Shams Charania on Chicago Bulls' success in prioritizing young players
Boardroom co-founder and CEO Rich Kleiman is joined by ESPN Senior NBA Insider Shams Charania to talk about why the Chicago Bulls have had such a good start to the season behind the leadership of Billy Donovan.
Video Transcript
How did Chicago get off to the start?
What do you think it is that they're playing well?
Well, they've also been able to get off of, you know, a couple of guys, veteran players that were on big contracts in DeMartin Rose and Zach Levine and basically shift.
Into the future of this team and just prioritize Josh Giddy, Marras Bouzelas, and then Vusoic plays a much bigger role now with this team, uh, with the moves that they made.
So I think it's really leaning into your young guys and then Kobe White hasn't even played yet this season, and that was the leading score last year, especially after they made the trades.
And so, um, I think it's just leaning into a different group that you want to see what do we have here, uh, because, you know, the reality isn't DeMar Rose and Zach Ley know this.
If they're on the team.
You're prioritizing these guys as focal points.
They're off the team.
You're kind of by necessity, Boozela, let's see what you can do.
Kobe White, uh, Josh Giddy, um, you're kind of prioritizing those guys and clearly, the chemistry that those guys are showing, Matis Boozela looks like an early season most improved player of the year candidate.
Josh Giddy looks like a triple-double threat on every night.
Um, they're getting great performances out of Vusovich.
So I think it's just a group that's young, that's hungry, and Billy Donovan.
Uh, you know, typically he does well, uh, when he has a team that really placates to how he wants to, wants to coach.
It's, I forget Billy Donovan's a coach of Chicago sometimes.
Like he was such a big personality at University of Florida, um, but you know, I, I was somewhat surprised, um, not that I didn't think he deserved to stay, but I was surprised that he stayed and obviously they see like him as a big chip in building for the future, or they wouldn't have kept him with this young nucleus.
Yeah, the, the, the Bulls from ownership to front office, like they, they really love Billy Donovan there and what he brings on a daily basis.
It's funny when you talk to, uh, players and people that knew him and, and were coached by him at Florida, that they talk about this fiery coach and this coach that'll just lash out at you and, uh, you know, brings this East Coast flair and I'm sure he had a little bit of that in Oklahoma City as well, but And, and I do believe he still brings that in flashes, but now in Chicago, you just see someone that's just poised, focused, knows exactly what he wants to accomplish and like, I think the leadership that he's brought, I think the Bulls really value that.
I think the Bulls really value his ability to coach the younger players on that team.
And so, I think you're seeing a coach that's, that's able to, when he has a group that, that is committed to what he's trying to do, um, he's shown to have a lot of success.
