If you need me, I’ll be sitting by the pool in Arizona and drinking a few (or more) brewskis!
I have a little end-of-summer vacay on the docket for this weekend. With that being the case, you’ll see Matt Rooney take over notes tomorrow. Be nice to him!
Many wonder if head coach Billy Donovan is the right man for the job, but DeMar DeRozan has no doubts. The Chicago Bulls’ former All-Star had plenty of kind words to share about his time with Donovan during his latest appearance .
āI love Billy D, man. Billy D is one heck of a person and coach,” DeRozan told George. “My time there, the way he embraced me, the way he allowed me to step in and be the leader that I was. Heās a great coach, great guy. I feel like he doesnāt get the props that he fully deserves ā¦ Heās definitely underrated for sure. I wish him nothing but the best. He allowed me to be myself coming to Chicago. He made it easy for all of us.”
Paul George ā who played under Donovan during his days with the Oklahoma City Thunder ā echoed DeRozan’s comments. The two agreed that he is an underrated leader, and I think that means quite a lot coming from these two specific players. DeRozan played under two extremely well-respected coaches in Gregg Popovich and Dwane Casey. Meanwhile, George most recently spent time under Tyronn Lue, who is viewed by most as a Top 3 head coach in the NBA. These two know what good leadership looks like.
Now, does this endorsement mean that Donovan should be the guy for Chicago moving forward? Not necessarily. The truth is that he’s been a win-now head coach ever since joining the NBA. He even left one of the best front offices in sports because he knew they were about to undergo a soft rebuild. Even if he’s open to the idea of sticking around through whatever the Chicago Bulls are doing now, it’s reasonable to wonder if he can provide the mentality they need to lead a group of youngsters. Donovan has long favored veterans and spent years overachieving with his teams in OKC. The Bulls need to focus far less on the win-loss column this year and far more on internal growth.
To be clear, this isn’t to say the Chicago Bulls should have a loser of a head coach in the building. My brain can’t handle any more Jim Boylens. But going from a win-now mindset to a lottery balls mindset isn’t easy. The good news is that Donovan should have it in him, though. The whole reason he even earned a chance in the NBA was because of his historically successful college run. He repeatedly developed players into top-tier draft picks at the University of Florida. I know it’s been a while since he’s worn that cap, but let’s hope he can brush it off and pop it back on this season.
The last thing on Donovan for now. I find it pretty funny that DeRozan is singing Donovan’s praises and LaVine is presumably doing anything but. Rumors have swirled for well over a year now that LaVine isn’t the biggest fan of the head coach, particularly after he benched him back in November of 2022. The two did reportedly hang out on the West Coast earlier this offseason, so an effort is clearly being made to strengthen the relationship. Regardless, of course, the guy who believes Donovan is a genius is now in Sacramento.
(Photo by Brian Fluharty/Getty Images)
Speaking of DeRozan, his new memoir “Above the Noise” is starting to hit shelves! He spent some time at the NBA Store in New York meeting with fans and signing copies.
Thanks for stopping by, š
DeMar pulled up to the NBA Store to sign and talk his new memoir, "Above the Noise" š — NBA Store (@NBASTORE)
During DeRozan’s interview on Podcast P, Paul George also shouted out the Chicago Bulls’ newest draft pick ():
“I also like the young guy Chicago just drafted. Bro, he’s going to be a hooper,” George said. “I watched him in Summer League … I actually got to chop it up with him when we were in Vegas during Summer League. And he told me, ‘man, you’re one of my favorite players, I watched a ton of your highlights. I base my workouts after you. I try to emulate stuff you do … And he was tall as sh*t. Towering me. He might be one of the up-and-coming stars. Very soon. He can hoop. He got game.”
Once again, hearing someone with George’s resume provide this kind of rave review is meaningful. Matas Buzelis has clearly made an impression on the nine-time All-Star, and I love the fact that he has apparently emulated a lot of his game off the versatile forward. George’s two-way archetype is exactly what every team wants in today’s NBA. If that is the kind of player Buzelis is motivated to become, the Bulls should be thrilled.
Coby White was probably even more clutch than you realized last season. I mapped out some of those stats in a post yesterday. Is he ready to fill the void created by DeRozan’s exit?
Any time rookie Michael Jordan highlights pop up on my timeline, I feel obligated to share. I can’t wait for Matas Buzelis to mimic some of these dunks this season!
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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