2020–21 NBA Preview: Part 2

East

14. Chicago Bulls

I feel like there were a bunch of kids who watched “The Last Dance” this year and thought, “wow, you mean the Bulls actually used to be good?” That’s where we’ve come with this team. Side note. Remember how excited we all were when the Last Dance came out? We had been stuck at home for what seemed like forever and were running out of content and then this incredible doc series came in and just brought so much nostalgic happiness. But remember how it felt like we had already been dealing with Corona forever when we were watching that? And now think about how long ago it seems like that was. What a crazy, messed up year.

Anyway, these Bulls suck. They have some fun talent and possibly a couple building blocks but it won’t be enough to be anything but awful this year. The starters will likely be:

Zach LaVine

Denzel Valentine

Otto Porter Jr.

Lauri Markkanen

Wendell Carter Jr.

That’s good enough to win a few games, but it’s a weird team. Also, the fact that they have those guys and also have Coby White, Patrick Williams, Tom Satoransky, Thadeus Young and a couple other guys who can play just shows how terrible the Knicks are by comparison. But LaVine is not a point guard. LaVine is NOT A POINT GUARD! The league’s love for big guards has made coaches and GMs want to turn every big who can handle into a PG, but he’s a 2…maybe even a 3. But not a 1. Then Valentine, whose name sounds like something from a 70’s action movie, is an unathletic PG trapped in the body of a small forward from the 60s. Porter Jr.’s best skill is talking teams into overpaying him. He’s good. Sometimes really good. But only sometimes which overall makes him someone you can’t rely on. Markkanen has one more K than is allowed, but is otherwise a fantastic young player tailor made for today’s NBA except he needs to be a more consistent rebounder if he’s going to play the 4 which is his best position. Put him on a team like the Warriors and he is just devastating. On the Bulls he will be good but insufficient. Carter Jr. looks like a poor man’s Jaren Jackson Jr. and that’s not that great. He seems to be grading out as “meh.”

With the right coaching, this team could be dangerous at times, but other nights they are going to lack shooting and consistency and defense. They will look fine against lesser teams and the East has a few, but against the better teams I think they are going to look completely outmatched. I would be surprised if LaVine ends the season on this team. Then again drafting Patrick Williams that high also surprised me so who knows?

Let’s just say they are unlikely to ever make an inspiring documentary about this team unless it is to show the contrast between what they looked like before they got Emoni Bates.

Sneaker note: Thanks to MJ, the Bulls’ colors have become the standard for sneakers. Every Nike or Jordan basketball shoe at some point gets the “Bred” treatment which is sneakerese for black and red. So even if these Bulls put the bull in terribull, the legacy of their dominance lives on in sneakers and the Air Jordan 1 “Chicago” may still be the king of all sneakers.

West

14. Sacramento Kings

Incredibly, the West is already tough to rank after the Thunder. The Kings seem like a fairly safe bet, but even they believe somewhere deep inside the mind that gave De’Aaron Fox a max contract, that they can be a playoff team this year. They absolutely can’t but it’s not because they are a bad team. It is just that the West is perhaps more loaded than it has ever been with really good teams.

Looking at their roster the likely starters change based on whether they match Atlanta’s offer sheet for Bogdan Bogdanovic (real name). If he stays (unlikely) he’ll slide into the 2, but I think they are going to let him go mostly because I think he wants to go. And I think Atlanta is overpaying. So that would mean the starters are most likely:

De’Aaron Fox

Buddy Hield

Harrison Barnes

Marvin Bagley III

Richaun Holmes

Maybe. Or maybe they realize pretty quickly that Hield’s lack of defense and consistency makes him better for the bench and they start new draft pick Tyrese Haliburton from the jump. Because that kid is a stud and may have been the steal of the draft. His game is unorthodox, but he might be the best overall offensive player in this draft. So don’t be surprised if they put him on the floor and don’t be surprised if he’s the team’s go to player toward the end of the season.

Without Bogdan, the bench is pretty sketchy. I like Kyle Guy and….well, I like Kyle Guy. After that, it’s pretty rocky. It will be interesting to see if they try to unload Barnes and his huge contract around the trade deadline. By then it should be clear they are not a playoff team and he’s a little ahead of the rest of their timeline, but could really help just about any of the contenders if they can figure out a way to afford him.

As for Fox, I get why they paid him. He’s legit and the huge money doesn’t come until he may actually be a guy who deserves it and Sacramento, like Portland, has a hard time attracting free agents. So you have to overpay your own guys. But man that’s a lot of money for a guy who probably projects to be the second or third best player on a playoff team at best.

Tough to be a Kings fan. Chris Weber, Peja, White Chocolate and Doug Christie aren’t walking through that door.

Sneaker note: De’Aaron Fox’s “Swipa” colorway of the Nike Airmax 1 is awesome. Someday I need to grab a pair.