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?

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.