Chicago Bulls front office seems to be turning offseason narrative

In an offseason that originally looked dire at best, the Chicago Bulls front office pairing of John Paxson and Gar Forman are flipping the narrative. With Wednesday’s signing of Diamond Stone, the duo continued pushing optimism down our throats.

I know when I say the phrase “GarPax”, you’re probably on a desperate search for the word “fire“. However, what I’d originally deemed, along with copious others, a terrible offseason is rounding into a fine couple months of front office work for the Chicago Bulls.

While I’m not here to say Rome will be built in a day, a month, or a year, I am here to say that this isn’t a complete train wreck. Moves are starting to make sense, the roster is looking less capital-heavy, and the prospects are, in fact, looming.

Acquiring talent, not All-Stars, is the narrative of a good rebuild. While I’m a Cincinnati Reds fan, look at your Chicago Cubs, Chicagoans. It’s all about getting the right prospects in a room at the same time, then “it” happens.

GarPax transactions have been, for lack of a better reference, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Now, it looks like their flipping to more of the “good”, or at least they look like they’re trying.

Let’s work backwards

Late on Wednesday night, the Bulls inked center Diamond Stone to a two-way deal with only $50,000 in guaranteed dough. You can read the details, but essentially, the Bulls are paying pennies on a 20-year-old with upper-tier potential. While he hasn’t shined since his departure from Maryland, he’s younger than me. I’m a junior in college and he’s playing professional basketball. That’s some perspective.

As for that Jimmy Butler trade? It’s realistically going to be what was best

I still think it’d been a significantly better deal if the Bulls were able to hold onto pick No. 16, but it’s history. On cap room alone, this team wasn’t going to win a title in the next couple of years, or at least not with Dwyane Wade in the starting lineup.

Jimmy Butler is gone. That’s a scar. Dwyane Wade is still on the roster. That appears to be a wound in need of stitching. Getting these young Bulls regular season reps, where they’ll learn to win as a core is crucial. The Wade buyout is, by approximation, a crucial part of the matter.

Zach LaVine could be a stud if he takes the next step. No. 7 overall pick, Lauri Markkanen, looks like the real deal if his EuroBasket play is indicative of the product.

What comes next is getting your Paul Zipser, Denzel Valentine, etc., kind of guys into roles. What those roles will be? Only time will tell.

Next: Glancing at the point guard depth this season for the Bulls

However, it’s GarPax who aren’t geniuses by any stretch of the imagination, but at least having this thing steering towards something tangible.

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Chicago Bulls front office pairing of John Paxson, Gar Forman seem to be turning narrative

By Willie Lutz | Sep 15, 2017

In an offseason that originally looked dire at best, the Chicago Bulls front office pairing of John Paxson and Gar Forman are flipping the narrative. With Wednesday’s signing of Diamond Stone, the duo continued pushing optimism down our throats.

Let’s work backwards

As for that Jimmy Butler trade? It’s realistically going to be what was best