The long time Bulls commentator generally has a lot of bold statements to make about the Bulls. For one, he guessed Thibodeau wouldn’t be fired this summer despite all of the rumors. Consider Stacey King a hopeful person, but his intel and knowledge goes a long way for Bulls fans.
“I totally would not be surprised if Doug McDermott is the most improved player in the NBA this year. I know his minutes are going to go up. This is a kid who was a lottery pick, the Bulls gave up a lot to get him.” – Stacey King on Doug McDermott
The Chicago Bulls’ front office have high hopes for Doug McDermott. Despite giving up multiple draft picks to trade for him, they believe he is a big part of the future of the Chicago Bulls. Gar Forman and John Paxson received a lot of criticism after the Bulls decided to bring back the same exact roster this season except for Bobby Portis and a new coach. However, in the eyes of the front office, the Bulls will make a major leap due to the emergence of Nikola Mirotic and Doug McDermott under Fred Hoiberg.
“Tom Thibodeau is one of those old-school coaches; he doesn’t play younger players. Jimmy Butler didn’t play his first year and the only reason he played his second year is because Rip Hamilton and Marco Belinelli got hurt, and we may not have seen Jimmy prosper into the player he is now. So I expect the same kind of improvement from Doug McDermott under Fred Hoiberg. He’s going to play.” – Stacey King
Doug McDermott didn’t have much time to prove himself last season. While Tom Thibodeau might be reluctant to play rookies, McDermott himself endured a knee injury that required surgery in December of 2014. However, this season McDermott will be placed in a system that he’s expected to flourish in. From this point on, McDermott does not have an excuse to not succeed in Gar Forman’s eyes.
“A lot of people say, ‘you need to go out and get a swing player.’ Well, you’ve got two quality young players that can help you right now that if given the time can really do some special things. I’m excited to see these younger players play. It’s going to be a fun year.” – Stacey King
The Bulls are hoping they struck the lottery twice with Tony Snell. They’re hoping he can have the same success as Jimmy Butler in his third season with the Bulls. The high hopes for Tony Snell and Doug McDermott has led the Bulls front office to a quiet offseason.
Only time will tell if the Bulls front office made the right decisions. Meanwhile, Bulls fans get ready to watch a whole lot of Doug McDermott and Tony Snell; two players fans desperately wanted to watch flourish.
