Why the Bulls didn’t trade Alex Caruso and what’s next for DeMar DeRozan

Why the Bulls didn’t trade Alex Caruso and what’s next for DeMar DeRozan

[Music] hi everybody welcome into the Bulls Talk podcast brought to you by Toyota Let’s go places I am Kevin Anderson joined by our Insider at NBC Sports Chicago and NBC Sports chicago.com the great Casey Johnson Casey the uh NBA offseason is now officially here uh the league crowned a champion right now last night Celtics uh winning their 18th title we’ll get into into your reaction and and our thoughts about them winning the title and uh their you know great playoff run that they had but let’s start with a couple Bulls notes and you know certainly um you know they have a very uh important offseason uh in the next couple weeks approaching them they’ve got a lot of decisions they need to make uh certainly they’ve got the 11th pick in the draft right now uh Demar D rozan is heading towards unrestricted free agency Patrick Williams he going to be a restricted free agent uh there’s a report by our friend Joe Calli that Andre Drummond which I think you would back up is very unlikely to return uh to the Bulls that certainly we’ve been expecting that as he’s unrestricted free agent as well uh but let’s start with the report that uh will gotle of chgo reported yesterday that the uh Bulls uh had significant offers for Alex kuso at the trade deadline and uh declined all those offers uh the reason behind the decline is certainly up for a little bit of debate uh but that they had significant offers for gerso excuse me and I I think you and I both are in agreement uh we’ve talked about this before in the podcast that they probably should have taken that offer for Caruso uh but that the front office uh and potentially ownership felt like they wanted to make a playoff run uh with that first off Casey I’ll just ask you do you think it was a mistake given where this team is right now and certainly the possible extension that cruso could be looking at um in holding on to not just kuso but Andre Drummond at the trade deadline given what we know about the team right now and how they finished up well I mean the Caruso uh interest is you know been reported for a while Ian I I was I was the first one to report that the Golden State Warriors have been hot on him for two straight Seasons again they were in on him this year um look we we talked about this ad nauseum on the trade deadline is that he’s a plug-and-play player for real literally any roster in the league and particularly playoff uh bound teams that are looking for that extra piece to try to get them over the top so um you know the interest in terms of um you I think wo reported that he was potentially worth three first round picks I never got that confirmed I know for sure the first round picks were offered I I’ve reported that before so that that to me is is is kind of old ground um you know obviously the the new wrinkle on it is uh Will’s reporting that there was a mandate I want to get the wording right um a mandate from ownership at the trade deadline to push for the playoffs I will just say again in February it was pretty well reported that management and ownership were in alignment that they wanted to remain competitive our tourist was asked directly at the news the zoom news conference in February um about ownership uh supporting him if he chose to go for a full rebuild on the record he said that ownership has that support I’ve reported that myself Joe Calli from the Chicago times has reported that uh I can just tell you I’ve been around the rhin norfs for almost 30 years and my feeling and my sense of how they work as an ownership group is they hire people and Empower them to do their jobs and largely leave them alone obviously they’re involved in significant decisions um they sign off on coaching hires they sign off on you know Max contract decisions but um and and obviously the luxury tax philosophy is well documented I have Michael rorf on record on this very podcast detailing his philosophy on paying the luxury tax so those parameters are are pretty much in place but as far as um directing manage I think I think and I don’t want to put this on will because like Will’s reporting I I think is one thing and then the way it was interpreted is another like I I just personally have a hard time seeing the r are saying you can’t trade Alex Caruso that’s just not the way that I’ve ever understood them to work or known them to be in close to 30 years of covering them and knowing them so our tur is on record is saying he wants to remain competitive that’s not coming from ownership that’s coming from him he he pushed his he cashed in a rebuild and cashed out to be competitive in 2021 and has doubled been down and tripled down on that over and over and I’m rambling a little bit because you threw you threw me a loaded question I would tie this back into next week in the draft and and the decisions they face I mean he he told us in mid April everything is on the table and the sense I’m getting from other teams is the Bulls are very active right now I think that they have talked to teams about moving up in the draft I think they have talked to teams about moving down the draft I think they are very serious about enacting change to this roster and I don’t think it’s just limited to Zack LaVine that’s by far the the priority but I I think there’s a perception right now that the Bulls are going to try to trade Zack and run it back that’s not the vibe I’m getting in my conversations I think they’re I’m not saying they’ll do for sure everything that they’re trying to do but I know that they’re active on a lot of different fronts uh carer Chas and his end of season press conference essentially admitted that what they had done and the decisions they had made had not worked and they weren’t working and so you know you look at you know he said all the right things in that press conference but the next two weeks are going to really determine uh not only what they do in the draft but free agency potential trades the next two weeks are going to determine whether the reality of him committing to change I think is there and I I think certainly a lot of fans a lot of us as uh observers of the team feel like you can talk a good game but you need to actually put pen to paper and and make significant change if that’s what you’re going to do and I I think you and I are both in agreement that they they know now whether they would admit it before or not they admitted it publicly certainly in April that they can’t run it back that this this core does not work and cannot work and and so you know specific to Dear D rozan now he’s an unrestricted free agent um have you heard anything recently that that changes your mind that it’s possible if not likely like to hear your words on this though uh that an extension gets done before he even Hits free agency or do you think he potentially now is likely to hit free agency and then essentially the Bulls will have to uh you know make an offer at that point compete against against other teams yeah I don’t have a strong sense as to exactly how the next 12 days are going to unfold I can just tell you that both sides still would prefer tomorrow to be in Chicago I do again think there’s a perception out there because that $40 million number was floated I reported it myself um I I I think there’s a sense that the Bulls are going to overpay for Demar so quote unquote um in in their minds I mean I I think dear’s you know obviously earned a raise the way he’s played but I think there’s especially given this situation to vuich last year where you know it didn’t appear to be a huge market for him and the Bulls just you know sign him at a three or $60 million deal I think there’s a sense from fans that the Bulls are going to bid against themselves again I don’t get that sense anymore I I I feel like the Bulls are trying to do things that work best for them because they recognize that things have not changed and they also want to not alienate dear and reward dear um because they value him greatly so that’s a tough needle to thread so I don’t know exactly how the next 12 days are going to play out I do know that that the Bull’s preference all along has been to try to resign it before he hits unrestricted free agency but you know it could go into July and they could still get something done so they’re active on a lot of fronts and like I said I don’t think it’s just limited to trading Zack LaVine and running it back I I think everything is on the table and I’m not reporting this I’m just saying when I say everything on the table I mean waving and stretching Lonzo ball there’s there’s an angle that they could explore um uh you know putting Caruso in a trade package not something they would like to do but I think you have to be open to it you know the flip side of this and the reason why Caruso is in the news so much is he’s also extension eligible this offseason is we’ve talked about Adon him now he he’s not eligible until July one and couldn’t sign until um July 6 but um you know he’s he’s extension eligible it’s like he’s so much a part of their identity and um coming off two straight first team all def or uh SEC F all defensive honors w first team one second team um is that something you want to lock up at a at a decent number um the flip side is that he’s moving into his 30s and he plays one style and is hellbent on you know meeting floor burns on a first a basis so there’s a lot management has to on their plate we’ve been talking about this a lot and I’m like everybody else just as curious to see how they handle all this I don’t think they know I think they’ve got a lot of different directions and a lot of different balls in the air but the overarching theme is that they know they need to change the last time we heard from D rozan publicly was after the loss to Miami in the playing game and and he sounded emotional in the moment talking about potentially what’s next he he was tired of losing I think you know everybody is right you’re tired of missing the Playoffs the the Bulls is the franchise have missed the postseason six of the last seven years uh certainly d rozan himself is a a proud player he wants playoff success it’s certainly what any player I mean I think you know not to get too far into the Celtics but they their players were very emotional last night after that win because of what they’ve had to overcome and their lack of success in the last several years specific to Tatum and brown and so you know D rozan specifically wants playoff success he wants to contribute on a postseason run how much do you think given your interaction with d rozan is he going to be objective about what’s best for him in these next couple weeks when making the decision because there’s the emotional part which says I want to win I want to be on a true playoff Contender I want to make a deep postseason run and contribute in a deep postseason run but then on the other end it’s about his happiness his family his situation his content in Chicago with his role the coaching staff everything that goes into it certainly the money aspect of it um given your interactions with D rozan do you feel like he’s GNA take that mostly objective view of the decision he has to make here yeah I’m going to go with uh more of the body of work of what he said in less emotional moments than what he said in emotional moments and I circled back that very night in Miami and said you know this is the first time you’re sound like there’s a little wiggle room and then he kind of backed off of it he’s sensed on a couple podcasts with independent people where he’s again reiterated his desire to remain in Chicago the big thing that I keep coming back to and he’s I had two long sit Downs with him last season one in Indianapolis and one in late in the season that was early in the season and one late in the season can’t remember where we were uh maybe or was it Orlando maybe no I remember I flew the morning of and got there in time for shoot around some some random in the city but it the long sit down and shoot around and and the big the the Big Thing theme and this is consistent his career is he does not begrudge people that form super teams he’s had friends that do it he does not begrudge people that go for the best situation in terms of just Chase ring chasing he’s he he has set on the record multiple times I don’t like running from situations I like trying to fix them I’m loyal to I I when things are going bad I work harder at trying to fix that so between his contentment with ro contentment with the city of Chicago I mean he was you know at he went into specifics about ownership and City and management and coaching staff and role and everything um I’m gonna lay out that body of work more than what he said that that night in Miami now money is important to Demar and respect is important to dear and he made $28 Million last season and we’ve said all along he he knows he outplayed that contract so this is again the tough decision the Bulls face because on the one hand you don’t want to alienate a player that is so valuable to the organization that they love but on you don’t want to bid against yourself so um you know John Hollinger from the athletic had a really interesting point today that I had forgotten about I gotta pull this up um where if he signs a certain deal he’s actually trade eligible immediately um I think it’s two years 61 million so that would be what a very tiny raise so you know I mean again that’s the needle they have to thread they don’t want to alienate this guy but they also want to bid against themselves they want to allow themselves flexibility we’ve talked also about dear having a game that ages very gracefully and I think it will but he also will be turning 35 so um you know it’s it’s it’s again Management’s got a lot on their play it kind of ties into to the cruso thing a little bit and honestly so does uh Patrick williams’ restricted free agency that you and I have discussed at length on this podcast that over the last several years the Bulls historically have a tendency to let their assets depreciate yeah and I don’t want to seem callous when we’re talking about players and families and things like that but when it comes to your roster building and looking ahead to the Future and looking ahead to the present with the upcoming season and looking had two or three plus years down the road they tend to overvalue their own players some times and they get to a point like almost with cruso certainly with Zack LaVine potentially with now D rozan in which the window to get trade Capital back or the the window to get Assets in return equal value Assets in return for a player was very narrow at times and so you know I think that’s what seeing the reaction to Will’s story about Caruso certainly there are a lot of layers to it but you know to me you know the biggest thing is the Bulls had the opportunity to trade kuso they had the opportunity to trade Drummond and chose not to because they valued a a playoff push though in reality what happened on that Friday in the play in against Miami a win or loss there doesn’t change the trajectory of your team getting a first round playoff exit to the eventual Boston NBA Champion Boston Celtics doesn’t make it necessarily any better like if you if you get swept losing five games hell if you even push it to six games that doesn’t change what the future of this franchise looks like in terms of what you’re going to make but I understand that you know I go back to something Theo Epstein said um about a decade ago when he was certainly was running the Cubs and they won a World Series um there was something Theo said that really stuck with me uh during that run and I think this was even going back to like 200 13 2014 is that as a as a front office member as an executive as a GM in making decisions that you have to always be looking forward with your team you have to always be looking several years ahead but at the same time you have to also look at each season is precious each season has value and you need to have this constant balance between the present and the future when you’re roster building and making decisions about the future but to me I I go back to and we have mentioned this before the the time the window for change was a year and a half ago correct the February 2023 trade deadline um they let that expire they let the February 2024 trade de line expire without doing anything significant and now they are reaping what they’re s they s right we are now in a situation in which they are now essentially they publicly admit they made mistakes certainly that admit it wasn’t working and now there’s going to what we believe is significant change this off season uh but I think a big part of the reaction to the Caruso stuff is you had your chance to trade them and are you now if you trade them draft night trade them July don’t trade them at all like what what value you’re getting return you had a chance to give a team two playoff runs with Cru owners’s current contract if you’ve done it in February now it’s one playoff run I like I don’t think you’re G to get the same return and that’s why like you would just mentioned maybe kuso’s part of a package with Zack LaVine like maybe that’s the deal that is needs to be made rather than cruso individually um getting back to P will on that do you get the sense that the Bulls are going to let the market dictate what Patrick Williams does or do you think uh we could see a early and free AG genc deal done with the bulls without him testing restrictor free agency or signing an offer sheet elsewhere look the thing about the Patrick Williams negotiation is they’ve already negotiated because they went through extensive negotiations for the rookie scale contract extension so they both sides know where each other stands and if anything the Bulls position has strengthened in the sense that out of Patrick’s control his season was not only largely inconsistent but uh then obviously unfortunately cut short to injury um and you know he obviously got off to a slow start like most of the team played very very well first stretch right before his injury and then an injur is out of his control but you know the bulls the bulls offered him long-term security last uh September or whatever the deadline was you know right before training camp um I’ve reported it it’s like I think they were I don’t know if it was a final offer but I always heard they’re in the 16 million range for four years so um again it’s part of negotiations maybe they go up I was told that a comp that Williams side was looking for as like a DeAndre Hunter package which I believe was four years 90 million um let me look that up real quick but anyway um to to your point I think that the Bulls have a have a um strong sense of you know what Patrick’s looking for and the Bulls have made it clear Hunter got four years 95 million so um I think there was some incentives in that I don’t remember off hand so anyway there’s a gap there I do know there’s some teams that are intrigued by Patrick Williams but I I still think the Bulls from the driver seat there and I certainly think he’s a priority to be resigned real quick before I forget I want to give John Hollinger this credit because I had forgotten about this uh if he signs a deal for two years 61.5 million or less he’d be trade eligible away and so that means if that is agreed to you know while we’re taping this or tomorrow he’s trade eligible like right away so um that’s Demar D rozan just to be clear yeah yeah sorry I switched to Demar D rozan my bad so anyway um again bulls have a lot on their plate and uh it’s all going to come fast because it’s free it’s draft into free agency um and you know I I just know for sure they’re serious about enacting change uh it takes two sometimes three teams to make that change happen but they’re serious about enacting change um and there’s one thing I I want to um clarify with what will reported that as part of one of the offers for cruso was a top 10 pick um at the time in February the Bulls necessarily couldn’t have known where that pick was going to land for the team they traded with right um you know certainly I don’t know what team that was um certainly if it were the piston you would absolutely say it was going to be a top 10 uh pick guaranteed with the way that team was going but I don’t want to necessarily have fans think oh well they they they knew in February they could have had a a top 10 pick from this team that they could have traded for um yeah and first round picks were reported previously that were offered for CR and I the Golden State I at one point there was a a pick and some players offered I think the the Golden State from what I was told the Golden State kind of moved their goal post a little bit on there on their offer at one point um some players were involved and they switched the player or something so look these are these are that’s why trades are hard I mean they’re you know both sides are trying to make a fair but also slightly advantageous trade for themselves um the other thing I’d say to your point about this is where fans frustration is is largely is to your point about you know the time to trade Caruso and you know what’s the end game because even if they did make the playoffs they’re getting beat by the Celtics in the first round right and so like what what what’s the focus what’s the goal here but I can just tell you for sure I mean you’ve heard this from arturus multiple times over the last three years this is this is uris’s decision I mean he he has said away from ownership this is uris’s decision he took a he inherited a rebuild cashed it out and ever since every move he has made has been about trying to stay relevant trying to stay competitive trying to make the playoffs every move so I mean even in the minor fre agent signings those are you know slightly floor raising moves Goran dragic Andre Drummond Tory Craig Javon Carter those are those aren’t you know those are like title contention teams adding a piece that hopefully puts them over the top that’s how the Bulls have operated and so that’s where the frustration is is um they’re holding on to these assets and chasing even things went well like an e seed or a seven seed right and things haven’t gone well so they’ve held on to their assets and they haven’t even exited the playin for two straight years so that’s where that’s where obviously we’re the the the fan frustration that comes across my radar that’s that’s what I I hear and I get it um but that again to bring this back to the overarching thing this is coming from management I mean obviously ownership and management talk all the time but I mean our tourists has has doubled and tripled down on chasing this playoff um and again the organization was in alignment at the February trade deadline I know ownership obviously wanted to make the playoffs um but there wasn’t like a I personally find it would hard find it hard to believe they say you can’t trade Alex kuso that’s just not how historically ownership has operated uh one of the kind of what ifs in this scenario that we will not have an answer to Is how would Conor chovis uh how would his comments have changed had they beaten Miami you know had they gotten to a five game series with Boston um My Hope Is that the the tone of what he had to say that night would be no different that there were this team is who this team is and then you got blown out by Miami Miami in that game the year before you had the lead came through minutes away from getting to the playoffs like it was it was close but fundamentally they’re not a championship Contender they’re not a conference title Contender they they are a marginal playoff team they’re a playin Contender which is where they are and where no one wants to be so I just I hope hypothetically had they beat Miami that that the the tone and and overall theme of what carner Chas had to say in April would not have changed at all but that’s a hypothetical that that we talked about back in April but I had actually forgotten about until you raise it now and I actually wonder about that so that’s kind of that’s a little that’s a little uh gives you a little bit of pause I mean yeah yeah I mean does he spend it if they if they win the playing tournament and get the eight seed to face Celtics does management then spend the season as a positive oh look at all the injuries we overcame we made the playoffs we lost to the NBA champion yeah do do we hear do we hear the same quote this group hasn’t worked I that’s a that’s a fascinating wh if and I don’t know answer to that so um but the luckily it’s a hypothetical we don’t have to consider because they didn’t win the play and we heard this group hasn’t worked and again from all I’ve indications I’ve received um again I’m not guaranteeing anything’s going to happen but I just know that next week they’re they are active and trying to get enact change I know that for a fact so let’s move on to the NBA champion Boston Celtics w inette gets a ring baby Luke corck gets a ring I think we were as uh former Bulls go I think we were hoping many others were as well that uh Daniel Gafford and DJJ would get a ring but at least one former Bowl uh got a ring the Celtics win their 18 title which is the most alltime now one ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers which is uh just incredible with both those organizations uh Boston finishes their playoff run with the 16 and3 record uh which is a great playoff run it’s not best all time um the in the modern era with the current playoff format uh the Warriors have that honor uh but it’s a certainly a great playoff run to go 16 and three um they can’t control who they played uh certainly the opponents dealt with some injuries which we’ve chronicled before but at the same time they took care of business uh aside from game four against Dallas which um now of course was an anomaly with that series uh Boston just was heads and tails the best SE team in the regular season clearly the best team in the playoffs Casey I want to get your opinion on this because there are a lot of kind of like little threads to pull here do you think the Celtics in the finals specifically had the two best players on the floor generally the the team that has the two best players on the floor ends up winning um but in my opinion that was not the case in this series I mean the way they played or just objectively both both I guess you could certainly make the argument that LCA donic is you know the best player in the series objectively I have told said many times I personally why I recognize his talent I I’m not as big of a Luca donic fan as some just because I I don’t like how much he complains and that’s just a personal thing for me I just it’s hard for me to watch how much he complains um he’s a Transcendent Talent he wasn’t 100% right not all players are at this season moving it off that I think what we need to focus on is this is this is one of the best teams in NBA history and I think people need to recognize how how incredible the Celtics are this season and they did it because of team in fact I was actually a little surprised Dre holiday didn’t get any MVP votes and I know he’s not as flashy as you know Jaylen Brown and Jason Tatum but to me Drew holiday was certainly worthy of NBA Finals MVP that’s how important he is but it’s just such a well- constructed roster but you know this is this is one of um this is the 13th best Mark in NBA history for final record including regular season playoffs and they have the fifth best point differential of all time now the Bulls have the third best point differential of all time um the 95 96 Bulls um um so I think just they’re so good at both ends that’s what people I think need to understand about this team top two both ends of the floor one of the best mo one of the most efficient offenses in NBA history um so just great defense great defense yeah they’re top two on both ends so um I think people need to recognize you know it wasn’t the prettiest finals for sure um but yeah moving it off like you know who’s the best player top two I I think people need to recognize how dominant this Celtics run was and how good of a Celtics team this was just a great constructed team for sure right like you know like they’ve made some bold moves even this you know this past off season adding Drew holiday now whether you can argue fell in their lap or not um was a great move moving off Marcus Smart was a difficult decision by them and working out um you know the the little things like you talk about on the margins the the role players they have um Sam Hower Pritchard um just you know they they do everything right like Derek white great like at the time I remember seeing comments that was that was Celtics fans and and NBA observers thinking it was a horrible trade for Derek white um incredible Defender great player had a great postseason run um they are the true I think ideal of what a modern NBA team strives to be uh their three-point success you know certainly you know we saw firsthand against the Bulls but they went through the regular season with eight players averaging four more three-point attempts right and and shooting at a not just a high volume but efficient as well uh and they continue that into the postseason what kind of struck me and why I felt like they were uh really the favorites all along not just because of you know the regular season record and finishing first and being the best team in the NBA during the regular season they’re a team that was kind of um slump proof in the sense when you rely on just one or two players at a high volume you’re gonna have bad shooting Nights from one or two guys but the Celtics are constructed and that if Tatum and brown had bad games which they didn’t have great finals but they certainly had other players step up including Drew holiday in big moments um but like the the the way that team was constructed just really impressive to me they all fit like the pieces just all work and you’ve got the Buy in and certainly you’ve got the the very public coaching issues SL change they had to go with a couple years ago mulu did a great job and he was the right guy for that team in the moment and they the front office believed in him and it paid off um their their defense specifically um just suffocating at times I mean even in specific in game five how many times did we see guys at The Rim trying to I mean the Mavs have got some big centers big forwards like lob dunks all day how many times did we see players like Drew or Derek white at The Rim making a block shot on a dunk attempt yeah um they just like just really impressive to me um you know I think Celtics fan had had their kind of playoff misery in the last decade of not being able to get over that hump um but this year that team like they I think a little bit of that doubt crept in after game four with how convincing Dallas was in that win and I I think they were some fans are a little bit nervous about a a three-oh lead at that point going away but you know they they responded in a big way in game five at home um it’s good for them I mean every team in the league strives to be at the point where where Boston was last night well real quick uh let wrap this up I mean as to tie this back to the Bulls as good as the Derek white trade was by Brad Stevens I’m glad he brought up Marcus Smart because that’s an example of an executive making a hard decision that takes the emotion out of it and doesn’t hold on to an asset too long Marcus smart is as identifiable with that culture that was established in Boston over the last decade and still a very good player and he made a difficult decision to take the emotion out of it and trade really kind of the face or kind of you know one of the personalities of that franchise and you know trade him for a polarizing player in Chris porzingis in that three- team deal and Chris foring um while not a perfect player really gave them another dimension um and look man that that’s a master stroke to me from an executive I mean the Derek white acquisition was you know a while back and and also awesome but to me the Marcus Smart One is an example of an executive who can feed through a tough decision and take the emotion out of it and look it might not have worked out but it did work out so um yeah it’s a Well constructed roster and and obviously that team’s going to be really good next year I mean all those guys are back um and so it’s it’s going to be uh they’ve got to do it again they’ve got to stay healthy but it’s going to be a good team again next year yeah it it’s interesting you know certainly specific to porzingis he missed a lot of playoff games dealing with the injury um it was certainly effective at times in the finals when he played um but I I think there’s no question that they would not have a as good a regular season Team without porzingis and you know a big part of their playoff run was you know you can argue that they they got some benefit of who they played but they set themselves up to be the one seed like that’s how it should work right now Miami didn’t have Jimmy Butler um you know which is certainly a little bit of a luck aspect of it but porzingis was a big part of their success in the regular season and I don’t know if they had won a title if they had not made that trade you know things could be a lot different in that regard but yeah yeah to to exactly your point um they made a very difficult decision and moved off an asset um because they felt like they needed to make a bold move and do something different um and to get a player of porzingis skill and caliber in there to get past the other teams in the Eastern Conference um last thing for you casc specific to uh Dallas um they obviously had their own great playoff run that that you know didn’t go their way to your point you just raised earlier that Luca was banged up a little bit in the finals uh there’s certainly some controversy over him getting in foul trouble um what do you think Dallas has to do to kind of like make that next step for them um like what what skill do you think they need to add what what whether it’s a piece like what do you think they need to get better at um in my mind it’s defense it’s big time defense Luca has to improve his defense individually but team defense they need to get better um in your mind what does Dallas need to do to to to not have this happen next year or make it again another deep playoff Run next year I mean they’re they’re going to be good in the sense that they have the two stars back and I think those role players they added will you know will make them better during the regular season next year because they only had Washington and Gafford from February on I haven’t looked through their books I don’t I don’t know much about their their offseason structure I I saw a headline somewhere I don’t know particulars who it did it might be hard for them to resign Derrik Jones Jr um which would obviously big be a big loss he end up starting a lot of games for him what I would say is I I personally feel like they overachieved this year I I never thought they were the best team in the west and they’re the western conference champions I I had Denver and Minnesota ahead of them at at least I I probably would have put the Clippers ahead of them too if if the Clippers were fully healthy um so I think they kind of overachieved um and you know they’ll be very good next year just because Irving and uh Irving Kyrie Irving and um Luca are under contract and we’ll be back next year so you start with that you’re gonna be really good uh like I said having the role players for a full season will will help them too but um I I don’t I can’t speak to the particulars of their you know cap structure or their offseason sheet I I haven’t looked at that recently so the off season’s officially here there there’s a parade uh that’s currently being planned and will happen in Boston and uh that that city has had a lot of success over the last uh 25 years uh you know wouldn’t be would it be if I wasn’t being honest uh you know wish we had uh you know a little bit more success in Chicago in that time period uh specific to the B basketball realm uh but you know good for Boston man they they between the Patriots and Red Sox and Celtics they just keep keep winning good for and and actually bringing up the parades remind me of a of a funny time it’s like uh you when the Bulls were winning those titles uh the second thre Pat in the late 90s uh I would always get that assignment and it was just the rally at Grand Park it wasn’t a parade because uh the beat writer at the time was so burnt out you want to cover it and I was this young hungry guy eager to take any assignments so I’d always get to cover um the the the Grand Park rally 96 97 98 and and I always I always I have fond memories of of covering those so yeah it’s it’s a it’s a special obviously time when you when the city uh when the franchise um you know you cover or um that that is so identifiable the city wins a championship it’s you see the connection with the community obviously Chicago has seen it you know with the the Blackhawks parades and and obviously the Cubs parade and the socks winning now got it socks coming up on almost 20 years yes 19 2005 so um but and yeah the Bulls is like ancient history but but uh yeah it’s it’s it’s a fun time and I know Boston will celebrate it they do seem to be celebrating a lot of those lately uh what’s your favorite memory from any of that uh those Grant Park rallies that you were intended um I always loved obviously um the the big one is Steve Kerr’s uh Speech in in 97 when you know Steve was obviously always so great with the media and his just self-deprecating you know speech about how he turned to Michael and said okay if I have to carry you again when he hit the g when he shot I mean it was just perfect dead pan Steve ker humor and uh Steve was the go-to guy for for me because you know most of the people would gravitate towards uh Michael and Scotty and I I would always work the the the the Lesser guys for you know the Ron Harpers or the Steve ker or the bill Winnington or Jud bushers the role players uh for my stories so I I I always appreciated Steve’s media personality and I thought that was a perfect example of it shining through right there it’s such a great line what was the line that K said you had to bail Michael out again yeah yeah he’s like okay you if I have to bail you out again it’s just it’s Google it it’s on YouTube it is so perfectly delivered man it is just so that that’s that’s for sure my my favorite memory from those three rallies I covered we can only hope that we will have more rallies at Grant Park to uh cover in attend in the next uh 10 20 years uh we’ll see but for the Bulls business of basketball does not end uh you’ve got the draft in a week and a half a free agency um will start at the very end of June um a lot of changes in potential for this roster um it could look very different three and four weeks from now uh when we talk so this has been the Bulls Talk podcast brought to you by Toyota Let’s go places for KC Johnson please follow him on Twitter SLX kcj hoop certainly work for his his work on NBC Sports Chicago and NBC Sports chicago.com over the next couple weeks be a lot of stuff to report and follow we always appreciate anytime you listen and watch the Bulls Talk podcast and consume our content on any of our platforms so 4kc I’m Kevin have a great week everybody go balls all right now that’s over I want to tell you the three keys to being a real Chicago sports fan it takes guts sacrifice and downloading the NBC Sports Chicago app when there’s highlights you can pounce on them when there’s exclusive insights you listen and take notes and you won’t 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In the latest episode of the Bulls Talk Podcast, host K.C. Johnson and Kevin Anderson discuss why the Bulls turned down significant trade offers for Alex Caruso at the deadline (1:08) and explore the team’s active efforts to shake up the roster (5:23). They also give you insights into the renewed negotiations with DeMar DeRozan now that the finals are over (7:31) and how objective DeMar will be in these talks (11:07). Later, K.C. and Kevin also discuss the overall direction of the team amidst growing fan frustration (22:17). Would Artūras Karnišovas have changed his stance on the roster if the Bulls made the playoffs this season (24:44)? Finally, they react to the Boston Celtics winning the 2024 NBA Championship and debate if this team is one of the best in NBA history (26:26).

#ChicagoBulls #AlexCaruso #DeMarDeRozan

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