The Bulls organization hasn’t been the only ones selling false hope to the fan base lately.
Former Perspectives Charter standout Anthony Davis teased Chicago fans this week about the idea of somehow returning to play in his hometown, only to basically walk it back a day later.
Well, sort of.
While back in town with his new Lakers team on Monday, Davis excited a suddenly very numb basketball city during an appearance, answering a question about the possibility of wearing a Bulls uniform.
“Honestly, there’s nothing like playing at home,’’ Davis said. “I don’t know. I mean, I am a free agent next year ... but we will see. It’s a possibility.’’
When asked about it during Los Angeles’ morning shootaround, however, it was a much different sounding Davis.
“I never said I’d consider anything,’’ Davis said. “I said that I’m focused on a championship with the Lakers, and of course everyone knows I’ll be a free agent next year and I said we’ll see where it goes.’’
Where it will go is likely nowhere.
If the Bulls were serious about going after Davis, their opening came and went last season, when Davis was still in New Orleans and was playing the trade-demand game. Davis’s camp did offer up a list of desired destinations and the Bulls weren’t on that list, but if they really wanted a superstar on the roster they could have made that leap of faith.
Here’s the problems with the entire Davis scenario: Once the Bulls traded Bobby Portis and Jabari Parker to Washington last February, they dried up two possible trade assets because both players were sitting on disposable contracts.
The other obstacle was the over-valuing of their best prospect.
The Sun-Times reported last year that a rival executive told the newspaper that Lauri Markkanen was deemed all but untouchable in any trade scenario. That’s when Markkanen’s stock was still high. That’s taken a bit of a hit this season, even with it only being eight games in.
Finally, there’s the blueprint of the roster the Bulls opted to build this offseason.
It was set-up to try and add a big-time free agent in the summer of 2021, especially with Porter likely to opt in next season for just under $29 million, before he becomes a free agent.
That 2021 offseason is already being called the “Summer of Giannis,’’ as Bucks big man Giannis Antetokounmpo headlines a free agent class that also includes Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and LeBron James.
Davis is the big fish in the 2020 offseason, followed by a huge drop-off.
There just won’t be any cap to go after Davis in an open-market scenario.
That’s why Davis’ Chicago talk was so unrealistic.
“We’ve got the best basketball players ever,’’ Davis said about Chicago basketball. “You look at the history with all the guys we’ve got that made the league and even the guys that didn’t make the league. They say New York [is the mecca], but it’s not even close.’’
Nice for the fan base to hear, but nothing more than Davis playing the game as businessman, keeping all doors open.
That doesn’t mean that Bulls coach Jim Boylen at least couldn’t dream, especially with some of the comparisons he made to Davis.
“The length and the instincts, defensively is maybe [Hakeem] Olajuwon,’’ Boylen said of Davis’ skillset. “Can block shots with both hands, can move both ways. I think he embraces being a stopper, embraces shutting down the paint.
“He’s like [Kevin] Garnett a little bit where he can cover the whole side of the floor by himself. He’s a one-man zone. … I think he’s really embraced being a two-way player, and when he’s a two-way player they’re really hard to beat.’’
