Chicago Bulls Rumors
Capital One Arena, home of the Capitals, Wizards and Georgetown men’s basketball, is the latest venue to ban backpacks of all sizes. A Monumental Sports and Entertainment spokeswoman said the revised bag policy, which will take effect when the Capitals host the Chicago Blackhawks in their preseason opener on Monday, was mandated by both the NHL and NBA. In addition to backpacks, luggage bags, roller bags, hard-sided bags and briefcases of all sizes are prohibited inside Capital One Area, as are bags larger than 14 inches long, 14 inches tall and 6 inches wide. All of those restrictions were in place last season. Adults accompanied by small children are permitted to bring diaper bags into the arena, and exceptions will also be made for fans who use backpacks or other types of bags for medical reasons.
Bourguet: Going back to working in the gym, is there anything specific that you’ve been working on this summer? LaVine: I mean, each year when you go into the offseason, you pick apart what you did good and what you did bad. A lot of people try to focus on the bad and I try to focus on the good, because once you become that elite player and work on those skill-sets that you’re already good at, that’s how I feel like you progress even more. But then you do also work on your deficits as well, so I took all those into consideration. I feel like the biggest thing for me was I have to stay healthy, obviously. If you’re on the court, you’re more of an asset to your team, you can help them win. I had some injury trouble with my ACL tear that one year so I have to keep my legs strong. Other than that, just trying to stay healthy and continue to do the things I was doing out there last year.
Bourguet: Last one, heading into a new season and coming off a breakout year, what’s one aspect of your game that you feel like people are sleeping on a little bit? LaVine: Probably my playmaking ability. I feel like everybody knows I can score and put up big numbers, but I feel like I’m able to create plays off of breaking down the defense for others. I gotta work on my turnovers, I try to make some risky passes where you get a little bit of tunnel vision and can make some turnovers, but I feel like those aggressive plays sometimes help your team out. Always, the league leader in assists have a lot of turnovers. As long as they’re aggressive, those are okay, but with my playmaking, I feel like I can take another jump this year. I have the ball in my hand a lot. I want to be able to play off the ball and get some easy points as well, but I’ve definitely been focused on my playmaking and being able to draw that double-team or create a line where I can get to the hole when I need to and then kick it out or drop it off to get easier looks for my teammates.
Rose and Noah were teammates on the Bulls and New York Knicks. Rose says Noah is a free spirit, loving guy and wants his son — PJ — to grow up like Noah. The closest teammate I’ve had—other than Randall Hampton in high school—was Joakim Noah, and that’s where Arthur Ashe comes in again. A lot of people don’t mess with Joakim because they think there’s some bad shit that comes with him or just how outspoken he is or whatever. For me, I can respect that, knowing everything about him, like for him to be who he is and act the way he is. It’s an amazing story behind it. I actually want my son PJ to grow up to be like Joakim. You know, a free spirit, a loving guy. Joakim loves people. He’s just a great role model. And his story is special. And think of Jo. To be this silver-spoon kid, his dad is a big star, rich and famous, and he don’t want nothing to do with that. Like, “Nah, I’m doing my own thing.” Gets multiple contracts by himself when he easily could have lived off of his pops forever. His pops could’ve got him jobs. But he didn’t want that. He’s got his own individuality. That’s what I love about Jo, how he created something on his own.
The Maine Red Claws, presented by Unum, today announced that the team has acquired the Returning Player rights to Kaiser Gates in a trade with the Windy City Bulls.
Why haven’t the Bulls shed Kris Dunn yet? Both sides want it to happen. Is it simply a matter of the Bulls not wanting to take any salary back without giving up draft picks to dump him? I would think they could trade him if they took back another player on a one-year deal. — Jimmy, Springfield, Oregon It’s that well-worn adage: It takes two teams to make a trade. Demand isn’t high. I’ve written before that I’d be surprised if Dunn is still here past the February trade deadline. At that point, more teams could be motivated to make a deal. As for your scenario, I wouldn’t think adding a player on a one-year deal would dissuade the Bulls. In fact, they’d likely jump at that opportunity.
Former St. John’s guard Justin Simon will sign an Exhibit-10 contract Thursday with the Chicago Bulls, per league sources. Simon will be in training camp with the Bulls and play during the preseason, and then is expected to land with the Bulls G League team.
