Bulls Trade Alex Caruso For Josh Giddey

Good morning Chicago fans! Is anyone giddy about the current state of Chicago sports? The winds always move quickly - just like the storm that blew in on Saturday night. We say goodbye to Alex Caruso today 👋

Even though the sports landscape is always changing, some players are stamped into history. Ryne Sandberg was honored at Wrigley Field with a statue next to Fergie Jenkins, Ron Santo, Billy Williams and Ernie Banks. How cool is it to see current players witness that moment?

RESULTS

L - Giants 7, Cubs 6: How about a blown save to start the week?!? The home plate umpire had blown eyesight all game too 🤷‍♂️

• Michael Busch and Ian Happ each hit a HR to jumpstart the offense and give the Cubs a lead in the 6th and 7th innings

• The bullpen was completely ineffective, and Hector Neris blew a 2-run lead in the 9th when he gave up a 3-run HR to Thairo Estrada

W - Cubs 5, Giants 2: The pitching staff dominated as the Cubs got back in the win column.

• Justin Steele (6.2 IP, 2 ER) continued his hot stretch

• Tyson Miller and Keegan Thompson (Save) combined for 2.1 perfect innings to give us a much less stressful ending 🔥

• Cubs broke a 2-2 tie with a 3-run 8th inning - they strung a bunch of soft hits together by hitting it where they ain’t

W - Cubs 6, Giants 5: Vintage Kyle Hendricks gave the Cubs their first 3-game series win since May 10-12!!

• A grand slam by old friend Jorge Soler in the 8th inning made things interesting once again…

• A 3-RBI day from Dansby Swanson helped carry a Cubs offense that had 11 hits but stranded a ton of runners to keep the Giants within striking distance

• Colten Brewer got the save

L - Mets 11, Cubs 1: I don’t like this new trend with 1:20 Friday games…

• Shōta Imanaga gave up a 10-spot in a brutal start (3.0 IP, 11 H, 10 ER)

• Old friend Jose Quintana shut down the Cubs (6.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K)

W - Cubs 8, Mets 1: Roles were reversed in another blowout!

• Jameson Taillon was filthy (7.0 IP, 1 ER, 10 K) as Tomas Nido made an impressive Cubs debut behind the plate

  • Was Nido the missing piece for this pitching staff all season??

• The Cubs never looked back from a 5-run 1st inning

• 6 different Cubs players finished the game with an RBI, and they finally showed up with runners in scoring position (4-for-10) 🎉

L - Mets 5, Cubs 2: The Cubs came up short on Ryno’s big day with a chance to win two consecutive series.

• The Cubs offense fell back to earth and struck out 14 times

• Luis Severino threw 6 shutout innings and accounted for 10 of those strikeouts

• Mets closer Edwin Diaz was found with sticky stuff on his hands and was ejected before throwing a pitch in the 9th inning - guess it didn’t matter who got the save opportunity 🤷‍♂️

WEEK RECORD: 3-3

SEASON RECORD: 37-41 (4th place, 8 GB)

⭐ STAR OF THE WEEK ⭐

Ian Happ

Happ continued to rake with a 7-for-22 (.318) week with 2 HR and 6 RBI.

🎥 PLAY OF THE WEEK 🎥

Double Play by Seagulls?

ROSTER MOVES

Tuesday: Placed Mike Tauchman on the 10-day IL with a groin strain, recalled Miles Mastrobuoni from AAA

Wednesday: Placed Keegan Thompson on the paternity list, recalled Porter Hodge from AAA

Wednesday: DFA’d Yan Gomes, signed C Tomas Nido

• Salute to Yan Gomes - he was the right catcher for the Cubs the last couple of seasons. He was great with the pitching staff, a leader in the clubhouse, and was reliable with the bat in 2023 before falling off this season. Something had to be done to improve the position, but I’m sad to see him go.

• Nido comes over from the Mets and brings defensive skills that should help the Cubs’ struggling fielding. His offensive abilities seem minimal, but hopefully a change of scenery can spark a bit of offense.

Saturday: Activated Keegan Thompson from the paternity list, optioned Luke Little to AAA

Sunday: Placed Mark Leiter Jr. on the 15-day IL with a right forearm strain, recalled Luke Little from AAA

Traded cash to the Phillies for C William Simoneit

Carl Edwards Jr. opted out of his contract and was released. He was pitching very well recently in AAA.

NEWS & NOTES

Keegan Thompson’s son was born after his 3-K save against the Giants! What a night he had. Congratulations to him and his family!

Prospect C/1B Moises Ballesteros was promoted to AAA after raking in AA so far this season (.299 AVG, .867 OPS, 9 HR, 43 RBI).

Javier Assad has a new walk-up song - a song called “Javier Assad” - specifically written for him by Banda Corona Del Rey

This is how bad the RISP issue has become:

MLB Draft Combine took place Tuesday-Sunday as the Cubs prepare for the upcoming July 14th-16th draft. The Cubs have the 14th overall selection.

TROPHY TRACKER (6/10 ➡ 🏆)

NEWS & NOTES

The team is on break until training camp begins on July 16th for rookies and July 19th for veterans.

Gervon Dexter Sr. shared his goals for the 2024 season: 8+ sacks, 15+ tackles for loss, Pro Bowl, All-Pro

• His goals are on his phone’s lock screen. Maybe took a page out of Caleb Williams’ book on that one? Pretty soon the whole team will have goals on their lock screens!

Braxton Jones defeated Tyrique Stevenson in the American Cornhole League celebrity tournament final 🥇😂

TROPHY TRACKER (6/10 ➡ 🏆)

NEWS & NOTES

Re-signed F Cole Guttman to a 1-year, 2-way contract with a $775K cap hit

• Guttman should be a major contributor for Rockford again next season after his 40 point (16 G, 24 A) effort in the 2023-2024 season (39 games). He could push his way into the NHL lineup as he continues to improve.

NHL DRAFT - FRIDAY AND SATURDAY

Current Draft Picks:

Round 1, Pick 2

Round 1, Pick 18

Round 2, Pick 34

Round 2, Pick 50

Round 3, Pick 67

Round 3, Pick 72

Round 5, Pick 138

Round 6, Pick 163

The Hawks are looking at 6 picks in the top 3 rounds to add to their already-deep prospect pool. Defenseman Artyom Levshunov is the recent consensus pick for the Hawks at #2. Corey Pronman of The Athletic even said “The winds certainly feel like they’re blowing in the direction of Levshunov being the pick here.” Windy conditions at the draft, too? Hopefully these winds are more accurate than Peter King speculating the Bears would trade the #1 pick 💨

I expect the Hawks to have a target in mind at #18 and may jump up if needed. Last year, they almost traded up to draft Oliver Moore and ended up getting him at their pick (#19) anyways. If a defenseman goes #2, they almost have to get a forward at #18, and vice versa.

I’m excited for Kyle from Chicago to work the phones. He has been creative on draft night in each of his first two drafts, so expect the unexpected. He can take on bad contracts, move picks around, and cause a lot of chaos on the draft room floor.

Three offseasons of acquiring cornerstone prospects sets up the Blackhawks VERY well. The future is taking shape this week! 👀

TROPHY TRACKER (2/10 ➡ 🏆)

NEWS & NOTES

🚨 Traded Alex Caruso to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Josh Giddey 🚨

• This is the start! The changes promised by Arturas Karnisovas at the end of the season may actually be happening. To me, this points to MANY more moves this offseason.

• Salute to Caruso. He was a warrior on the court for the Bulls and a great teammate. He was also an extra assistant coach. It’s sad to see him leave Chicago, but he’s headed to the perfect situation with a contender.

• This is a downgrade in 3-point shooting and defense, but I like the trade. Giddey has flaws, but he’s a 21-year old player with immense upside. His court vision and passing are very good, and he fills up the stat sheet when given significant minutes. He already has 11 triple-doubles in his career.

• As of now, I could see the Bulls starting backcourt as Giddey (PG) and Coby White (SG) with Ayo Dosunmu coming off the bench first

Will Gottlieb reported that the Bulls turned down multiple offers for Alex Caruso at the trade deadline last season because of ownership’s push to make the playoffs (see Hitting the Links below).

• This appears to be a contradictory report in relation to other statements over the last year. Arturas Karnisovas said he had the freedom to sell at the deadline if he decided to go down that path.

• I’m not convinced ownership is making basketball decisions for the Bulls, but I am convinced that AK hasn’t been making any decisions for years.

• It’s possible the front office didn’t value (in a vacuum) first round picks in this upcoming draft enough to match Caruso’s value, and a young player like Josh Giddey was more desirable.

Bulls held a pre-draft workout last Monday with Ron Holland, Terrence Shannon Jr., Ryan Dunn, Kyle Filipowski, Adem Bona and Justin Moore (via Darnell Mayberry on X).

NBA DRAFT - WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY

Current Draft Pick:

Round 1, Pick 11

The Bulls’ 2nd round pick was traded away in 2021 in the Lonzo Ball sign-and-trade with the Pelicans.

Recent mock drafts have the Bulls opting for a wing, namely Ron Holland, or one of the guards still on the board (Devin Carter, Rob Dillingham).

There isn’t much to glean from Arturas Karnisovas’ only 2 first-round picks as Bulls VP to help us predict how he will handle this week’s draft. Patrick Williams and Dalen Terry have been underwhelming in the NBA but still have time to develop. Taking Williams at #4 in 2020 looks like a miss with Tyrese Haliburton (#12) and Tyrese Maxey (#21) still on the board. If anything, the 2 Bulls picks were positionless, long-term projects, and not great shooters.

Unless a top player falls, I will be upset with drafting a guard. Now that Josh Giddey is here, a rookie wouldn’t have much playing time available.

With DeMar DeRozan and Patrick Williams floating as free agents, the rest of the roster is up in the air. They desperately need big men, and wing depth is extremely important in the NBA. Nikola Vucevic had a down year and doesn’t quite match the play style of Giddey and White, especially if he continues to struggle from 3.

I’m tired of seeing Williams or Caruso start at power forward, and a new center might be an upgrade. Unfortunately, I don’t trust AK to draft the right guy.

TROPHY TRACKER (1/10 ➡ 🏆)

Kyle Schwarber

The former Cub has been RAKING for the Phillies this month (6 HR, 14 RBI) and continues to be a genuine and selfless teammate off the field.

Matt Gelb wrote a great article on Schwarber that highlights how loved he is by everyone who knows him:

Schwarber’s foundation honors first responders and their families, he talks with veterans and acknowledges them at the ballpark, and current Phillies rave about his leadership abilities.

I miss him in Chicago, and this was a fun reminder of his character. He’s a great representative for Philadelphia, the game of baseball, and will always be a Chicago Cubs legend.

The Bulls want to win.

Sounds like a simple take, right?

So many Bulls fans cling to this notion that Bulls ownership “doesn’t want to win”. I understand the frustration. Ownership has been late to make necessary changes in the front office. John Paxson and Gar Forman ran the program until the fans paid for a “Fire GarPax” billboard and Paxson essentially fired himself.

They haven’t won anything since Jordan was in town. They got lucky in 2008 when they won the lottery to draft D-Rose. They always want their stadium full. They continue to build a mediocre basketball team that fails to live up to the Bulls legacy.

But I believe they want to win.

There’s a big difference between wanting to win and knowing HOW to win.

I equate this to fans believing the Bears only make decisions that are “comfortable” for them. I disagree, but I can get into that another time. The Bulls and Bears don’t know HOW to win. They hire the wrong people. Those wrong people put a bad product in front of the fans.

Michael Reinsdorf reportedly talked to people around the league at All-Star weekend in 2020 to gain valuable intel on who should take over the Bulls’ basketball operations. All advice and all roads led him to Arturas Karnisovas.

It sounds like there was an exhaustive search, and the goal was to find the best person for the job of bringing championships back to Chicago.

The hire looks like a swing and a miss, but that doesn’t mean every roster move and every press conference soundbite is a direct result of ownership’s money hungry pockets. Maybe Josh Giddey turns into a great Bull. Maybe AK gets creative and actually improves the roster. Maybe this all spirals even more. Who knows what will happen.

But they are trying to win.

Scott Wheeler - Final NHL Mock Draft (The Athletic)

Ben Pope - Blackhawks offseason preview (Chicago Sun-Times)

Darnell Mayberry - Bulls Draft Intel (The Athletic)

Gabby Hajduk - Gervon Dexter Looking to Maximize Potential (Chicago Bears)

Tony Andracki - Ryne Sandberg’s input on his statue (Marquee Sports Network)

Adam Jahns & Kevin Fishbain - Bears 53-man roster projection (The Athletic)

Pierre LeBrun - Duncan Keith’s Message to the Oilers (The Athletic)

Will Gottlieb - What will the Bulls do with Alex Caruso? (CHGO)

Thanks for reading! Make sure the couch is comfortable for Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final tonight and 4 straight days of drafts later in the week. Feel free to reply to this email with any thoughts!

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