👋 Good morning!
Before we get into the not-as-fun Bulls talk, I wanted to acknowledge the best news from yesterday:
Michael Jordan will join the NBA on NBC and Peacock next season as a “special contributor”.
That rules. I doubt his involvement will be extensive, but we don’t hear from the greatest of all time nearly enough.
Like Wayne Gretzky on TNT’s hockey coverage, it doesn’t even matter what he brings to the broadcast; it’ll just be nice to have him there in any capacity.
Flagg: Not Captured.
No Cooper Flagg in Chicago. The Bulls stayed put and received the No. 12 pick in next month’s NBA Draft after failing to move up in Monday night’s lottery.
I asked Will Gottlieb to identify and introduce a few potential prospects that could be available when the Bulls are on the clock. Here’s what he said:
Khaman Maluach, C, Duke
If the Bulls want to continue playing with a defensively challenged backcourt, a rim-protecting behemoth like Khaman Maluach would provide anchoring and clean up that they desperately need. The 7-foot-2 center from South Sudan is raw, but has tools that would easily translate to a role in the NBA.
Offensively, he shot a comical 77.6% of his shots at the rim, which would give Josh Giddey a legit lob threat to open up the floor. Defensively, no one will want to challenge him at the rim. While his block percentage is relatively low for a premium draft prospect like him, it dissuades drivers from even trying.
Kasparas Jakucionis, G, Illinois
Another guard? It probably doesn’t make sense for the Bulls, who have Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu, and Lonzo Ball back next season and will almost certainly retain Giddey. They might even want to keep Tre Jones if they can find a way. But a Lithuanian who played at Illinois checks Arturas Karnisovas’ favorite boxes.
Aside from that, his skill set is certainly enticing. A jumbo guard with creation skills, Jakucionis leans heavily on his step-back three to bend defenses and open up driving lanes. He’s an advanced passer who can set up teammates and manipulate defenses.
Carter Bryant, F, Arizona
Coming off the bench for Arizona this season led to lackluster box score production for Carter Bryant. But at 6-foot-8, with athleticism and defensive tools galore, he could easily hear his name called at the back end of the lottery.
Bryant has the outlines of an elite 3-and-D player, which is supremely valuable in the modern NBA. In a draft where the back-end lottery talent will need a lot to go right to hit their peak outcomes, a safer pick like Bryant could make a lot of sense as a set-and-forget role player.
Thank you, Will! Appreciate the insight.
As for the lottery itself, that’s about as Bulls as it gets.
Hand up — once the Bulls had clinched a Play-In spot, I stopped caring as much about the losses. What was the point of cheering for losses when an extra game was a certainty?
Unfortunately, last night proved why every single loss mattered. As Will so kindly pointed out on Twitter, the Bulls and Dallas Mavericks, who won last night’s lottery and the No. 1 pick, flipped a coin to decide their spot in the lottery order after the Play-In ended last month.
The Mavericks won the flip and the 11th-best odds. The Bulls slotted into the No. 12 spot. This means that had the Bulls won the flip, they’d have won the lottery. And had the Bulls lost one more game, they’d have avoided the coin flip and…won the lottery.
Strangely, this ranks as the third most impactful coin flip in Chicago sports history:
In 1970, the Pittsburgh Steelers won a coin flip against the Bears to determine the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. The Steelers selected QB Terry Bradshaw. The Bears traded the second pick to the Packers.
In 1975, luck was on the Bears’ side when they won a coin flip against the Cleveland Browns for the No. 4 pick in the draft. That pick, of course, would later be used to bring Walter Payton to Chicago.
Quick Hits
MARK YOUR CALENDARS: Ahead of the league’s big schedule reveal on Wednesday night, Prime Video, FOX, and NBC have begun sharing select games, including two Bears matchups:
Bears @ Eagles: Black Friday, November 28, 2 p.m.
Bears vs. Packers: Saturday, December 20, 3 or 6:30 p.m.
If this were last year, a scheduled game on the Saturday before Christmas would indicate a Christmas Day game. However, that’s not necessarily the case with the holiday falling on a Thursday.
Netflix, which will carry the two unannounced Christmas Day games (Chiefs vs. Broncos on Prime Video at night already confirmed), isn’t slated to announce its matchups until Wednesday.
HEALTHY BURDEN? Shoutout to Adam Hoge, who called me yesterday morning with a great question: Are we sure the video of Luther Burden that the Bears posted on Sunday afternoon, which made us think the wide receiver was full-go on Day 3 of rookie camp, was actually from Sunday’s practice?
After some digging, it appears that, based on Burden’s clothing, the clip on the team’s social accounts was from Saturday’s practice before Burden appeared to get banged up at the end of the session. Burden was on the field on Day 3, but didn’t appear to be working at full speed.
Chuck Goudie and ABC 7 Chicago I-Team would be proud.
CRAPP: Ian Happ is headed to the 10-day IL with an oblique strain that has kept the Cubs’ lead-off man out of the lineup since last Friday. To take his place, the club is calling up their No. 4 prospect (No. 61 in MLB), Moises Ballesteros, per Bruce Levine.
Ballesteros is primarily a DH, which indicates that Seiya Suzuki will take the reins on left field, where he has played the last three days in Happ’s absence. In 34 Triple-A games with the Iowa Cubs this year, Ballesteros is slashing a whopping .368/.420/.522 with four home runs.
I’m interested in seeing the corresponding move, as Ballesteros will have to be added to a currently full 40-man roster. Designating any MLB player for assignment would create another opening on the 26-man roster, so I doubt this is the end of the line for Justin Turner, Vidal Brujan or Nicky Lopez.
Ryan Brasier and Tyson Miller are on rehab assignments, and Shota Imanaga played catch in the outfield ahead of last night’s win over the Marlins, so transferring an injured player to the 60-day IL seems highly unlikely.
Who does that leave?
SKY HIGH PRAISE: The biggest winner of media day for the Sky? The return of Courtney Vandersloot. Vandersloot, who was drafted by the Sky in 2011 and played in Chicago until 2022, rejoined the Sky on a one-year deal earlier in the offseason.
Head coach Tyler Marsh on Vandersloot’s return: “Her experience, her maturity, her wisdom is something you can’t put a price on. When she speaks, everyone listens.”
Rookie Hailey Van Lith on Vandersloot: “If I could pick any vet to play with my first year, it would be Sloot. She’s the best example that I could be around every day.”
30% OFF OUR GEAR
🚨THROUGH SUNDAY🚨
…😐
Matas’ face after Bulls got the 12th pick🤣
— #CHGO Sports (#@CHGO_Sports)
12:49 AM • May 13, 2025
Today!
📺 CHGO Bears
12:00 on YouTube
📺 CHGO Fire
1:45 on YouTube
📺 CHGO Blackhawks
2:00 on YouTube
📺 CHGO Bulls
4:00 on YouTube
⚾️ White Sox @ Reds
5:40 on CHSN
⚾️ Cubs vs. Marlins
6:40 on Marquee
📺 CHGO White Sox
POSTGAME on YouTube
📺 CHGO Cubs
POSTGAME on CHGO Cubs YT
