Since iconic commentator Stacey King's untimely passing on June 7th at age 59, there has been much speculation about who the Bulls would hire to step into his giant shoes. He didn't have any obvious heir apparent, and just about everyone within the Bulls media sphere seemed to fall flat in comparison to what King had brought to the team since he took over as the lead color commentator in 2008.
Instead of trying to find a lone replacement for King, the Bulls are reportedly going to go with a rotating cast of commentators this season.
Bulls' rotating cast plan prevents sure failure
Let's be real, no one was going to be able to live up to the standard King set over the past two decades. The iconic moments that were scored by his enthusiastic calls are too numerous to even begin to name. Bulls TV broadcasts will not be nearly the same this year, and the sooner fans accept that, the better.
Some fans speculated that one of the current members of the Bulls media world would step in for King. Names that were thrown about were Kendall Gill, Bill Wennington, or even K.C. Johnson. And every single one of those speculated names was met with twice as much dissention as support.
Names that have been rumored to be part of the rotation include Robbie Hummel (current college analyst), Sarah Kustok (former DePaul star who currently broadcasts for the Nets and WNBA), the current Bulls media members mentioned above, and Bulls greats such as Scott Williams and Joakim Noah.
All of those names could bring an interesting perspective to a few games this season, and one may end up being a good enough fit that the Bulls seriously consider bringing them on board for the 2027-28 season.
Personally, I'd love to see a series of recent players giving their insight on this rebuilding Bulls team. Play-by-play announcer Adam Amin is strong enough to carry a completely inexperienced color commentator and still have it be a functional broadcast. Him beside Noah, Carlos Boozer, or Kirk Hinrich will be interesting enough to at least dull the fact that King is no longer with us.
Whether the Bulls are using these brief stints as a tryout of sorts, or if it's just to buy them another year before making a decision, not rushing into a direct replacement is 100% the right call.
It may be odd to tune into games this year and not have a consistent voice from week to week, but it was going to be odd anyway to hear anyone other than King sitting beside Amin. This way no one person is tasked with trying to replace King on their own.
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