Chicago Bulls Blurbs: The Cameron Payne Era Edition

We’ve seen two games worth of the new-look Chicago Bulls, and Point Guard Of The Future Cameron Payne has played 12 minutes. After a thrilling trade deadline, there’s a lot to catch up on, so let’s check out the best coverage from all over.

The Chicago Bulls traded away Doug McDermott and then somehow got good at 3-pointers. In their two games since a controversial trade deadline deal sent McDermott and Taj Gibson to the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Bulls have shot 27-for-56 from long range. That’s 48.2 percent if you don’t have a calculator around, and it leads the NBA over the last two games.

Must Read: Bulls-Cavs Takeaways

To up the hype train even more, the Bulls have won four straight games for only the second time this season. Chicago seems to have settled into a routine in which they play in pretty mediocre fashion for the first 42 minutes of each contest, at which point Jimmy Butler says “I got this,” brings the ball up on every possession, and guards all five players on the other side until they squeeze out a victory. We’ve seen worse offensive strategies in recent years.

With the win against the Cavs on Saturday, the Bulls have moved to sixth place in the Eastern Conference, tied with future Laker Paul George and the Indiana Pacers. With only 23 games remaining, it seems likely that the Chicago Bulls are making the playoffs. Do with that what you will.

In the meantime, check out the best of Bulls coverage from all over the internet.

Fade to Bleak: Taj Gibson, last man standing from 2010-2011 Bulls, says goodbye — Jon Greenberg (@jon_greenberg)

Jon Greenberg of The Athletic Chicago wrote the Taj Gibson farewell story that we all needed to read. He covers everything from when Chicago could actually draft well and picked him 26th to where Gibson might go this summer to how great we had it with that conference finals team.

If you found yourself watching Joffrey Lauvergne’s two minutes of play on Saturday and felt a single tear fall down your face, then please click. The story is only available to subscribers, but you’ve all subscribed already right?

The Bulls front office spoke post-trade deadline, confirming they have no idea what they’re doing — Tyler Pleiss (@Tyler_Pleiss)

Over at SB Nation’s Bulls site, BlogaBull, Tyler Pleiss recapped yet another mystifying and infuriating press conference from everyone’s favorite front office duo: Gar Forman and John Paxson.

Whether it was blaming the Doug McDermott draft choice on Thibs or claiming that Jimmy isn’t a player you can build around (yes, both of those things happened), Tyler has it all covered. Make sure to give him a follow on Twitter as well.

The Thunder Finally Add Another Scorer — Haley O’Shaughnessy

Haley O’Shaughnessy of The Ringer breaks down the Oklahoma City trade from both perspectives. She accurately wonders what GarPax could possibly have had in mind with such a confusing deal. Most importantly, she touches on whether Doug will be able to fill Cameron Payne’s shoes as Russell Westbrook’s dance partner. My guess is absolutely not.

Denzel Valentine, Nikola Mirotic making most of latest opportunities — K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop)

The Chicago Tribune’s K.C. Johnson keeps up the excellent work with this story about maybe the two biggest beneficiaries of Thursday’s trade: Nikola Mirotic and Denzel Valentine. Both have seen their offensive responsibilities increase with the departure of Gibson and McDermott, and so far, it’s gone swimmingly. So far.

The Bulls should give Denzel Valentine a shot at point guard — Jay Boozell

This last story comes from Jason Patt‘s domain, FanRag NBA. Boozell makes a compelling argument about the rookie getting a bit of run at the point guard position. Valentine did play point guard in college, and he can theoretically pass and shoot. That makes him as good an option as any on the team.

As always, make sure you always checking back here at PAE for the most comprehensive Bulls coverage on the web.