DeMar DeRozan is likely leaving the Bulls while Zach LaVine is stuck | Bernstein & Holmes

DeMar DeRozan is likely leaving the Bulls while Zach LaVine is stuck | Bernstein & Holmes

good am I am I right to be encouraged at this current direction will my optimism be rewarded uh one of those things the other two are a lot tougher those are big Bowlers to be pushing but uh the D rozan look Andre Drummond I you know I tweeted it out I wrote he was going to be the first piece to go that one was obvious um D rozan that relationship has disintegrated the door obviously was open after the end of the season um the play and lost to Mii Miami uh there’s been some circumstances that led to some not ill feelings but a change of heart bruso that cruso trade was the final straw um that that made D rozan say I do not like the direction there was a lot of stuff behind the scenes too that went into that um but he will be signing elsewhere so we can go ahead and close theuh chapter on the king of the fourth uh then it gets really tricky you know ideally they were hoping the dominoes were going to fall differently than they have um and that meant Orlando lacking an adult they have since solved that that meant uh the Clippers having a big hole to fill Derek Jones Jr going there sort of hurts that uh Detroit with Tobias Harris you know they needed an adult they seem to have gotten one um so The Dominoes have not Fallen the way our tourist caros sois need needed them to fall in order for Zack LaVine to be a commodity a couple weeks ago there was a growing momentum that they was going to be a Suitor for Zach um but that has not worked out the way they’ve wanted it to unfortunately how much do you think management has learned when it comes to the moves that they didn’t make now is that because Dan and I have been discussing this and debating it to a small degree on whether that’s on management or if that’s on ownership that they didn’t make the moves that they needed to make at both trade deadlines over the last two years well my my frustration was at this trade deadline specifically um look I will I will on the record I’ve always said the initial trade for vuvi had to be done and I backed that trade 100% resigning him at that time by thinking continuity was the way was was the wrong way to go when they could have traded him last deadline um they didn’t do that this year they could have traded Andre Drummond and acquired second round picks knowing that he was possibly going to walk they didn’t do that again two factors I don’t think they value second round picks like some organizations do and look second round picks I’ve said this before are kind of like Bitcoin they’re the eye of the beholder some people think it’s just not they’re nonsense and they lead to nothing others hold that second round picks as high currency that can be moved for other things um so it depends on your front office’s philosophy but the other part of this is when your bosses tell you the push is for the playoffs and you know you need Andre Drummond for that push it’s hard to say you know bunks the bosses we’re just GNA go and do our own thing and so um I think they were kind of handcuffed a bit otherwise I I think they would have moved Andre Drummond and look the big kick in the rear in all of this is they felt pretty confident that there were teams interested in Zack LaVine at the trade deadline when clutch Sports and Zack LaVine opted to have surgery and they made the Bulls made that very clear in the press release if you remember that this is Zack LaVine and clutch Sports opting to have the surgery they felt they could rehab it and get him back on the court um and they were hoping that other teams would when they gave him a physical would see that as well this that that really was a slap in the face of that relationship and and and why the Bulls are where they are right now um with the whole Zach and and and obviously not not pulling the trigger because boss has kind of handcuffed him now Joe I know that we’re going to talk about some of the contracts signed over the weekend which I I do think were were properly valued for for what these pieces are but there is a growing chorus of people saying well that Zack LaVine a floor spacer a shooter exactly what they need volume thre Point shooting with this and I I can’t scream no loudly enough and the reason is is is multiple how do you do that to Kobe white how do you finally it’s it finally looks like you’re clearing the decks You’ you’ve got a a pass first playmaker young point guard to stand next to him we know that he and Zach for whatever reason whatever you want to call the positions however you want to partiel at the time they don’t coexist well how can the big piece of this not be to just provide who whatever it is more offensive oxygen and and and and opportunity available to to Young developing players Dan and I mean Dan that’s a great point but there’s a bigger sample size than just what you’re throwing out and I’ve been kind of thumping this on the table for years lri marinin played his best basketball when it was Chris Dunn and Zack LaVine was out with an injury Patrick Williams has played his best basketball when Zack LaVine has not been playing and Kobe white has played his best basketball when Zack LaVine was out of the picture and Demar D rozan was Batman to his Robin so this is just not a Kobe white thing this has been an ongoing thing that for some reason and it’s not that Zach is a selfish player I just think his IQ and his lack of playmaking and understanding when to get certain guys the ball and because he’s such a bad shot maker there is no bad shot for him in his mind and so I think he has stunned the growth of numerous guys that have we’ve seen go on and do things great things in other organizations or Excel when Zach is out with an injury um so I don’t think it’s just a Kobe white thing and that’s tough I mean you’re starting five right now as of today is Josh giddy Kobe white Zack LaVine so who’s going to be the three do you cross match do you look for a weakness how you going to handle that Patrick Williams and vhvi now that might be the group they want to run because that will ensure that the Spurs do not get their top 10 pick because that’s just a layup line for the opposing teams um but as of right now that’s your starting five and I think it does two things you got Zack ha as as a hostage and not a volunteer and secondly you have him continually stunt the growth of guys that you are trying to push in this youth movement do you think that that the perception of Zach as a player whether that that perception has to do with people thinking that he maybe doesn’t have the highest basketball IQ to go along with all that incredible Talent is that why we’re seeing if you want to make a trade for for him the Bulls you got have attached something like it because I got to tell you Joe like the way the people have felt talking about Zach publicly makes me feel like there are a lot of people who don’t think he’s a great teammate the market tells you what they think of I mean they can’t unload this guy um I and I wouldn’t say he’s a bad teammate I think in the locker room he’s well-liked he he’s he has changed since he went to clutch Sports and I always compare this to you know he was about the businessman and now he’s about the businessman so there is a difference in him um as far as that and understanding what that generational wealth and that Max contract has done and then when you go to clutch they kind of emphasize of just how much of a business this is for you so I I do think there’s not that love and joy of basketball that he used to have that you could feel and teammates could feel um it’s more of a job for him now which you know I’m never one to judge a person’s philosophy of why they’re getting paid and how they’re getting paid but when you are pushing a youth movement it’s just a bad idea to keep that in the locker room and you know to your point it’s not just how the Bulls feel about him the NBA has screamed for two years how they feel about him and that’s why you know I I I did that sitdown with him and he tried to convince me years ago that he deserved the Max and it was all contingent on look how I’m playing defense look how the defense I played for Team USA look at the defense I did at the time of that interview the first you know four weeks five weeks of the season and so I was like okay we’ll give you the benefit of the doubt if that defense is going to continue and immed immediately after that the defense went South and then you’re dealing with a Bradley Bill type guy who’s one-dimensional but I I don’t even think he has the playmaking skills and IQ of Bradley Bill so um it’s been tough and and and maxing him is proven to be a big boulder that they can’t move now so let’s talk about the deals that happen over the weekend Patrick Williams agrees to come back on a relatively inexpensive deal for a young three and D guy at the very minimum Tory Craig picks up his option and they sign developing Young bespectacled Center Jaylen Smith away from the Indiana Pacers for three years and $27 million what does that do for the front Court well I mean it gives them depth with Jaylen Smith at at center now hope he be that small Center that that Billy likes to you know go with that small lineup so he likes that he can space the floor his per 36 rebounding is actually pretty good I think it’s near the 11 you know 11 rank I know it’s 5.5 per game but if you at his per 36 it’s it’s a lot better than that um you know the Josh giddy thing is he’s going to be exciting he’s going to be a triple triple double threat on a nightly basis um my only concern with that whole press conference is he’s like yeah basically they got rid of me because the team got really good and my role changed and I didn’t fit anymore well what if this team gets really good you do not fit here I mean do you not do well on good teams I mean that made me a little nervous with him saying that I I I think he was misspeaking a little bit I’m hoping so and then the Patrick Williams thing um the best thing that happened for the Bulls is Patrick Williams got hurt because that really killed his value I mean to have a a 22y old who’s a three and D guy and to get him at that price is is is pretty good and look both sides wanted it to happen I I don’t think Patrick Williams really wanted to leave I think he likes the Bulls he’s comfortable there um so yeah I mean it’s definitely a I think steps in the right direction and especially to me that the caveat and all of this is do these moves make you bad enough where you keep that top 10 25 protected pick out of the Spurs hands because if you if you do then really you traded Caruso for Giddy and a first round pick in 25 which you cannot get first round picks in 25 from anyone I don’t care who you’re offering up if it’s a team that feels like they’re in the bottom 15 you cannot you can offer up the farm and they will not give you a 25 draft pick a 25 first round draft pick has not been put on the table for the Bulls in the last three seasons because NBA teams knew what was coming do you think that there’s more to Patrick Williams’s game than what he’s shown I’d like to say yeah but I mean how many times are we going to get fools you know what I mean I’d like to say yes because there’s flashes of it but maybe he’s just a guy that flashes and is inconsistent and always plays sometimes lethargic and sometimes wow and that just might be his his career and the other side of it is he is a worker he might not be Kobe white type worker but he’s if koby’s the first one in Patrick Williams is usually the second one in the gym and if Kobe White’s the last one to leave and shut off the lights Patrick Williams is leaving just before Kobe so that’s what makes me crazy Joe is that when we talk motor there’s there’s two two ways that that NBA people will talk about somebody’s motor one is once the game itself starts and that’s really important and that’s what we see that’s but the some stuff that they see is what you’re talking about that is indicative of a motor of how early do you wake up when do you go to sleep when are you in the gym I just wish that his outside the game motor was more evident in the game yes and and that’s the frustration with him um you know he’s learned a lot of things I think Billy Donovan tells a story about his first year with Patrick Williams you know he noticed him eating a big huge chicken parm before the game and then doing it the next game and the next game and he went up to him finally he’s like broh uh that that’s not a pregame type meal that you want to stuff yourself with is big old fried chicken parm and so he’s just then you have to realize realiz he’s an 18 19 year old kid and this is just what he did and so he’s had to learn a lot of different things on on on how to grow up and be a man in the NBA the hope is that they seem to feel that when he gets going early in games he usually is more involved um and it’s on them and it’s on his teammates to make sure he stays that way and that’s why that goes back to the point of the Zack LaVine care Williams is involved in the game early on or does Zack LaVine care about I got to get

Star forward DeMar DeRozan won’t return to the Bulls as he continues to browse his options in free agency, Sun-Times reporter Joe Cowley told the Bernstein & Holmes Show. Meanwhile, the Bulls continue to be stuck in a holding pattern as they look to trade disgruntled guard Zach LaVine.

#chicagobulls #DeMarDeRozan #zachlavine

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