up for its first of two preseason battles before the regular season tips off on May 15. This first contest will come on the road...
The Los Angeles Lakers announced on Friday that they officially parted ways with head coach Darvin Ham. https://twitter.com/Lakers/status/1786459157002121295 The news comes after plenty of speculation during an up-and-down season for LA. Despite some great play from LeBron James and Anthony...
Fun Fact: The Chicago Bulls watched Derrick Rose officially become the youngest MVP in NBA history 13 years ago today. Legendary stuff. https://twitter.com/BullsArchive/status/1786409343954419937 When the clock isn't running, few sporting moments are cooler than an MVP award ceremony. Rose accepting...
Patrick Beverley made a series loss that much worse for the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night. The veteran guard let his emotions get the best of him near the end of Indiana's blowout victory. With a little over 2:00 minutes...
This February and Black History Month, you can honor some lesser-known heroes of basketball history with HOMAGE's new collection dedicated to the Black Fives Era. Never heard of The Black Fives Era? That's okay. It's always a good time to...
Patrick Williams' Basketball-Reference page isn't what the Chicago Bulls would like. The 22-year-old forward has averaged nearly identical numbers each season of his career. Even more frustrating, two of those seasons were cut short by differing surgeries. While Coby White...
The San Francisco Giants (15-20) hope to avoid their fourth straight defeat when they visit the Philadelphia Phillies (24-11) Monday at 4:05 PM ET on NBCS-BA. The Phillies are listed as -205 favorites, while the Giants are +169 underdogs as...
The San Francisco Giants (15-20), who lost their previous three games, face the Philadelphia Phillies (24-11) at Citizens Bank Park on Monday. First pitch is at 4:05 PM ET.The probable pitchers are Zack Wheeler (3-3) for the Phillies and Mason...
There is just the one Stanley Cup Playoffs Second Round game on the menu Monday, and anytime goal-scorer odds for players from each squad are listed below.Watch the NHL on Fubo!Today's Top Anytime Goal OddsSam Reinhart (Panthers) +105 to scorePanthers...
Today's MLB schedule features 10 contests, including a matchup between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Kansas City Royals.Below you'll discover MLB player prop bets for each and every contest on Monday's slate -- MLB prop bets are one of the...
In a series opener on Monday, Isaac Paredes and the Tampa Bay Rays (17-18) face Gavin Sheets and the Chicago White Sox (8-26), with first pitch scheduled for 6:50 PM ET at Tropicana Field.If you're planning on watching this game,...
The New York Knicks are 6-point favorites in Game 1 of the second round of the NBA Playoffs against the Indiana Pacers at Madison Square Garden on Monday, starting at 7:30 PM ET on TNT. The over/under for the matchup...
The Minnesota Timberwolves bring a 0-1 lead into Game 2 of the second round of the NBA Playoffs. The Nuggets are favored by 5.5 points in the matchup, which airs on TNT at 10:00 PM ET. The matchup has an...
Alec Bohm and the Philadelphia Phillies (24-11) host Michael Conforto and the San Francisco Giants (15-20) at 4:05 PM ET on Monday.If you're planning on watching this game, keep reading for streaming and TV options for the Philadelphia-San Francisco matchup.When...
The Texas Rangers (19-16), led by Marcus Semien, visit Brent Rooker and the Oakland Athletics (17-18) on Monday at 9:40 PM ET.The article below will provide you with everything you need to know to watch Texas take on Oakland.When is...
The Los Angeles Dodgers (23-13), led by Mookie Betts, host Bryan De La Cruz and the Miami Marlins (10-26) at 10:10 PM ET on Monday in a series opener.Keep scrolling to find out all the details on how to watch...
NEWSLETTER
