Bulls Rumors & News

Larry Brown Sports "Chicago Bulls star Zach LaVine appreciated the way head coach Jim Boylen defended his players during a game last week, and he offered to cover the fine Boylen received from the NBA for picking up two technical fouls and being ejected from Friday night’s game during the Los Angeles..." March 18

NBC Sports Chicago "In an event that certainly shows just how much the relationship between Zach LaVine and Bulls head coach Jim Boylen has developed, Malika Andrews of ESPN reported that LaVine reached out to the Bulls front office and proposed that he pay the fines for the ejection he received on Friday night in..." March 17

Yahoo! Sports "Seeing a coach ejected is a rarity in sports. But having coaches of both teams get sent off? At the same time? Now that’s bizarre. It happened on Friday late in the third quarter of a game between the Los Angeles Clippers and Chicago Bulls at Staples Center, when both Doc Rivers..." March 16

Chicago Sun-Times "Zach LaVine has no idea what next season will bring for the Bulls. The contract extension he signed last summer undoubtedly will keep him in red, black and white for at least the next few seasons. LaVine admittedly likes the team’s direction, but the particulars surrounding the..." March 15

Yardbarker "Bulls head coach Jim Boylen and top scorer Zach LaVine told reporters earlier this week that they’d proceed cautiously with LaVine’s right knee injury, leading to some speculation that the team might consider shutting down the 24-year-old for the rest of the season. However, Boylen..." March 14

NBC Sports Chicago "For someone mired in what many would consider a slump, Lauri Markkanen doesn't seem concerned at all. And in the 21-year-old's opinion, he has no reason to be. Though Markkanen's ugly stretch of basketball in March continued in Tuesday's loss to the Lakers, he's..." March 13

Pro Basketball Talk "Bulls guard Zach LaVine summarized the scouting report on the Wizards the last couple years. John Wall and Bradley Beal: “A lot of the shots were going that way.” Otto Porter: “He was just stuck in the corner.” Porter is..." March 13

Hoops Rumors "All but two of the NBA’s 30 teams are carrying some sort of “dead money” on their salary cap for 2018/19. This dead money is created as a result of having, at some point, waived a player who had guaranteed money left on his contract (or having 10-day contracts..." March 12

NBC Sports Chicago "There’s a turning point every rebuild and while it’s impossible to identify in the moment, the current five-week stretch that Lauri Markkanen and Zach LaVine have put together for the Bulls feels like it just might be theirs. Ironically enough it came in a seven-point loss..." March 11

Hoops Rumors "Zach LaVine, who missed the Bulls‘ loss in Detroit on Sunday due to a right knee patellar tendon strain, is considered doubtful for Chicago’s Tuesday contest vs. the Lakers, head coach Jim Boylentold reporters today (Twitter link via K.C. Johnson of The Chicago..." March 11

Larry Brown Sports "The landscape of the NBA changed quite dramatically last offseason when LeBron James decided to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers. While it may be a coincidence, that has not resulted in an increased level of interest in the league. In a recent conversation with Bill Simmons of The..." March 08

NBC Sports Chicago "There's a much different attitude and confidence in the Bulls' locker room these days, and most of it is protruding from the No. 8 stall in the middle of the space. Zach LaVine stood confidently and spoke positively after yet another dazzling performance, this time racking up..." March 07

Chicago Sun-Times "When Fred Hoiberg was fired Dec. 3, he became the latest coaching casualty under the Bulls’ current regime. That body count also includes Scott Skiles, Vinny Del Negro and Tom Thibodeau, with a few interim names sprinkled in between. So how many more hires should vice..." March 07

Dime Magazine "Adam Silver sat down with The Ringer’s Bill Simmons for a wide-ranging chat about the state of the NBA at the annual MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, and was surprisingly candid about the biggest challenges his league faces in 2019. Right off the bat, Silver made a somewhat..." March 07

Pro Basketball Talk "Zach LaVine, as shown above, drove for a bucket that put the Bulls up 108-107 on the 76ers last night. That stood as the game-winner. Eventually. LaVine drew a foul on the shot and missed the free throw, leaving Philadelphia 0.5 seconds. The 76ers’ inbound pass got..." March 07

USA Today "LeBron James overtook Michael Jordan on Wednesday night on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. But LeBron will never truly overtake Jordan. Ever. LeBron is working on the sequel to Space Jam, with Jordan having starred in the original. How appropriate:..." March 07

NESN "Speaking at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference on Friday, NBA commissioner Adam Silver gave a sobering answer about the mental health of players in the league. As part of an hour-long panel with The Ringer’s Bill Simmons, Silver said that a lot of the players he interacts..." March 05

Chicago Tribune "When the Bulls named Michael Reinsdorf chief operating officer and president in 2010, Jerry’s son vowed to be hands-on and accessible. The former has been apparent over the last eight-plus years, and the latter is happening with more frequency. Michael Reinsdorf sat down with..." March 04

ESPN "The Los Angeles Lakers and free agent Carmelo Anthony are pausing talks on a possible contract agreement unless the franchise makes a turn back toward pursuit of Western Conference playoffs contention, league sources told ESPN. The Lakers had been leaning toward..." March 04

Larry Brown Sports "A mini-rivalry erupted Sunday between Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young and Chicago Bulls guard Kris Dunn, and it ended with Young being ejected. Dunn initially confronted Young in the first quarter after the Hawks guard hoisted up a shot after a timeout, and a brief scuffle..." March 03

ESPN "Lauri Markkanen made three free throws to give Chicago the lead for good late in the fourth overtime, and the Bulls overcame Trae Young's career-high 49 points to beat the Hawks 168-161 in the third-highest-scoring game in NBA history. The 329 combined points trailed only the 370..." March 02

Chicago Sun-Times "Otto Porter Jr. has had a massive impact on the Bulls’ soul. Their 5-3 record since he came on board is an obvious consequence. His attitude, his shot-making, his size — which makes switching seamless — and his dog mentality on defense have generated a true esprit de..." March 01

Chicago Tribune "Coach Jim Boylen gave Robin Lopez a veteran’s day off from practice on Thursday after the veteran big man blocked five shots and logged just shy of 40 minutes in Wednesday’s victory over the Grizzlies. There are many reasons why Lopez will remain..." March 01

NBC Sports Chicago "Lauri Markkanen will certainly be sad to see February go. The second year power forward finished the most productive month of his young NBA career with 22 points and 10 rebounds in 36 minutes Wednesday night against the Memphis Grizzlies. Markkanen finishes February, in 10 games,..." February 28

Sports Business Daily "The NBA’s jersey patch program is more than halfway through its three-season test and the results are clear: It’s a slam dunk. As the league continues to search for new revenue, the patch program has delivered, generating more than $150 million. And 20 of the 29 team patch..." February 27

Chicago Sun-Times "There were some fair comparisons that fit Lauri Markkanen at one time. Kristaps Porzingis, Ryan Anderson, heck, even Dirk Nowitzki was floated out there early on. That is until February rolled around. After his last 10 games, it’s difficult to find a fair..." February 27

Hoops Rumors "After the Bulls held onto Robin Lopez at the trade deadline, one report indicated that the two sides would likely engage in buyout talks. However, executive VP of basketball operations John Paxson downplayed that possibility the next day, and it sounds like the team’s stance hasn’t..." February 26

Chicago Sun-Times "Coach Jim Boylen wasn’t going to speak for his front office Friday. And he wouldn’t hazard to guess where Bulls center Robin Lopez’s head will be at once summertime arrives and the free-agent frenzy gets underway. But one thing is certain: Boylen would..." February 25

Mass Live "Some fans weren’t particularly thrilled when the Boston Celtics, along with the rest of the NBA, decided to add an advertiser patch to their jerseys. The traditional jerseys, it was said, were sullied by a cash grab, and tradition had been sold out for a few bucks. Well, it..." February 25

Sporting News "The time for trades has ended, but contenders searching for slight upgrades still have the ability to scour the buyout market. As long as they are waived by March 1, buyout candidates are eligible to compete in the postseason. These kinds of players typically only fill small..." February 25

Bleacher Report "The NBA is denying a report from ESPN that Tim Donaghy fixed games while working as a referee for the league. NBA.com published the league's official statement, which read in part: "The Tim Donaghy matter concluded over a decade ago with a..." February 22

Chicago Tribune "Try telling the Bulls they have nothing left to play for in the final 24 games except draft lottery positioning. “I don’t think the fan base wants a team to lose on purpose,” Zach LaVine said after a Wednesday evening workout at the Advocate..." February 21

Blog-A-Bull "A smart person believes in the Chicago Bulls. Over at The Ringer, Jonathan Tjarks writes that not only is the Bulls rebuild trending in the right direction, but also that the pre-trade deadline acquisition of Otto Porter Jr. was a critical move for a franchise looking..." February 20

USA Today "Finally, we've arrived. The stretch run of the 2018-19 NBA season is here, and with it come the games that will define the campaign and change the landscape of the upcoming postseason. The final 20-plus games of the year are going to be thrilling to watch unfold, as..." February 20

Chicago Sun-Times "John Paxson insisted weeks ago that any decision regarding the coaching future of Jim Boylen “has nothing to do with money.’’ Considering the Bulls were recently valued at $2.9 billion by Forbes Magazine, money should never be a factor for the team’s vice..." February 19

Real GM Basketball "The NBA is anticipating between 37 percent and 40 percent of current players will be free agents this offseason, according to sources close to Adam Silver. Silver talked about how shorter contract lengths have changed the equation on player movement. "People have lost..." February 19

Blog-A-Bull "It’s no secret that Bobby Portis took his trade from the Bulls to the Wizards hard. The deal went down right before the Bulls faced the Pelicans last Wednesday night, and there were multipleanecdotes about how down he looked as he left the..." February 13

Chicago Tribune "Lauri Markkanen watches film of his December games, his first back after missing 23 because of a serious right elbow injury, and he cringes. Not because he remembers being in pain. “I was cutting my shot short a little bit. It wasn’t hurting. I just did so..." February 10

Chicago Tribune "It’s not often a February regular-season game between two sub-.500 teams carries so much emotion. But that’s what happens when the Bulls and Wizards met just three days after trading players. It’s what happens when the emotional player nicknamed “Crazy..." February 10

Washington Post "For all of his six years in the NBA, Otto Porter Jr. has worn red. Still, Chicago’s vibrant, ruby-colored jersey looks a bit odd on Porter. Not just for his former Washington Wizards teammates, whom he said goodbye to this past week after getting traded before a game in Milwaukee. The new..." February 10

Chicago Tribune "Since the moment the Bulls acquired him from the Knicks in the Derrick Rose trade in June 2016, Robin Lopez has represented the franchise with professionalism, class and humor. The situation is fluid, but executive vice president John..." February 08

Bullets Forever "With the Achilles tear sidelining John Wall for most of next season, the Wizards needed to get out of the luxury tax and create financial space to construct a roster for the future. The trade of Otto Porter for Bobby Portis and Jabari Parker qualifies as..." February 08

NBC Sports Chicago "The Bulls had two glaring positional needs when Year 2 of their rebuild began. Small forward had been a revolving door since the team traded Jimmy Butler, initiating the rebuild in the first place. It was first thought that Jabari Parker might have been able to fill in that role, but..." February 08

Pro Basketball Talk "The Bulls traded Bobby Portis to the Wizards as part of the Otto Porter deal shortly before the trade deadline. But not before trying to keep Portis in Chicago long-term. K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune:

February 08

Chicago Sun-Times "Bulls vice president of basketball operations John Paxson and general manager Gar Forman swear there’s a plan in place. The Bulls’ two front-office heads even dipped their toes in laying it out Thursday. It came with a plea of patience, a promise of good things..." February 08

NBC Sports Chicago "Bobby Portis is no longer a Chicago Bull, but he is having some words on Twitter on his way out. At a press conference on Thursday, Bulls president of basketball operations John Paxson talked about the trade that sent Portis to the Wizards. Portis scanned his Twitter feed to find some..." February 08

Washington Post "Whether owner Ted Leonsis wanted to admit it, something had to give for the Washington Wizards. That was clear before John Wall ruptured his Achilles’ tendon, and it was crystal clear afterward. The Wizards finally yielded to the harsh reality of their health problems and..." February 07

Hoops Rumors "The Bulls and center Robin Lopez are expected to soon engage in discussions on a potential contract buyout, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Malika Andrews (Twitter link). " February 07

NBC Sports Chicago "The Bulls aren’t fixed and it’ll take more than a seven-game sample size to prove it, but Jim Boylen’s group appears to be taking baby steps toward improvement. Since returning home from the nightmare that was a winless five-game road trip and losing to the Miami..." February 06