Chicago Bulls now report that Player X, Y and Z are suffering from various sprains, contusions and migraines.
https://sports.yahoo.com/sources-bu...pez-justin-holiday-nba-warning-003233912.html Spoiler After the NBA issued a warning to the Chicago Bulls this week about resting healthy players, the franchise now plans to play veteran starters Robin Lopez and Justin Holiday more extensively the remainder of the season, league sources told Yahoo Sports. The dialogue between league officials and the Bulls was cooperative and productive, with the league providing advice and the Bulls open to guidance on the nuances of the new rest rules, league sources told Yahoo Sports. The Bulls have lost 14 of their past 17 games and publicly stated in mid-February that they would begin sitting Lopez and Holiday. Lopez has sat out the past six games for Chicago while Holiday has missed five of the past six, leaving the Bulls without two of their most productive players and respected leaders. The NBA and commissioner Adam Silver formally informed team owners about resting healthy players – perhaps an effort to diminish the league-wide verbiage of “tanking” – after the league moved up the start of this season to spread games out for coaches and players. The Bulls changed course on their plans to continue sitting Lopez and Holiday in the past day, league sources said. In 57 games this season, Holiday has averaged 13 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 steals a night. He returned to the Bulls on a two-year contract this season and has emerged as a solid two-way player. Lopez, one of the NBA’s most durable centers, has averaged 12.3 points and 4.7 rebounds in 57 games. The Bulls started the season 3-20, but won 10 of 12 games in December to reach 13-22 and have shown flashes of a brilliant young core in Zach LaVine, Lauri Markkanen and Kris Dunn. Chicago fell to 21-42 after a 105-89 loss to the Boston Celtics on Monday night, when the Bulls scored just 29 points in the first half. http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/22671667/chicago-bulls-league-discussing-team-lineup-choices Spoiler CHICAGO -- As the talk surrounding tanking reaches a fever pitch around the NBA, the Chicago Bulls have had an ongoing dialogue with the league office regarding the best way to handle the final 19 games of the season. "After the All-Star break we had communication with the league office about Robin and Justin's roles," Bulls executive VP John Paxson said. "After healthy dialogue the league determined that their situations fall into the 'player rest' policy. We respect the communication and cooperative dialogue with the league and will adhere to their recommendations going forward." The Bulls, like many teams around the league, are focused on this spring's upcoming draft lottery and have made it clear that they want to see how younger players on their roster do with extended minutes. Players like Cris Felicio and David Nwaba have been placed in the starting lineup down the stretch in games in favor of veterans like Robin Lopez and Justin Holiday, both of whom have been inactive for most of the games since the All-Star Break. While one league source reiterated Tuesday that Lopez and Holiday will play again at various points before season's end, the league is being extremely cautious about teams intentionally trying to lose games to help their draft positioning. The NBA fined Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban $600,000 last month after Cuban said on Julius Erving's podcast that he talked to his players about how it was in the organization's best interest to lose games down the stretch. For their part, the Bulls have been very cautious not to make any reference to tanking or losing games with Paxson and head coach Fred Hoiberg repeatedly saying that they would like to get a look at the prospects they have in the future. What makes the Bulls' situation different is that instead of having veterans Lopez and Holiday come off the bench, as was the plan coming out of the All-Star break, both veterans made it clear to front office executives that they understood what the Bulls were trying to do in getting a better look at the younger group and would cede their minutes in the short-term rather than playing lesser minutes off the bench, according to a league source. The Bulls, who are 21-42, currently sit in the eighth position in the draft lottery. They play the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night at the United Center.
The league shouldn't be dictating who gets played and who doesn't to teams (barring a player or contract breaking a league rule). That said, Im sure the players union isnt too thrilled about tanking either. Hurts veterans (who make up the bulk of the union). Also, didn't realize the BULLs and GRIZZ are tied for ****ing 8th in the lottery. Bad year to tank
actually, i think this would have been a great year to tank. i think the worst team is on pace for like 24 or 25 wins. a nice solid tanking effort that got you down to 17 or 18 wins would have made you the runaway winner without having to do a philly and go for 10 wins. the jumble for 3-8 in the east, 3-10 in the west, and the bottom 8 or so is just crazy this year. practically the whole league is just lumped into 3 big groups. one win or loss here or there can mean so much, especially for the tankers.
