The Chicago Bulls remain undefeated in 2017 after the flu-stricken Cleveland Cavaliers were forced to roll out DeAndre Liggins and Kay Felder against the unstoppable tide of Jimmy Butler carrying the Bulls on his back. But there is plenty of stuff playing out off the court, too.
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There has been improved play from the bench unit, particularly Doug McDermott and Nikola Mirotic. Rajon Rondo is still collecting DNP-CDs. And now, Ric Bucher of Bleacher Report is lobbing bombs about Chicago looking to trade Butler.
Keep in mind, it’s been Butler almost single-handedly keeping the Bulls hopes and dreams of the 8-seed alive.
It has been a strange start to the year. After losing to the lowly Indiana Pacers and Middleton-less Milwaukee Bucks to end 2016, the team has knocked off two teams considerably better than Chicago. Keep in mind, the Hornets were without their only real center, Cody Zeller, and the Cavs were without both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love.
All of this chaos has produced some great writing on the Bulls, if nothing else, so have a look at some of our favorites from around the internet.
The Bulls should trade Taj Gibson by Jake Weiner (@JakeWeinerNBA)
This is a great piece on the reasoning behind moving Taj. We all know that he’s been a great Bull and is playing some of the best ball of his career. But Jake Weiner lays out exactly why it is the right time to look at trading the hard-working Gibson. It is that time of the year and it would be nice if Chicago didn’t repeat the mistakes of last year when they let Joakim Noah and Pau Gasol walk instead of finding some kind of return for both players.
Sixteen Exclusive: Q&A with Robin Lopez by Spencer Davies (@SpinDavies)
If you haven’t been following 16 Wins A Ring, you’re missing on one of the newer sites to make their imprint on the basketball blogging world. Their roster has some great writers, doing great work. A perfect example of what they can offer is this sit-down with Bulls center Robin Lopez. There’s some great talk about Star Wars, dunking on Brook Lopez, transition systems and teams for the past few years, and much more.
Why Aren’t the Bulls Building Around Jimmy Butler? By Kevin Ferrigan (@nbacouchside)
Ferrigan knows the Bulls and he knows Jimmy Butler. This is Part 1 of his pieces on the Chicago situation surrounding Butler. Best of all, he lays out some very detailed information about some missteps from the front office in building the current roster and two particularly great lineups that feature Butler. You’ll want to check in on this because the signs are encouraging. Also, he gives a shoutout to Paul Zipser which should make everyone happy.
Building Around Jimmy: What Should the Bulls Do Moving Forward? By Kevin Ferrigan (@nbacouchside)
This is Part 2 of Ferrigan’s work on Chicago. Hopefully, you read Part 1. Part 2 gives a glimpse of the future.
Dear Bulls, Part Two: Trust The Process by Daniel Coughlin (@xvanwilderx)
Sure, I’m plugging a couple of things that I wrote here. I stand by my belief that the Bulls are in a tricky spot and there is plenty of reason to lose faith in team management right now. It might be time for Chicago to enter their own version of The Process.
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Rajon Rondo Versus Everyone by Daniel Coughlin (@xvanwilderx)
Trust me, I don’t plan on spamming you with Bulls Blurbs in the future. However, Rondo might be on his way out, so now seemed like a good time to revisit some of our Rondo work from earlier this year.
Are the Bulls Shopping Jimmy Butler? (Probably Not) by Sean Highkin (@highkin)
The Ric Bucher story via Bleacher Report about Chicago looking to deal Butler seems a bit far-fetched to many. Highkin is here to present some calming information based on information received from Bulls sources. A Butler trade is the rumor that will launch a billion clicks, but if you’re going to surf the Web for takes, you should probably just start, and stop, with this piece.
It’s been a wild couple of weeks and the trade rumors are flying. Don’t forget to #NBAVOTE for Jimmy and be patient, there’s lots of Bulls fun yet to come.