What Should The Bulls Prioritize Heading Into the 2024 NBA draft ?

What Should The Bulls Prioritize Heading Into the 2024 NBA draft ?

my neck you found yourself on another edition of locked on bulls on today’s episode we’re going to talk about what should the Chicago Bulls be prioritizing ahead of the draft shooting or rebounding also Kobe white second place and most improved voting last season is he somebody the Chicago Bulls should look to build around and the unfortunate passing of catwalk will look back on his Hall of Fame career all that more coming up [Music] you are locked on bulls your daily Chicago Bulls podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day thank you for tuning in to another edition of locked on bulls member of the locked on podcast Network where it’s your team every day it’s your boy Pat the designer back at it again and today’s episode is brought to you by prize picks the easiest and most exciting way to play daily fantasy sports go to prize.com lockon NBA and use the code all lowercase locked on NBA for a first deposit match up to $100 now Chicago Bulls there draft talk everywhere that’s really all we have to look forward to with this team it seems like what’s going to happen in the NBA draft are they going up are they going down are they going to stand Pat are they going to take somebody at 11 who are they going to take are they going to draft somebody too early are they going to draft somebody too late don’t know if you saw the latest but Zack Ed is moving up trap Boards out here somebody check on hayz um but I I think the real question that we really need to lock down and I want you guys to let me know in the comments below as well is what should the Chicago Bulls be prioritizing now of course with some of the trade options that we’ve had it opens things up for the Bulls to get both but what is the thing that Chicago Bulls need most is it the shooting or is it the rebounding and I’ll throw Rim protection in there as well right because you’re assuming that a big is the one that’s going out there and rebounding the basketball so are are you prioritizing the shooting aspect of it are you prioritizing going out there and getting you somebody that could be a big down low be a rim protector and get the ball away and I think this is this is really the root of the question for the Chicago Bulls because you look at last season I mean offensively there’s a lot to be was there’s a lot left on the table offensively for this team and of course right it does come down to is Billy Donovan the reason that some of this is getting held back or not but your offensive rating right now is 114 that’s how you finish the season that’s 19th in the NBA at the three-point line the Chicago Bulls took 11.5 three-pointers per game that is tied for 26th in the NBA um and your your rebounding percentages were not terrible I mean your offensive rebounding percentages which is a very important one you was uh 29.1% that’s 11th in the NBA could that improve yeah and I think here’s the here’s the tough part about a lot of these numbers that I just threw you guys away it’s also situational right we’ve seen the Bulls be a team that can accomplish whatever they set their mind to at times we’ve also seen the Bulls be a team that can’t figure out how to get out of a brown paper bag you know what I mean so I think that it is very interesting when you kind of look at the pros and cons of both sides of this team you look at the age that’s on some of these guys as well as far as your bigs on this team of course 30 uh Plus for Vu you’re also looking at 30 plus for Demar so there’s a lot of factors that play into it as you head into this draft right the biggest thing for me though is that number of the Chicago Bulls being tied for 26 in three-point attempts per game and my problem with that is that you feel that your team is either one of two things one either so bad offensively that you can’t go out there and shoot the three ball that you can’t prioritize shooting the three ball because you don’t have enough people that can do it or you just feel like the three ball is not a valid weapon for the modern NBA and I can’t believe that Chicago Bulls are dumb enough to feel that way and so I look at the other side of this and say you feel like there’s not enough people on your team that can go out there and knock down to three and I would almost be inclined to agree with you uh in the sense of it I don’t think that top to bottom at the beginning and end of your team you’ve got you know three-point Shooters everywhere you’ve got guys that take threes but I don’t think you have three-point Shooters everywhere and that to me is something that gets you into the type of NBA that is winning right now the type of NBA that you can go out there and be successful with that doesn’t mean that you don’t prioritize rebounding and defense but I do think that with some of the pieces that you have on this team right now and of course if trades happen this this could change but if you’re talking about going out there to war defensively with a healthy P will I dumu um a uh Alex Caruso uh I guess you could throw drum in there if he’s not having foul trouble right you’ve got some guys who are known for defense on this team is my point Tory Craig right you could throw him out there you’ve got some guys who are known for their defense those same guys you don’t look at and go oh yeah he’s going to be able to go out there and get a bucket I think Kobe white fits that Kobe White’s an okay Defender but he is not an elite Defender and so you you you kind of look around and go he’s more on the shooting side okay how many guys do we have that you feel like are a strap all right Kobe white a healthy Zack LaVine you start to get a little quiet there right you start to think about guys a little bit more I dumu can shoot the three right he’s he’s got that ability he’s somebody that can knock it down Tory Craig can shoot the three in theory Leroy Carter Javon Carter can shoot the three you’ve got a bunch of guys that can shoot it but who are the guys that you sit there and go Nah if the ball’s in his hand on the three-point line that’s going to be knocked down no matter what I think that’s what really why why I look at shooting to me is the is the biggest priority of the Chicago Bulls need to focus in on um and I think there’s some guys that are really really good at it in this draft I mean we talked about Dalton connect if you’re going to trade up for anybody find a way to get him in a Chicago Bulls jersey right CU I think he’ll end up being probably a top eight player with his offensive ability um but I I just I believe that you have a team right now that is falling behind in the modern era of basketball I’ve said this many of times you’re trying to run a 2006 style of offense in a 2024 basketball league and it’s just not going to work in your favor you’re going to have things that end up not working out for you and so I think the Bulls really need to try and address ways to get into the modern era of offense and I’m not saying you got to go out there and be number one shooting excuse me shooting the three ball almost had a heart attack right there um I’m not saying that you got to go out there and be the the team that shoots the most threes in the NBA I’m still here for the efficiency I want to see the Bulls be efficient I want to see the Bulls find a way to get stuff done but what I do want them to add or get stuff done at a efficient level right but what I do want them to add is guys who do think when the ball touches my hand I’m going to let this thing fly and I want that to be the mindset of the the young players that are coming through the system I want that to be dalen Terry’s mindset I want that to be Julian Phillips mindset and I think the Bulls want that to be the mindset because they did go out and add a shooting coach last year right we saw Peter Patton come into the building he was supposed to change Chicago Bull’s shot profile it looks very similar well guess what I can’t change the shot profile on a team of guys that really can’t go out there and knock down a three ball on a consistent basis I think to me that’s more important to getting you into getting you to whatever this next step is for the Chicago Bulls than going out there and not to say you can’t prioritize defense at The Rim not to say you can’t prioritize a a big that can go out there and and grab you you know 15 boards a game but you do have guys who can go out and rebound on this team already you’ve got Andre Drummond now if you were to resign them that’d be kind of tough at this point but if you let guys walk you can keep drum around um you’ve got niik lavich who you know not the greatest RI protector but is still a solid rebounder on this team I’d be willing to say you know what we’re not getting the answers we’re looking for there just yet but we can wait on those answers to try and address something that we desperately are in need of changing and to me that’s the shot profile and and the three-point attempts of this Bulls team let me know how you guys feel in the comments below I’ll be down there talking with you as well I think there’s some really good names and and I’ll say this I think there’s some names that kind of fit both but right when you look at a guy like Kyle filipowski Kyle filipowski turned himself into a little bit better of a rim protector definitely could put up the Trey Ball definitely could put the ball on the floor not the best rebounder that I’ve seen right not not the guy that I would go out there and say he’s the one that’s going to get you 10 boards a night but does have that offensive ability does bring some of that size maybe you can work him into that maybe work it with v he could figure out some tips of the trade that can improve his rebound he’s not a horrible rebounder he just kind of gets moved around every now and then right so there are some bigs in this draft that you can play with that kind of address both needs and maybe that’s the route you but I’ll say this you need to come out of this draft with an answer at something so whatever player you take and I’m I’m going off of the scenario that you’re just taking one guy uh of course the trade up and trade down scenarios are there but right now we have the 11 and we don’t we can’t expect AK to say you know what I’m going up to three this is what I’m gonna do I I don’t expect that at all because I I just don’t believe that we haven’t seen him be that level of aggressive since he signed everybody here and I don’t know if all of a sudden he’s just going to turn back into that guy where he’s like boom here we go aggressiveness out the wazo we’re we’re making trades we’re moving up in the draft we’re adding multiple young pieces I would love to see that but I don’t know if that’s going to happen so I’m operating out of the mindset that you’re just utilizing the 11th overall pick and I think there will be players more so to me that at 11 you’ll be able to say what does this guy do well he shoots and he shoots at a really nice volume okay okay maybe that’s our best option here because that addresses something all the other guys are and listen you got to develop your young guys but all the other guys to me are pieces that do they address things sure but they don’t they don’t come in where you go I’m confident that he’s going to address that they more so to me come in as you know when you look at some of the filipowski when you and and not to say I don’t think that he would be a phenomenal player on here but I don’t think he addresses rebounding right I think that he addresses maybe some of your shot making some of the things like that from the three-point side you get a little with him maybe that would work in your favor I think Donovan kingan is a guy who you know a little bit up and down with the rebounding but I think he’s absolutely the rim protector you’re looking for and so I I wonder what the Bulls are really looking to utilize really looking to prioritize coming into this season uh coming into this draft I should say for me though uh excuse me my excitement right now would be going out and addressing the shooting position having a guy that can play off of Kobe a knock down the three ball at a similar rate that he can and speaking of Kobe we got to talk about Kobe because you’re adding pieces onto this team can you build a team around Kobe white we’ll talk about that coming up because I think that seeing him as the most improved player getting I should say the second place most improved player and looking back at his season maybe there’s a case for it we’ll talk about that coming up next but first we got to tell you guys all about prize picks what is prize picks I mean listen it’s only America’s number one fantasy sports app with more than 5 million members it’s the most fun and exciting way to get in on action while you watch your favorite sports and players you just pick more or less on two or more player stats for a shot to 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that in the comments there’s always action on prize picks in June especially though uh is the perfect time to get in on something new uh make sure you try out Esports this month at as well because for every Wednesday and Saturday in June if your lineup doesn’t win you’ll get your entry feedb back choose from counter- Strike 2 Call of Duty League of Legends and more check it out right now at priz picks.com you can download the app today and use the code locked on NBA for the first deposit match up to $100 download the app today and use the code locked on NBA for a first deposit match up to $100 prize picks pick more pick less it’s that easy all right ladies and gentlemen welcome back to another edition of lockon bulls remember of the lockon podcast Network pack the designer still here and I got a question for you because we saw a a very improved season out of Kobe white last season it’s a a young man who uh I mean listen absolutely turned up uh when he was given the opportunity when the Reigns were put in his hand uh played the most games that he’s played of his career played the most minutes by far that he’s played of his career averaging 36 minutes per game played through a little bit of injury in the second half of that season as well but got himself from the previous season he’s had highs scoring Seasons before or higher scoring Seasons I should say with the previous season coming off of 22 minutes per game 9.7 points per game 2.8 assists 2.9 total rebounds to this season 19 points per game uh finished with five assists and 4.5 total rebounds but the offense really moved in the right direction this season especially that three-point shot as he was able to get it up to 37% shot 37.2 season before but that was on 4.6 threes per game got that up to 37% on seven threes per game so more three-pointers being able to knock them down at a higher clip listen can you build a team around Kobe white and to me this is a two fold question can I build the championship Chicago Bulls around Kobe white probably not Kobe would have to take a very big step I saw the video with him and dribble too much working again I love the fact that he’s working on his body I love the fact that he’s working on his handle still not he he’s not to the point where he’s like oh well you know I got my handle good so I’mma just go out here and do this on my own I figured out the drills no he’s going back to the coach that got him on PA on uh uh par to actually you know take that next step and help him and he credits him very much uh so working with him again but there’d have to be a pretty massive step heading into next season and what I mean by that is you’d have to go from being a ninepoint per game player to a 19point per game player and for the longterm you’ve got to add another six points to me players that you build around are 25 Point per game minimum players I believe in this NBA um you don’t sit there and and say I’m going to build around the dude that’s able to put up 18 unless he’s giving you 10 assists with it right and that’s usually how this league has a tendency to go but you’ve got a young Cobe white at 24 years old still a lot of time still a lot of career left for Kobe white I know people feel like you know he’s probably older because of how long he’s been in the league but still incredibly incredibly young and you have an opportunity to or what what you would have to see out of him if he were able to make that next step um you would have a long time to be able to do that but that step would have to be massive for the long term but I don’t think that’s the decision you’re looking to make today because realistically in the situation that Chicago Bulls are in right now you’re trying to figure out okay are we bringing back demard R Ro and how are we trading Zack LaVine because it seems like that’s going to be the the tone for the future what the heck is niik lavich doing are we keeping Andre Drummond what’s this bench going to look like next season you’re trying to figure out all of these other things that have to happen and because of that I do think you can head into next season building around building a team around Kobe white that does not mean that your long-term plan is built around Kobe white you can do things in short spurts and do things in Long spurts that’s crazy don’t worry about that we’ll move past it I’m so glad Hayes ain’t on this episode but realistically speaking if I’m looking at Kobe White and the growth that he had this season he’s the kind of player that I think that you can build around in the short term and that you’re still looking for that other star while he keeps this team afloat and I think that’s what he was able to do in limited time last season and but I believe that now coming into this season if you were to say you know what we’ve got this young guy we’re trying to figure out what the heck he is I dumu also took another step with him how about we give him the pieces to succeed this season we figure things out this season around him and in the long term yeah we can look for that star we can try to find that guy that that’s going to be the Superstar hopefully he becomes that but if he doesn’t we’re still looking elsewhere but right now I’m going to give him a team to put on the floor that he can go out and compete heavily with I think that building your team in that manner helps because then you get guys that come to a team where yeah you’re the rook and maybe there’s another player there but if you’re the better player right I think back to right Kevin Garnett coming to the Minnesota Timberwolves right J.R Ryder there Kevin Garett of course everybody expected him to be the better player everybody expected him to be the next level everybody expected him to be the best of the best everything that he turned into but Isaiah Ryder was already a heck of a player Isaiah Ryder was already going up against Michael Jordan he had already figured out okay this is how I move this is my game this is what I need to do and when Kevin Garnett showed up it wasn’t hey this is J.R Ryder’s team it was okay you know I’m gonna learn the ropes I’m G figure things out once I get my game everybody knew it was kg’s team so we can’t sit here and say there’s going to be this power struggle if if Kobe white is is if you try to build around Kobe white right now I think that the goal right now is to try and at least for AK remain competitive the goal right now is to try and go out there and win as many games as possible and maybe be able to find something out of Kobe white but the long-term goal does not have to be tied to Kobe white being the face of the Chicago Bulls team and I think that’s why to me it’s kind of a two-fold question heading in next season I don’t think you have an option but to build around Kobe white I’m sorry if if if you start next season and your roster looks the same there needs to be a conversation that we get Kobe white the ball Kobe white does what he does and everybody plays around him that conversation needs to be had because you saw growth on a team that hasn’t seen growth since AK got here you have to nurture that look at what it did for IOD dumu look at what it did for Patrick Williams in some limited spurts this season right now does that mean Kobe white is not is the perfect piece to build around absolutely not his inconsistencies are still there I think he’d tell you that his inconsistencies were there in the second half of the Season had to go through some injury uh and and was fighting through that and was playing through that but I think he would even tell you there were some inconsistencies in the second half of that season heck his last two games of the Season you’re talking about a guy who went out there in the first game and scored uh trying to see where is is his last oh this does not include playoffs let me see if I can find I want to say he scored 42 and then like the final game of the season 13 versus the Miami Heat those inconsistencies can’t happen yeah here it is uh 429 and6 versus Atlanta Atlanta horrible defense absolutely destroyed them Bulls in the playoffs Kum Baya here we go oh my God they’re so much exciting but they got to beat the heat to get in the playoffs I’m sorry they in the play in but they got to beat the heat to get in the playoffs the next game 36 minutes 13 points two Freight from the three-point line two rebounds four assists one steal the inconsistencies are still there so you have to find a way to kind of work those out of your game now if he gets to a point where he does maybe he is a piece that you can build around long term but I think what AK needs to focus on right now is how do I put the best team around him while adding in a rookie to this team that that because here’s the thing that puts you in a better position when you get that guy that puts you in a better position where you start looking around and you go oh okay uh we just drafted this rookie probably in 2026 cuz I would assume that you’re not going to have this pick in 2025 but we’ll see uh but but in 2026 all right we’re in a little bit better of a position here to go out and assess the draft we’ve got a pick here at 11 or 12 whatever it is and uh we’ve got a really good player that we’ve identified here we think that he’s going to be the next face of the Chicago Bulls boom you add him to a team and you do essentially what the Chicago Bears have done which I think is a great thing is you don’t put the pressure on the rookie to be the greatest player of all time the second he steps on the court we’ve done that in the past and at times it’s worked out right Derrick Rose it worked out were there vets there for sure but you kind of were like d it go you know what I mean but I think that this season or or or when you get to that point right when you get to the time where you have a draft pick how you built this out and how you’ve set things up you can kind of do that future building you can kind of do that okay we’re here right now and yeah it’s not great but let’s remain competitive let’s build a team that has a lot of fire let’s build our culture let’s figure out what the heck the culture is in this building and then on the other side of this we go out there and we add uh uh um the piece that we think is going to be the face of this franchise into that we let him grow at his Pace once he figures out it’s kg talks about he said it took him like 25 games to kind of figure out what worked for him and what didn’t and once he figured out what worked for him and what didn’t boom all of a sudden he’s ready to go you still got his a rider right there you’ve still got a heck of a team around kg that’s going out there and has an ability to compete that to me is the way that the Chicago Bulls should look at this thing when you’re talking about building around Kobe white Kobe White’s a really good player but you do have to kind of take in you you have to take everything with a grain of salt because of the inconsistencies and because you don’t know if he’s gonna take that next step you may get 19 Point per game Kobe white again next year 19 Point per game Kobe white I love it let’s keep him around let’s figure this out but you got to find somebody else that’s going to take that next step or is going to be the star on this team and you just don’t have that right now uh we got to talk about one more thing before we get up out of here the unfortunate passing of Chad Walker we will be talking about that coming up next rip to the great Legend Chad Walker the Chicago Bulls wrote this on Twitter we are deeply sad by the passing of Chad Walker a legendary figure in our team’s history and inducted into the Nay Smith Basketball Hall of Fame Chad left an incredible mark on the court in the hearts of fans during his six seasons with the Chicago Bulls from 1969 to 1975 the team never missed the playoffs he was a seven-time NBA Allstar and an inaugural member of the Chicago Bull’s Ring of Honor his skill dedication and contributions to the game made a lasting impact on the sport of basketball and the City of Chicago we extend our heartfelt condolences to his family friends and all who were touched by his legacy Chad will forever be remembered as a true Chicago Bulls icon very good by the Chicago Bulls on that 1940 to 2024 for chat Walker he passed away at 84 and listen I know that many people don’t take the time anymore to go back and look at the people of the past but the these were guys that my dad never stopped talking about so I got opportunities to see a lot of these guys highlights and different things like that and Chad Walker was somebody who when you watched this tape to me um you never felt like he was the most athletic player on the floor you never felt like he was the uh um I guess I’d say the fastest or but but when you talk about a guy who was able to go out there and be efficient on the basketball court when you talk about a guy who was able to go out there and be an absolute surgeon on the basketball court many seasons here in Chicago uh three as a matter of fact of his six seasons here in Chicago averaging above 20 points per game remember this is in the 60s that’s a that’s a big chunk of the offense back then right always uh available to play um excuse me as as far as a a shooting threat I mean he he was inside the paint an absolute surgeon you know what I mean he he was somebody who pump fake boom down low I mean if he the one takeaway that I’d say that I got from chat Walker was and he always had this move he comes down left side pump fake gets you in the air easy boom bucket right Tyson CH I I watched him I just go Ty Tyrus Thomas would have like died like Tyrus Thomas would have been getting cooked on a consistent basis Chad would have averaged 50 vers Tyrus because he would have jumped them out of his Nikes with a half an eyebrow fake um unfortunate unfortunate to hear of the passing of Chad um but I thought that you know what better what better place than lock on bulls to talk about them an absolutely true Bulls icon like it said they had never missed the playoffs for Chad uh led the Chicago Bulls to the Western Conference Finals where they faced the Los Angeles Lakers didn’t end up winning that one but did go in there I mean I mean listen uh um somebody who if you don’t have that beginning especially back then right we may we may not become the Chicago Bulls that we are today teams were getting moved around left and right back then it was it was a different NBA um and and now you’re at a time where everything is solidified but the fact that Chicago basketball is still here the fact that Chicago basketball is still a major part of this Market I think the cat Walker plays a big part in that he was one who my dad always talks about cutting the the tickets off of the milk carton uh and going to Bulls game games down at the Old Chicago stadium so um prayers up to the family prayers up to all the friends prayers up to all the Bulls fans who got to watch him and uh possibly lost one of your childhood or adult icons tonight um and I mean listen we we’ll remember him well here on lockon bulls we’ll remember the Legacy remember the dominance that we saw here in Chicago uh appreciate you guys for tuning in and showing love though hit that like button subscribe to the page leave at five star review y’all know what to do you can follow me on everything at path of designer you can follow us both on everything at lockon Bulls hey stay safe out there Chicago one love C red peace

On Todays episode Pat The Designer talks about what the Bulls Need to prioritize ahead Of The NBA Draft . He also asks could the bulls build around coby white & finally gives tribute to The Great Chet Walker

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