Smoothing Things Over with LaVine, The Angel Reese News, Another Big Contract, and Other Bulls Bullets

Elias Schuster Elias Schuster
Sep 08, 2024
Sep 08, 2024

Happy Caleb Williams Day to all who celebrate!

  • The Chicago Bulls’ crisis management team must have told the social team to include Zach LaVine in this graphic …

  • Has anyone else noticed LaVine’s re-emergence in the Bulls’ branding efforts? As the season inches closer – and the reality of LaVine’s return to the United Center sets in – the Bulls have acted like all is well. They featured the two-time All-Star in the schedule release and have thrown his highlights or face into a handful of social media posts, including the one above. Perhaps this is a case of someone who obsessively covers the team overthinking things, but it sure feels like this could be the organization’s subtle way of trying to smooth things over. See, you’re still our star, Zach! Please don’t create a toxic locker room!

  • Speaking of LaVine, the 29-year-old returned to Bothell High School in Washington earlier this week for what seemed to be quite the honor. His hometown school appeared to retire his jersey and rename their hardwood “LaVine Court.” The entire LaVine family was in attendance, including two baby LaVines! The man himself posted some photos

  • The Chicago Sky and WNBA got some very bad news on Saturday. In a blindside announcement, Angel Reese shared on social media that she will miss the remainder of her rookie season. While the Sky hold only a 12-22 record on the year, they were in a tight race for the final playoff spot. Holding onto that without Reese’s historic play might prove to be too much to handle.

    • WOW: Angel Reese Announce𒅌s She is Out for the Season

  • Making the playoff was never the most important thing for this rebuilding Sky team, but it sure would’ve been nice to see Reese immediately get some postseason experience. Heck, even if the team failed to secure the No. 8 spot over the next six games, competing in this must-win situation could’ve been valuable. Not to mention, while you hate to see any season end early, this is especially true for someone in the thick of a record-breaking campaign. People have made fun – or been straight-up rude – about Reese’s style of play, but the truth of the matter is that she came into the league and instantly did something no one has ever done before. She asserted herself as a true emerging star and one of the most physically dominant players in the game. I wish her rookie year could’ve ended on her own terms.

  • My eyes now turn toward Kamilla Cardoso. The former national champion suffered injury trouble to begin the year and has been outshined by Reese’s stardom. But she was the No. 3 overall pick for a reason. The six-foot-seven Cardoso has the ability to take over games. She can overpower the opposing frontcourt, protect the rim at a high level, and act as a secondary playmaker at times. The door has swung wide open for head coach Teresa Weatherspoon to play more through Cardoso and help further build her confidence heading into Year 2.

    • Kamilla Cardoso of the Chicago Sky, Chicago Bulls
    © Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

  • Jamal Murray signed a four-year, $208 million extension this weekend, . After making $46.4 million in the first year of his contract, he’ll make $50.1 million, $53.8 million, and $57.5 million over the final three seasons, respectively. Murray is a champion and playoff machine, which is precisely why the Nuggets likely didn’t hesitate to pay him the big bucks. But he’s also never made an All-Star game and hasn’t played more than 65 games in a season since the 2018-19 campaign. I’m not about to argue that he isn’t a better player than Zach LaVine, but this is another new contract that should make LaVine’s contract look considerably better.

  • In case you were curious, that former Bulls forward Terry Taylor has signed a training camp deal with the Sacramento Kings. Maybe DeMar DeRozan can vouch for him!

  • LET THE FUN BEGIN!

    • Sounds Like Montez Sweat Will Play Today, Too!

  • WE ALL GOT BEARS FEVER!

    • Bear Down, Bedard Backs Caleb (and Lov𒊎es Chicago), NHL Rumor꧟s, and Other Blackhawks Bullets

    written by

    Elias Schuster is the Lead Chicago Bulls writer at Bleacher Nation. He started with BN full-time in 2019 immediately after graduating from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign with a degree in Journalism (yes, he started with the Jim Boylen Era). Since joining, Elias has been the driving force behind Bulls and NBA content for both the site and social accounts. You can follow him on Twitter/X @Schuster_Elias.

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