Elias Shuster: Bulls haven't earned the benefit of the doubt
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What challenges are the Bulls facing as they approach the All-Star break?
Listen, it's an unprecedented situation.
It's not going to be smooth sailing.
I mean, true to his word, it has not been smooth sailing for Billy Donovan and the Chicago Bulls entering the All-Star break. Losers of six in a row. They are now down to 11th place in the Eastern Conference. And I say that... They're out of the play-in because they are technically, but they're only a game and a half out of the play-in. If, I don't know, Billy Donovan gets guys like Jalen Smith, Josh Giddey, Trey Jones, and oh, Isaac Okora also missed the last game back, they may very well be back in the play-in unless... Decisions are made from an organizational standpoint. To talk about those decisions and more, we welcome in from Bulls on SI, a publisher for the site, Elias Schuster.
What are the implications of the Bulls' recent losing streak?
You can follow him on the artist formerly known as Twitter, at Schuster underscore Elias. He is on Zoom, and he joins us on the Circa Resort and Casino Hotline, CircaLasVegas.com. Elias, how are you enjoying this all-star break?
First off, thank you for having me. I'm glad to be here. Believe it or not, always ready to talk Bulls. And, you know, the All-Star break, I'm enjoying it. How could I not be? I think we all needed a break after what was a chaotic trade deadline and what has been another underwhelming season in a lot of ways. So I welcomed this All-Star break with open arms. But I also, I love basketball. We need some more stuff to talk about. So I'm ready for the games to start up again.
Okay, so you're ready for the games to start. Do you expect the Bulls to play their players? And when I say their players, those four guys I just mentioned, are they going to play or are they going to truly go for the tank?
Yeah, I think it's – well, what's interesting, right, is that the NBA just decided to throw out that $500,000 warning to the Utah Jazz about how to handle things moving forward here. So I think that there's – and I think the Bulls themselves, right, they've shown over these past few years – Even though this trade deadline may suggest they're willing to take a big step back, this doesn't necessarily seem like the organization that will go as aggressively in the tanking direction as an organization like Utah. So do I expect guys like a Josh Giddey, even Trey Jones, Jalen Smith, do I expect these guys to play? I do, and I think there's some importance there. you know, there as well, because Josh Giddey, especially, that's someone that you want to have on the floor next to some of these new pieces that you have welcomed in, especially Jaden Ivey, Rob Dillingham, guys that more so seem like they could be a part of what you're building, what they're building.
We still don't know. But if they want to evaluate these young guys, they have to see how they fit. with uh some of these other pieces that could be around i mean jalen smith's under contract next year so seeing how he might fit with some of these guys is important so i expect him to be on the floor does that mean i expect him to win many games that's that's a different question
I look at this tanking situation in the NBA right now and I say the system is designed for teams to do this. Right. Like if I'm one of these 10 worst teams in the NBA and the Bulls are the 10th worst team in the NBA for everybody out there at this point. It's probably worth it for me, even with the fines, to say, you know, if I have a chance at the big three, we'll call them. In college basketball, that could be available in the draft. It's probably worth it, even if I get fined, let's call it a million dollars between now and the draft.
Yeah, I definitely understand that point. I think especially in this draft, right, like, you want to be up there. A lot of people have kind of already made the comment, if you were going to decide to go this tanking route, you know, which is a phrase they'll never throw out there, but go this rebuilding route, like, this should have been done before. That's the biggest problem is... is once again, whether it be waiting too long to trade players, they've just waited too long to maybe start this new era.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What challenges are the Bulls facing as they approach the All-Star break?
0:00–0:59
2
What are the implications of the Bulls' recent losing streak?
0:59–4:46
3
How does Elias Schuster view the Bulls' organizational decisions?
4:46–8:57
4
What expectations does Elias have for player performance post-All-Star break?
8:57–15:17
5
How does the NBA's tanking culture affect team strategies?
15:17–16:14
Speakers
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