The Bulls should keep a close watch on Walker Kessler‘s negotiations with the Jazz as they consider their options for a new starting center, Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times writes in a subscriber-only piece. The 24-year-old big man is widely expected to re-sign with Utah, and because he’s a restricted free agent the Jazz will have the option to match any offer. If Kessler doesn’t reach an agreement with the team before free agency begins on June 30, Cowley suggests that Chicago should offer around $20MM per year and see if that leads to anything.
Free agent center Zach Collins told reporters in April that he would like to stay in Chicago, but Cowley is skeptical now that coach Billy Donovan is gone and the team has moved into a rebuilding phase. Cowley also expects Nick Richards, who was acquired from Phoenix at the trade deadline, to depart in free agency, calling him “a strange presence in the locker room.”
While the Bulls could address their need for a center in the draft, Cowley predicts that they’ll select North Carolina forward Caleb Wilson at No. 4 and Baylor guard Cameron Carr at No. 15, leaving new executive vice president of basketball operations Bryson Graham to explore free agency to find help in the middle.
There’s more from the Central Division:
- Wilson may be a perfect addition for the Bulls‘ new timeline, contends Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune (subscription required). He brings an explosive athleticism that should transfer well to the NBA, averaging 2.8 dunks per game during his time with the Tar Heels. Poe believes Chicago may target a center with the 15th pick, and while Michigan’s Aday Mara figures to be off the board by then, Italian Luigi Suigo, Washington’s Hannes Steinbach or Houston’s Chris Cenac could be an appealing alternative.
- Malik Beasley, who missed all of this season, remains under investigation in the NBA’s gambling probe and won’t return to the league until that’s resolved, Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press states in a mailbag column. The Pistons still hold Beasley’s non-Bird rights and can offer a contract starting at $7.2MM. Sankofa also touches on a potential new deal for restricted free agent Jalen Duren and predicts that Isaiah Stewart is likely to remain with the team.
- After working out for the Pacers this week, Illinois guard Kylan Boswell talked to the media about what he’s learned by studying T.J. McConnell (Twitter video link from Tony East of Circle City Spin).
Semifinal game of the U18 AmeriCup about to tip b/w Brazil & USA. These 2 teams just faced off on Thursday & Brazil played extremely well. Game was back & forth for the 1st 28mins or so then team USA sorta took off down the stretch. Smooth, lefty guard Davion Thompson was the best player for the Americans in that game. He dominated the Brazilian guards, getting downhill whenever he wanted & scoring efficiently in the paint. Isaiah Santos is the best player on the Brazilian team but he’s from Houston & is a top5 player from Texas in this upcoming senior class. I could definitely see him staying home to play for Kelvin Sampson & the Cougs but 1st things 1st, let’s see if he can lead his team to the huge upset… link to youtube.com
Taylen Kinney (KU), Adan Diggs (2027), Colben Landrew (UConn), Bruce Branch Jr (BYU), Ethan Taylor (Mich St) starting for team USA. Winner of this game gets Canada tmrw in the gold medal game. Canada arguably been even more dominant than USA so far in this tournament, including a thumping of Puerto Rico just a few mins ago in the other semifinal game
Man this USA squad is really impressive. Davion Thompson & Quentin Coleman brought some serious energy off the bench & sparked a huge run. Brazil just scored 5 straight but still trail 28-14 after 1. There’s a bunch of talented lead guards coming into the league this year. And clearly there’s a bunch on the way after that as well. Coleman knocked down a trey at the 1st buzzer that seemed late to me. If it ends up counting the lead is 17. Santos & the Brazilians aren’t playing bad at all & matchup fairly well size-wise but this American team is just way too deep & talented. Hopefully this continues to silence the anti-AAU crowd as AAU players continue to dominate the world of basketball
Ever since that dynamic start to the game team USA basically been grinding in this physical matchup w/ a big, strong Brazilian team. Physicality starting to take it’s toll tho as TK (incoming starting pg for Kansas next season) just went out with what looked like a badly sprained ankle. Hopefully he’s available & close to 100% by tmrw night bc Canada has an electric pg of their own in Javion Tyndale. 21pt lead for USA midway thru the 3rd
Cowley is off his rocker if he thinks $20MM could tempt Kessler or dissuade UTA from matching an offer sheet at that rate.