Daniel Gafford made some waves in Summer League back in July.
The first few days of Bulls training camp, however, was yet another reminder of just how over-hyped Summer League really is.
Yes, the second-round big man out of Arkansas overcame a right elbow injury on Day 1 of camp, practicing fully on Wednesday, but as far as pushing for minutes in the frontcourt? Not even close.
“I think he’s in a learn situation for sure,’’ coach Jim Boylen said of the rookie. “What he has to learn how to do is play and breathe, play and recover, and get to the next assignment. He’s a young player, but he adds to our athleticism, our ability to run. He’s a willing screener, a willing roller, he helps our vertical spacing, which we need, and so I really like the guy. He’s a yes sir, no sir guy, and he’s kind of always got a smile on his face, which is nice too.’’
Boylen was asked if Gafford has looked overwhelmed, and didn’t want to exactly use that terminology.
“He’s trying to pick it up,’’ Boylen said. “I don’t want to saw overwhelmed because I think that’s a negative thing. He’s learning the best he can, he’s trying, and he’s giving us everything he has. He’s a really good kid. It’s hard, man. We’ve got some really big dudes out there who are faster, we’re playing faster. Our practices are full-go.
“The first 60 minutes of this practice we were in a stance. Guys can play all they want in the summer, but when you start getting in a stance it takes a lot out of you.’’
While Gafford and Wendell Carter Jr. (ankle) did practice in full, Boylen said that Chandler Hutchison (hamstring) was at least two weeks away from returning to the floor.
Changing of the guard
Boylen has not been shy about acknowledging the point guard battle in training camp, but also continued to downplay the idea that this is some cut-throat showdown with winners and losers.
“What I want to say is, the point guard competition is a healthy thing,’’ Boylen said. “It’s a positive thing for this franchise, for this team. It’s a good thing. The other thing is, we’re building a system where — yes, we’ll have a point guard — but in a multi-handler system, everybody handles it. Everybody brings it. In our actions, we can put the two in there, the three in there.
“With that, Sato [Tomas Satoransky] can play one, two or three, [Kris] Dunn can play one, two or three, Shaq [Harrison] can play one, two or three, [Ryan Arcidiacono] can play one or two. So I understand that we have to answer these questions and I understand why they’re being asked. It’s an important issue. But we are going to play a little different where the flexibility and versatility is almost more important than the position, ‘old-school point guard.’ ‘’
First things first
While Lauri Markkanen has been very honest about the idea of wanting to make the All-Star Game this year, especially with it being in Chicago, he also knows it’s not atop the priority list. Win games and he and teammates will get noticed.
“Everything comes from winning,’’ Markkanen said. “[Zach LaVine is] going into what, sixth year? And I’m going into my third year. We haven’t made it to the playoffs, haven’t won a whole lot of games. That’s one thing that I know really pisses both of us off. So we want to get to that winning record first.’’
