As the Bulls consider changes to their front office, Sam Presti‘s name is one that has now surfaced multiple times. Discussing the situation last week, Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times cited the Thunder‘s head of basketball operations as an example of a big-name candidate Chicago could pursue. This week, David Kaplan said during an appearance on ESPN 1000 that Presti is the Bulls’ top target (Twitter link via Daniel Greenberg).
Kaplan’s comments signal that Cowley’s mention of Presti last week probably didn’t come out of nowhere, so I don’t doubt that the Bulls have interest in the Thunder executive. Still, I’m skeptical that Presti would leave a favorable situation in Oklahoma City – where the team has accumulated more first-round picks than it knows what to do with – for a position in which he’d rank below John Paxson in the Bulls’ organizational hierarchy.
While it’s worth keeping the Bulls’ reported interest in Presti in mind, we may not get a more concrete sense of which candidates are realistically in play for the team until after the season.
Here’s more from out of the Central:
- James L. Edwards III of The Athletic explores whether Christian Wood‘s breakout season with the Pistons is a result of genuine improvement or simply getting a real opportunity. Edwards believes that both are factors, arguing that Wood – a free agent this summer – deserves to be in the Most Improved Player conversation.
- Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com takes a look at the impact that the Cavaliers‘ trade of Jordan Clarkson has had on Collin Sexton, who says he challenged himself to “step up a little bit more” in the wake of that deal. The second-year guard has averaged 22.6 PPG on .478/.452/.855 shooting in the 32 games since Clarkson’s departure.
- We passed along several more items from around the Central earlier today, including stories on Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s role in 2019 free agent recruiting, Lauri Markkanen‘s return, and the Cavaliers filling an open roster spot.
Long time Bulls fan here. No way in the world are the Bulls getting Presti. The notion would be funny if GarPax wasn’t real and coincidentally the reason Presti is not coming to Chicago.
In one ear and out the other, smh
I don’t know why they’re so desperate for someone that’s totally overrated like Presti is. He had three MVP’s, now he has none.
They didn’t win. Presti did his job. He got SGA, a good BB QB, and a bunch of r1s. Players lost: Paul George feels lost, Jerami Grant (somehow) isn’t doing much, and Westbrook earned a favor.
Presti drafted first brilliantly, then poorly since 2010. Maybe he needs to hire the Memphis exec who burned him on Brandon Clarke.
Presti going to Chicago makes no sense. He has complete control in OKC. In Chicago, he’d be under a guy who he is a better executive than. That wouldn’t be a smart move
The whole notion is idiotic. A few media knuckleheads making up their own rumors. Which is a lot easier than simply admitting they have absolutely no idea.
Huh? Read Joe Cowley’s story again. Yes, Presti’s name DID come out of nowhere. Cowley just tossed it out there. Adams, there’s a better chance that YOU will be taking over the Bulls.
Oh, and Chris Fedor’s relentless homerific cheerleading of Collin Sexton over the past two seasons has been more than just an annoyance. It’s been grating. A worthless one-dimensional player that will never even sniff a starting spot on a contending team.
It LOOKS like he just tossed it out there. But now that we have another report saying the Bulls are interested, I’d argue that – in retrospect – it’s more likely he’d heard something similar but wasn’t able to formally report/source it.
Oh, come on. “Another report…” Please. A bunch of dudes tossing out names. There’s nothing to it, there never was.
Bulls**t. Reinsdorf ain’t payin’ any money, so he ain’t gettin’ any real GM.