Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show
5 On It: Are you buying the idea that the Bulls aren't in rebuild mode?
06 Feb 2026
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
This hour is sponsored by Wintrust.
I got five.
It's time for Five On It. Rahimi Harrison-Roney. Bring you five topics on their minds today. On 104.3 The Score.
I got five on it.
Number one. During his post-trade deadline address, Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations, Arturis Karnaschovas, refused to say that the team is rebuilding, instead calling it, quote, a stage that we're in. Are you buying the idea that the Bulls are not in rebuild mode?
You know what? Everybody's in a stage that they're in. But sometimes those stages are different things. It's okay to say rebuild. It would make it all make sense. Then we'd be like, oh, you're tearing it down.
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Chapter 2: Are the Bulls really not in rebuild mode?
What are you going to build up? What did Ben Johnson say? Strip it down to the studs. He had players that were established, though, on his team and stuff. Point being, though, it gives you leeway. It just does. If the rebuild doesn't work, at least you tried. If you're not doing any of it... We're all just in stages we're in. Fair to middling. That's what I call it. Fair to middling.
But, you know, it gets the accent gets a little more extreme. We've been told that the Southern accents are even more extreme on FM. I'm really loving all the experimentation going on. But it's okay to say you're in a rebuild stage. You got nine second-round picks, or in the words of Joe Calley, 30. You've decided that draft picks are currency. Do you know why?
Chapter 3: What does it mean to be in a 'stage' in sports?
Because you need more players. So I don't know if it's a whole rebuild, but it's okay to say rebuild. The Sixers spent years in the process of The process was never fully realized. The NBA cut the process off. But it's okay. People do it all the time. They rebuild like Oklahoma City did and voila.
Did they actually ever say the word rebuild, though, in the midst of it? I don't know.
And the Oklahoma City fan base is not one to, like, demand answers like that. Yeah. But at the same time, they didn't really have to. They traded away Paul George at the time, so you knew what they were doing. But then they got a bunch of first-rounders and stuff. Wow, Matt Spiegel just walked into our building wearing a suit.
Oh, boy.
Yeah, dressed up Matt Spiegel. Now I'm all nosy. I want to know what he's doing. I bet he'll tell us later.
Hope everybody's okay.
No, it might just be that he's going over to Fox or something to be on their air. Okay. But yeah, so I... No, I'm not buying that you're not in a rebuild mode because your actions are different now. Give me McSignals.
I guess I'm okay at this point with the Bulls not using the word rebuild because it's just become a game over the years with all franchises. They know that we know that they know it's a rebuild or it's just something drastic. Wink.
Yeah, I think that's the point to which it has gotten like what percentage like show me the the front office guy or gal that has ever uttered or used the word rebuild for some reason.
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Chapter 4: How do draft picks serve as currency in rebuilding teams?
Yes. When you talked it through, you didn't really come to a conclusion.
About whether or not they're in a rebuild? Mm-hmm. I don't think they think they are.
I think that's fair.
Yeah. I don't think they think they are. So I, yeah. Number two.
We solved nothing.
That's one down.
Dang it.
In the first hour of this very show, we played this season-defining highlight from Fox, and it's so nice, we're going to hear it twice. On the knee!
On the fake, Williams.
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Chapter 5: What are the implications of the Sixers' rebuild process?
Looking downfield.
Watching downfield. Going for it! It is caught! Bears win it! D.J. Moore! On a scale of 1 to 10 on the newly created significance meter, trademark, where would you rate the walk-off touchdown from Caleb Williams to DJ Moore that lifted the Bears over the Packers and helped clinch the NFC North being named the moment of the year at yesterday's NFL Honors Awards show?
You know what? I'm with him, man. Next gen stats. They bring that science and the math and stuff, the stem to it, you know, the numbers, the way they make it significant. They have an algorithm themselves. And frankly, I think there are enough moments in the NFL season where they determine which is the most consequential thing.
But to walk it off like that for the division on a Saturday night against your rival and everybody went insane.
Chapter 6: How did the Oklahoma City Thunder handle their rebuild?
We all just started screaming. Mark couldn't because he was in a press box. I did because I was out. I was outside. I was outside with my friends and we were going crazy. So you know what? Yeah. Moment of the year. Moment of the year.
What does it say? So here's where I was going with the... Ten of the significance meter. Okay, because my thought process for this question was, what does it say to you about how significant it is to how the league views the Bears? I imagine it's still a ten for you, Layla, on that scale.
Yeah, the fact that the Bears were involved in a moment of the year, that the Bears arguably had the best highlight of the NFL season, the best, and not the fail-merry, The best.
No double doink?
No double doink. No moment of sadness or failure or like, you know, the still frame where Cooper Kopp is like 95 yards past any other defender. Or the video of Mitch Trubisky throwing something to Allen Robinson, but he was like 10 yards away. None of the funny, sad, viral moments. This was the highlight of the year. So the fact that the Bears...
are significant to this, that they have put themselves back in the league conversation, that there was a skit involving Bob Odenkirk and the Pope. Suddenly what we're talking about is what they're talking about? Oh, let's go. 10 on the significance meter. End of story.
Yeah, I'd go 10 on it too. I mean, yes. 10 on it. The Bears are ā I mean, Joe Tooney getting the NFL Protector of the Year. Ben Johnson finishing, unfortunately, fourth place in the Coach of the Year voting. But that's still cool that they were all present. Like, it was all Bearsed up.
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Chapter 7: What are the reasons behind the Bulls' current strategy?
But, yeah, 46-yard walk-off touchdown against Green Bay. I would argue that you could have put other Bears plays in there, like the 14-yarder to Cole Komet against L.A. How about the fourth and eight to Roma Dunes' eight? With five minutes to go in the game to set it up.
The fourth and eight was the flex moment of the year. The fourth and eight was like, is somebody wrapped around my ankle? I don't care. First down.
It almost felt like the most miraculous of them all, but it's fun to think about them all. And yeah, the spirit of the question is well taken, Ray. You have put us into a corner and given us no choice to put that down as a 10. This is almost like yes or no. The answer is yes, 10. Number three.
Coming in at number three on Five On It with Rahimi Harris and Grody. Layla Rahimi, Mark Grody in today. After seeing both Patriots running back Travion Henderson and Bears rookie wide receiver Luther Burden's rookie years, would you still have wished that Henderson was available for Chicago with their pick in the second round or been okay with the outcome of Luther Burden?
I don't know because I still don't know. So I've been putting off this question because I thought I would come to more conclusive of an answer. But the bottom line is they're both good. So like, okay, it's either would you rather have a good receiver or upgrade at the running back from, not that Kyle Minagai didn't do his job. Let's not get lost in the plot here. This is all about upgrades.
So it was like upgrade to your receiving core versus upgrade to your running back room. Now here's the thing. Upgrade to your running back room immediately with an offense that is based on the run means you would have gotten more immediate of a payoff. However, the league determines that running backs are a little more fungible than a wide receiver.
So therefore, based on that alone, if you're thinking that you got Luther Burden because he was a steal... Then, therefore, you're still better off having a receiver be a massive upgrade at that position based on what was there previously than a running back. Is this the sexiest of arguments? No. Is it splitting hairs because both are very good? Yes.
So I'm happy with Luther Verdon, but I think I would have been happy with Travion Henderson. Is that wrong?
No. Look, we all... And that being in the draft room last year, we had pretty good intel. that Travion Henderson was whom the Bears desired. But I was studying the Super Bowl and realizing that Ramondre Stevenson has taken over as the guy for the Patriots. Not that Travion Henderson doesn't still contribute, that he's not even the starter anymore.
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