The Give and Go: The Dominant Narrative of the 2015 Preseason

Brian Spurlock/USA TODAY Sports

The Give and Go is a quick back and forth between Paul Mitchell and Chris St. Jean about a relevant subject in the NBA at that moment.

Paul: Last week’s Give and Go focused on predicting the dominant narratives of this upcoming NBA season, but I’ll ask you this week instead: which preseason narrative and situation are you most interested in? You mentioned the Golden State Warriors winning a championship by playing position-less basketball last season, so are you more interested in seeing them attempt to repeat as champions or, for example, the San Antonio Spurs as they work to integrate their new pieces into Gregg Popovich’s system? Dare I say it’s been a relatively quiet preseason - outside of an awful injury to Michael Kidd-Gilchrist - but which team has caught your eye early on?

Episode 049 - #NBABallots & Eastern Conference Playoff Teams

Chris and Paul work out their #NBABallots before transitioning to the Eastern Conference playoff race and some brief TV talk.

Worth a click:

The Unassuming, Unknown Superstar Status of Al Horford (Zach Lowe, The Triangle/Grantland)

The Atlanta Hawks fly under the radar (Kevin Arnovitz, TrueHoop)

Gordon Hayward is becoming a franchise player (Mirin Fader, SBNation)

The Magic are winning by pushing the pace (Jesus Gomez, SBNation)

Charlotte’s ultimate list of trade targets (James Plowright, Queen City Hoops/True Hoop Network)

The Give and Go: Jimmy Butler: Star?

Credit:  Bart Young/NBAE via Getty Images

The Give and Go is a quick back and forth between Paul Mitchell and Chris St. Jean about a relevant subject in the NBA at that moment.

Chris:  With Rose in and out of the lineup and some other key parts as well (Gibson, Gasol, Noah), the Bulls have hung in there at 9-6.  A lot has fallen on fourth year guard Jimmy Butler and he’s taken on the challenge averaging 21.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 3.2 assists (all career highs).  Tom Thibodeau recently called Butler ‘a star’.  Has Jimmy Butler grown into a star Mitchell?  

The Chicago Bulls Have a Bench

Photo Credit:  Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images

The Chicago Bulls have a bench...but will they use it?

This is Tom Thibodeau’s fifth season as the head coach of the Chicago Bulls after coming over from the Boston Celtics.  Over the previous four seasons, the Bulls have had a tremendous amount of success, in general.   They’ve had either the number 1 or 2 team in defensive rating each of those seasons except 2012-13 when they were a lowly 6th.  

Over that time period though, they have struggled with injuries (Rose obviously, but Noah, Deng, Butler have all struggled with injuries over that time).  One of the biggest criticism’s many have had of coach Thibs, who has obviously done an amazing job otherwise, is that he rides his players a bit much. That was highlighted last season with the success the Spurs had by limiting minutes (and games played) for players throughout their roster.

Episode 042 - Title Contending Teams and MVP/Playoff Picks

In the final podcast before the start of the 2014-15 NBA season, Chris and Paul finish up their season previews by discussing their five title contenders. They finish by breaking down each conference's playoff teams and possible MVP candidates, but also cover the value of the mid-range jump shot, Byron Scott's disdain for 3's and analytics, and if the Milwaukee Bucks can scrap the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference.

2014-15 NBA Season Preview: The Chicago Bulls

AP Photo/Paul Beaty

I wanted to find an article to start this piece that would capture the general conclusion that is accepted by most knowledgeable NBA fans:  The Bulls owner, Jerry Reinsdorf is Cheap.  When I went looking for that article I was lost in a sea of criticism and could not find the story that captured the mindset perfectly.  Instead I drowned, because there are just too many examples of Reinsdorf not wanting to spend the extra money in any and all circumstances.  From rumors of not wanting to pay Michael Jordan (!), to the half-hearted swings and ‘misses’ in recent free agency talks (LeBron, then Carmelo), to not wanting to re-sign Luol Deng and dumping him during the season for nothing, to the Bulls reportedly being the most profitable NBA franchise consistently over the last ten years (sure it’s a great market, but it’s obvious Chicago controls it’s costs).  There’s just so much.  

2014-15 NBA Season Preview: Oklahoma City Thunder

photo found at www.grantland.com

In retrospect, the 2013-14 season of the Oklahoma City Thunder came down to Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals. The San Antonio Spurs quickly gained the 2-0 advantage after the first two games in Texas, but the return of Serge Ibaka allowed the Thunder defense to even up the series before heading back to San Antonio for the pivotal fifth game. Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich substituted shooter Matt Bonner into the starting lineup in place of center Tiago Splitter, and it was the overall depth of the Spurs and the 55-26 disparity in bench scoring that cost the Thunder the game. A five-point loss in overtime of Game 6 sealed their season, and general manager Sam Presti’s approach to building the 2014-15 team began with addressing the roster’s depth and bench issues in the offseason.

2014-15 NBA Season Preview: Bradley Beal

via www.slamonline.com

Entering the third year of his professional career, Bradley Beal is poised to break out as a star in the NBA. His second season saw successes at the team level, as the Washington Wizards finished with the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference and defeated the Chicago Bulls in the first round of the playoffs, and some strides in his own game from his rookie season. The team added veteran pieces to the roster this summer, in the hopes of improving on their 48-win season last year, with the now LeBron-less Southeast Division entirely up for grabs. As the roster improves, so should Bradley Beal, and an All-Star appearance is absolutely within reach in Year Three.

# 19 - Chicago Bulls

 

Brian Spurlock - USAToday Sports

What I’d Do:

T. J. Warren

6’8” (6’10” wingspan), 220 lbs, 9/5/1993 (20 years old)

BRING BACK THE FLOATER

T. J. Warren won ACC Player of the Year over Jabari Parker by being one of 8 BCS players under the age of 21 to score over 27 PTS per 40.  This kid is an absolute scorer.  He scored at a rate of 1.27 PTS/possession (good for # 4 in Draft Express’ Top 100) and sported the # 2 PER in that group behind Doug McDermott.  

As I mentioned in the Celtics piece, he’ the type of player that can get 15-20 without having to run a play for him.  He scored 12% of his offense off of cuts in his sophomore season.  He’s an elite offensive rebounder for a SF scoring 11% (!) of his offense on put backs.  He is deadliest in transition, which he’s able to create on his own (2.1 steals per 40) and is a one man fast break in the best sense.  Because of his touch and finishing ability he’ll go one on three before dropping a beautiful 5 foot floater between outstretched defenders.  I love him as a can’t miss bench scorer.

What keeps him from going so much earlier are question marks about his defense ability and his outside shooting.  He’s not a great passer or decision maker, but who wants him passing when he scores at that rate?  Defensively, he has decent size and length, unfortunately his lateral quickness is a major concern (in fairness, he did post a decent number at the combine in the lane agility drill).  It’s assumed he will struggle with the quickness of many 3’s on the perimeter but is too small to realistically play power forward.   Chicago is a great fit in that regard, because you’ll theoretically be able to hide him a bit.  As I said though, he has the length and he has great hands and anticipation.  There is still defensive upside there.

As far as his shooting, who cares?  Are valuing outside shooting too much now?  This guy is going to score period.  From 18 feet in he is an absolute monster.  Also, there’s no reason to think he can’t develop the outside shot.  With some work with an NBA shooting coach, I’d be willing to bet that in three years T. J. Warren is shooting 36%+ from 3.  That’s acceptable, especially with that floater.  One of the things I love about Warren’s game is how unique he is.  There’s almost no comparison.  He’s like a cross between Jamal Crawford and Carl Landry.  He’s just going to score efficiently no matter how many minutes you give him and as we know, Chicago could use the offense.

Mitchell wrote about Chicago’s situation and what he’d do with their 16th pick.  As fast as Elfrid Payton’s rise has been, he may no longer be available at that spot.   If he is though, I absolutely love that pick (especially being proactive about Rose’s future), and I think going more offensive minded with this pick in Warren is a great pairing.  

What I Think They’ll Do:

The Bulls may have the best package to offer Minnesota including this and the # 16 pick with some combination of Mirotic, Butler, and Gibson.  I don’t think they actually get it done, but it’s definitely possible, and even if they don’t there’s no doubt they are out shopping these picks in other ways.  I’d be surprised if the Bulls keep both of these picks on draft night.  Assuming they do, I think they go with a wing player, depending on who is left.  James Young, Rodney Hood, T.J.Warren, any of them are options.

Crazy Draft Day Trade:

Alright I’ve avoided discussing Kevin Love possibilities enough.  

# 16, # 19, Mirotic and Gibson for Kevin Love.  

Pairing Noah and Love in the backcourt would be unbelievable.  This might leave the Bulls a bit thin, but don’t start selling me on how Minnesota would take Carlos Boozer. Come on now.  You can still amnesty Boozer, but with Love’s salary and theoretical extension, the Bulls won’t have enough room left to go get another max player.  There will be some room though.  Maybe a Luol Deng reunion?  Or do you think you could convince Pierce to come join Rose/Butler/Love/Noah?  You could then fill out the rest of the roster with inexpensive shooting like Anthony Morrow, Channing Frye, or Spencer Hawes.

Minnesota fans are just sitting there waiting for their explanation.  At this point, there's no explanation necessary.  Just hope for the best.

#16 - Chicago Bulls

Joe Robbins/Getty Images North America

What I’d Do:

Elfrid Payton – LA Lafayette

6’4” (6’8” wingspan), 185 lbs., 02/22/1994 (20 years old)

Elfrid Payton is probably too good to still be on the board here at #16. At first I took him based on his value alone as the best player available for the Chicago Bulls but the more I think about it, the more this pick makes some sense beyond the value-aspect for the Bulls.