On Monday, the Chicago Bulls introduced a new behind-the-scenes video series titled, “Run With Us”. The first chapter focused on draft night and the trade that sent Jimmy Butler to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Chicago Bulls front office did in fact choose a direction to take the franchise in by trading Jimmy Butler on draft night this past June. This season will mark a new era for the Bulls, who have officially become one of the league’s most inexperienced and youngest teams.
To help document the first season of the rebuild in Chicago, the Bulls have put together a video series titled, “Run With Us”, which will take fans behind the scenes of the franchise.
The first chapter of the series debuted on Monday and you can watch the full video below.
In the opening chapter of the series, the focus is on the Butler trade. The Bulls sent Butler and the No. 16 overall pick to the Timberwolves in exchange for two-time Slam Dunk champion Zach LaVine, former No. 5 overall pick Kris Dunn and the No. 7 overall pick, which turned out to be Arizona freshman Lauri Markkanen.
#Bulls' new marketing slogan/campaign this season is "With Us" -- which team says "focuses on rallying fans around the future of the team."
— Cody Westerlund (@CodyWesterlund) September 18, 2017
After the Bulls put the trade through to make it official, there’s a quick glimpse of Bulls general manager Gar Forman making the selection of Markkanen, followed by NBA commissioner Adam Silver making the announcement for the seventh pick.
Shortly after, the chapter pans to the post-draft press conference for the Bulls front office pairing of Forman and vice president of basketball operations John Paxson about the events of draft night and trading away one of the league’s 15 best players.
“Always difficult to trade away a player and a person that’s meant a lot to the organization and that we really watched grow as a player,” Paxson said on the Butler trade. “With that said, what we’ve done tonight is set a direction. We’ve decided to make the change and rebuild this roster.”
The first chapter closes with some footage of Dunn, LaVine and Markkanen meeting Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg, GarPax and checking out the Advocate Center practice facility for the first time.
Next: 5 goals for Lauri Markkanen to accomplish in his rookie campaign
From the looks of the first chapter, the production looks like it could be a fun glance into the Bulls’ current rebuild. Whether you agree with the new direction or not, it’s a cool little look to see behind the curtain.
You can watch the second chapter of the “Run With Us” series here.