Bulls Youth BUILDING Bonds in Offseason | By The Horns

Bulls Youth BUILDING Bonds in Offseason | By The Horns

[Music] what’s up everybody and this is a new edition of the By the Horns podcast presented by Toyota toyota has more all-wheel drive and four-wheel drive vehicles than any other brand so find yours and shine on Toyota let’s go places cam Smith teaming up with my man Casey Johnson once again as we continue on with our weekly pods on by the horns and KC we’re NBA Finals mode now two games in we’re going to unpack that we’re going to unpack some things when it comes to the Chicago Bulls squad in the offseason of course we have a little draft talk for you as well but this is how we’re going to start things we’re going to start things with an update of how things have gone in the NBA Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers so for anybody out there that didn’t want to watch the NBA Finals and thought it wasn’t going to be entertaining because you have two small market teams there wasn’t like this big name on either side well guess what you’re missing out because we have had two well one and a half really good games i would say that because we’ll get into what happened in game two especially that second quarter with the Thunder at home but the series officially started in game one KC where you’re looking at that thing and you’re like “Yeah all right for those that had the Thunder and five or maybe sweeping it makes sense right because they were just a dominant group.” But then Indiana’s just like “Wait a minute everybody have you not seen our previous series going against the Cavaliers and the New York Knicks where people leave us for dead and we just find a way to fight back so I dubbed the Indiana Pacers zombies because they just they don’t they don’t die they they definitely don’t die and they found a way to come back after racing a double- digit lead in the second half and really the fourth quarter to uh steal game one on the home court of the of the Oklahoma City Thunder and the finals officially started then Casey because we know this everybody says that the the a the series really doesn’t start until the ro until a team can get a win and we got that in game one yeah and I mean it kind of played out the way we both called it we both uh in the last podcast talked about how we thought this would be a more competitive series and a competitive finals than than some people might have guessed um obviously it could still play out otherwise but with that game one victory I think Indiana showed you that they’re not scared um they’re here for this matchup and obviously they’ve played very well on their home court throughout these playoffs um you know to your point Cam about the 48 minute thing it can be cliche but it is so true i mean the way they pulled out some of these games is just insane kevin Herder uh bringing it back to a Bulls angle has been consistently tweeting about it during this postseason he’s he’s he’s tweeted about it at least two times that I’ve seen it where he just talked about how they just don’t stop they play the same way all 48 minutes and obviously their depth allows them to do that um I would say I enjoyed game two too because you saw OKC’s dominance and their response and and OKC’s had their back against their against the wall multiple times in these playoffs particularly in that Denver series and they’ve always come up with a championship level response and you have to remember this is still a young team um with guys like Chad Holgrren and Jaylen Williams who have not been tested on this stage so um I’m I’m loving this series uh I’m with you that anyone who thinks this is a small market matchup with no star power shame on you uh SGA and Tyrese Hallebertton are very fine allstars and Pascal uh for for my uh books so um I I hope this series goes I predict OKC and six so since I want to be right I hope it only goes 16 but uh selfishly I would take seven as well i’m I’m excited to see where it goes from here as as the series shifts to Indiana look Casey I would gladly love to be wrong if this thing goes seven and we just get a spectacular game seven because I’m going OKC and six as well but you know what i I would definitely take all the smoke and all the hits if it goes seven and you know Indiana wins it’s just fine as long as it’s a great series and I think that we’re going to continue to get that um and going back to just game one of how things started really when you look at OKC and you talk about just the youthfulness of this team and the inexperience right because you look throughout their roster with the exception of Alice Caruso like these guys don’t have the NBA finals experience they don’t have the NBA championship experience but what we’ve seen from this Thunder team all season long and this is more so a credit to them and for people saying that with them being new to this that they wouldn’t know how to handle adversity well this team going after game two after they won game two they’re 18 and two after dropping a game so it’s only twice that they’ve lost back-to-back games in the regular season and 12 of those 18 wins have been doubledigit blowouts so they’ve really utilized and taken that regular season adversity and turned it into something that’s been really uh a superpower for them especially in the playoffs i mean we’ve seen it a few times on their trek to the NBA finals and where they are now but I was really impressed game two with OKC of how they responded because go to that second quarter they went on a 19-2 run before they did that it was a six-point game and you’re like “All right well maybe OKC is really still feeling feeling the effects of game one because early on you had Chad Homegrren doing a little too much jaylen Williams playing a little quicker than he should have with turnovers and driving into a couple of defenders either getting shot blocked or picking up a charge and you’re like “All right are they still thinking of how they dropped a very winnable game when they were in command and in control especially in the final 12 minutes and now it’s really bleeding into what we see in game two.” And then the second quarter happens 19-2 run 23-point lead and then it was curtains after that and you watch how they really rally around each other i think that’s really one of the cool things about this Oklahoma City theme team is not just like the post game where you see Shay doing his interview and he has his teammates behind him like that’s cool but also just how they rally around each other during those adverse moments during a basketball game is I I’ve rarely seen this and I don’t think I’ve ever seen this at all correct me if I’m wrong Casey if you’ve seen it but I’ve never seen a thunder in a huddle pointing fingers at each other and really going back and forth of just trying to throw somebody under the bus just so they can make themselves absolve themselves of anything that they did wrong on the court so that’s really the cool thing of watching this Thunder team is that they’re fun to watch but then also they’re playing great team basketball and people if you didn’t know basketball is a team sport i know the NBA loves to market individual guys but it is a team sport and it’s cool to see yeah we have the benefit Cam of of being uh in Oklahoma City late in in the season i mean the Bulls were there I believe in March um and I I’ve talked about had a pretty long conversation with Alex Caruso that night and I want to get into his performance in a second but to your point about um the togetherness and the leadership it’s just a really well-run franchise top to bottom obviously it starts with the owner Clay Bennett and then obviously down through Sam Prey and into the players but one thing that stuck out stuck out to me from that night when the Bulls were there was Mark Dagnal’s pregame press conference talking about how they have a team full of leaders and they all bring different qualities in terms of that leadership and they all kind of respect each other no matter their pedigree or their years of experience in the league and I want to tie that back into game two because I mentioned before Chad Homegrren is a young player and he really did struggle in game one and his personal response to game two i thought he really set the tone right from the jump of game two and that comes not only from his own belief and confidence in himself but also the support that he has around him and those players empowering him to play to his strengths and you know obviously when you have a winning franchise winning organization um you can you know parse the the little nuance details like that um but it it really runs down from the top and and I thought Mark Dagnal’s uh talking about just how different leaders bring different qualities to the team you see that almost out in their play on the court um and there’s certainly a togetherness um and look winning is the ultimate chemistry creator right and they won a lot 68 games um but uh I thought Homegrren was really impressive in game two as was our guy Alex Caruso and just from a personal standpoint it’s been fun for me having spent three seasons around Alex seeing the love that he’s getting on the national stage now because we all knew it obviously when he was here how special a player he has become um you know he’s not going to score 20 points every game like he did uh in game two but he’s knocking down those threes and the defense is always going to be there but he’s just getting quite a bit of national love and national spotlight and it’s uh welld deserved i mean any anytime you earn the respect of the King LeBron James who obviously did not want him to leave Laker land before he came to the Bulls and now um you know three um uh great seasons in Chicago where the all defensive love started and now progressing on the final stage and getting the national attention it’s really cool and he he’s he’s an easy guy to root for just the way he play he’s so selflessly so eternally present with his competitiveness um and such a team player so that’s been a that’s been something that’s really stood out to me in these first games of these finals yeah I’m right there with you Casey and I know it’s cliche we’ve heard this time and time again and the overused phrase of you know being a star in your role but Caruso is that i mean he is really the epitome of that and you look at just how he plays the game is really just selfless and what he tries to do whether it’s him guarding a point guard or really morphing into a big even though he doesn’t have the size and trying to check a four or sometimes a five i’m gonna show my inner nerd right now Casey because I was a big superhero fan and still am a big superhero fan when it comes to comic books and things like that but there was a character um in X-Men her name was Mystique and she could morph and transform into anybody out there and just have you fooled i feel like that’s Alex Caruso because he can morph himself into a different type of defender whether it’s again on the ball against a point guard or playing against a five sometimes and you know situations right he’s not going to do that for an entire game but he’s just savvy enough and his basketball IQ is high enough to where he can really not hurt his team and checking those players and one it’s a credit to him and just his film work and I think that’s the underrated thing about Alice Caruso is that he spends a ton of time watching film and you cannot tell me out there people watching him defensively and just what he does on the court that he’s not burying himself into game film to make sure that he can find anything to get the upper hand on his opponents and so when you have yourself as a student of the game and you have one of the greatest of all time and LeBron James who’s one of the greatest students of the game giving you the praise and not wanting you to leave his team it speaks volumes to who you are and what you bring to the court and that’s just the great thing about Alice Caruso and again I get I get BTSD Casey cuz we saw it firsthand when he was in that Bulls uniform of just it being five Carusos out there as we say all the time and Stacy King would say on those Bulls broadcast so watching him do it at the highest level in the NBA finals with Oklahoma City is just like yeah I’m not surprised but it’s also really just cool to see again yeah the the the Jokic matchup was the one that was just so insane and I you know I had some people tell me like well he was getting away with a lot of physicality and a lot of fouling well guess what he did that because he knew what he could get away with because he had studied it and he just has such a uh to your point the film work such a high defensive IQ along with just defensive execution um it’s that that that yo the the minutes on Joic in the Nuggets um Thunder series are the ones that are going to stand out to me from this from this Thunder run um regardless of how this um series concludes and you know we got to get into Tyrese a little bit because I know this stats a little old by now but I mean after that game one uh victory the the stat came out where he’s 13 for 15 with a chance to uh either tie or take the lead in the final two minutes of games this season that is just absurd i don’t think I’ve ever seen a run like that and to have one shot in each series um of this Pacers playoff run you know down the stretch um to do it four straight series is really remarkable um to have a signature shot like that so I mean this we’re we’re we’re witnessing one of the greatest clutch playoff runs in league history i hope people recognize that and it’s not over i mean he might have another one in his bag as we move through this series but uh you know the Thunder were obviously in complete control that entire game one um you know Pacers only lead 3.5 seconds of the entire game and Tyrese Halbertton’s uh clutch gene is uh for for those of us who watched Demard Rosen do it for for a few years here uh this clutch run that Tyrese Hallebertton is on is one for the ages yeah definitely iconic and just gives you those shades of Reggie Miller being in that Pacers uniform and just ripping the hearts out of their opponents um I think the the cool thing in going back to game one and what we saw and this is more so a credit to Rick Carile after they get the stop on Shay Gildas Alexander who did everything that we’ve seen time and time again SGA do when it comes to needing a basket or getting a gamewinner he got right to his spot got right to his shot and defensively the contest was there and they forced him into a miss right and then you have Hallebert or the Pacers coming back on the attack with the basketball and Rick Carile KC did not call a timeout and it was so like chef’s kiss for everybody that is watching the CHSN by the Horns podcast on YouTube because you do not want a playmaker a creator a finisher like Tyrese Hallebertton is to be stopped with his momentum and his creativity by calling a timeout rick Carile says “No just let them play i trust my guys.” And and again it goes back to who Rick Carile is and just his basketball mind not only just as a coach but as a player because he played with one of the greatest of all time in Larry Bird with the Boston Celtics and run rings with him so you have him understanding that I’m going to trust my guy to make the right play and Hallebertton did and that was so cool watching that and Rick Carlile not stopping the momentum and creativity of his players and calling a timeout in that game one win for Indiana yeah another underrated part of that play was the Nesmith rebound that was not an easy rebound in traffic he skyed pretty high for that he’s been an excellent rebounder throughout this postseason really all season uh to me he reminds me not quite to the level of Josh Hart but his ability to kind of rebound for his size um has really stood out and that was a that was a significant rebound in in traffic and you know we’re breaking down like nuance here and like little gritty plays but like that’s what it takes at this level to win finals games i mean every little thing like that counts it’s basketball and competitiveness at the highest level it’s so fun to watch um so yeah let’s revise our predictions and say Thunder out of it i ain’t mad at that Casey i’m with you on that man so as the series shifts to Indianapolis for games three and four and as we record this podcast on this Tuesday June 10th game three will happen tomorrow night inside of Gainesbridge Fieldhouse and I still hold true to my prediction of Thunder and Six and I will go I’ll go I will go a little more detailed with this prediction Casey i believe that the Pacers come out and they win game three right being back home with that crowd that I’m sure has watched those first two games and seen the crowd in Oklahoma City all dressed in the same color t-shirts that they hand out to fans or they place them on the chairs before the game i think they might might have been like two people in the entire arena that maybe didn’t put the t-shirt on but the Pacers fans will be ready for game three in Indianapolis but I think OKC as we’ve seen time and time again coming off a loss they bounce back and they get a win they do it in dominant fashion so bear with me Casey i have the Thunder games four five and six to finish it all off all right i mean yeah you are you got more receipts you got more receipts to show you how wrong you’re going to be i’m just putting myself out there Casey definitely clearly just putting myself out there with no regard there it is i like it i respect it yeah what What are you expecting for game three um between the Pacers and Thunder i know for me watching Pascal Syaka just daydream i posted this on on X during game two where he just wasn’t the guy that we’ve seen previously the the guy that on the Pacer side of things was a vital part to that Raptors championship in 2019 that has been one of the underrated players when you think of just the names that are discussed during the playoffs this playoff run pascal Siakum has been super consistent and has just been a problem for any defender out there but on both ends of the floor he did not have the game that you would think for someone coming off a game one win that would help this team get a win in game two yeah and I mean clearly you need your best players to play their best to win a final series so he’s going to need a bounce back game i’m I’m kind of with you i think there’s going to be a split in Indiana for games three and four i think we’re going to go back to OKC for game five tied two apiece um I expect Sakum to play better um you know he just um yeah he wasn’t the he has such a unique ability to impact a game at both ends with his length um his rim protection his ability to run the floor and kind of score in a variety of ways and that did not have that same pop in game two um but he’s such a good player you expect a a response and um yeah people people forget like you know he played a nice role in that Raptors run uh it seems like a little bit ago but it wasn’t that long ago and um he to me is one of the more underrated players in the league um he’s kind of overlooked when you talk about the games elite but he’s just one of those two-way players that make it makes things happen in big moments and I expect him to play better as the finals progress yeah along with Tyresese Hallebertton who wasn’t as aggressive with the basketball in terms of taking his shots i believe he had under 15 shot attempts and there’s a stat out there with Hallebertton that the Pacers are 8-1 when he attempts at least 15 shots but then also if he attempts anything under that they’re five and four in this playoff run so just an interesting stat nugget to take in game three what will be part of the aggression for the Pacers in game three because you need your leaders to step up at the end of the day you know no matter if it’s a win or if it’s a loss it’s the NBA finals so you have to have your guys get you to that ultimate goal and that’s winning NBA championship so that’s what we expect in game three um what we also expect possibly Casey in game three is better logos on the NBA Finals court and there has been a lot of discussion about this especially looking at game two how there were no final logos on the court in game one no finals trophies it just didn’t feel like it was the NBA finals because when you get to that level you want to have the visuals there for fans and also for players it just gives that extra energy you see it with the Super Bowl and how the Super Bowl has like the the Super Bowl logo the NFL does a great job with that major League Baseball does the same thing with it with uh the spray painted you know World Series logos on the field we didn’t get that in game one KC but uh surprisingly after the jump ball in game two the Larry O’Brien trophy magically appeared on the court digitally appeared on the court and this is no knock i’m not trying to call out anybody with this but it just in my opinion wasn’t thought out well to where the NBA said “Okay you want the NBA logo or trophy on the court here there you go.” And it just didn’t come off well because you’re seeing fans arms get in the way of the logo players walking past the logo just kind of bleeding into it and disappearing a little bit and it felt like the NBA was really reading their timeline in real time during that and ultimately switched out the Larry O’Brien Trophy logo and put the NBA Finals presented by YouTube logo on the court digitally but we are going to get into our old man NBA purist old school way of thinking part of the podcast i already kicked it off casey say your piece man let’s get into this thing well I’ll I’ll go deep old school because uh here’s how old I am i’ve got a picture of me in 96 97 98 from Seattle Utah and Utah uh and there’s this uh for you youngsters out there there’s this thing called film you used to have to put into a camera and then you’d have to like press a a button and actually then take the film out of the camera and take it somewhere to have it developed i know it’s hard for people to wrap their brain around it but uh I have I have film shot pictures of me standing on the court next to the NBA Finals logo script and it was just a big sticker and it didn’t seem to intrude play back then and Michael Jordan seemed to score 45 points still pretty well with those stickers placed on the court and I’m with you it gives it a little extra special something and signifies it and I love that old school NBA finals cursive you know the the logo so So bring back the stickers and just place them on the court what are we doing here why are we making this difficult right espec everything doesn’t have to be done digitally i mean I think again to the point of players having that logo and and there was a time to I want to say this is probably five years ago Casey where they had the the Larry O’Brien trophy uh in massive size right underneath the uh half court line with the uh the team logo in the middle i think they they’ve done away with it but it’s been a while since they had that but still just have something that says NBA Finals in physical form and and something that’s right there sticker-wise on the court so we can know that it’s the NBA finals so hopefully we get that tomorrow night for game three and the NBA wises up and obviously the NBA is they have their monopoly money they can print money if they wanted to they can get that done they can hire somebody to get that done just to appease us fans and us old school guys out there yeah and it’s cool enough that not just like media I mean obviously I was a lot younger reporter then and marking my territory covering the finals but it’s not just it’s just it’s cool enough that not just media members I I remember seeing players take pictures by these logos after games and stuff so it does make it special uh we’re deep in the weeds here but yes this does not need to be hard this is a very simple solution slap a logo on the court make it special and uh let’s let’s let’s move on to basketball also side note Casey I am jealous that you were able to get those pictures back in 96 97 98 because again it’s a cool thing like it’s it’s it’s a great memory to have it’s just cool to see so please NBA if somebody from the league office or whoever randomly shares this with someone if that’s a higher up in the NBA is listening to the Vital Horns podcast not just because I’m saying it or Casey is saying it but the basketball world is saying it we need the either the old final script logos on the court physically or the Larry O’Brien trophy uh let’s do it let’s do it let’s get it done and then also somebody said that that digitally on on when I was looking at social media looked like a Larry O’Brien trophy emoji which was hilarious too so I don’t want to continue to digress on this Casey but um still even though the finals are still going on we still have more uh things coming out with this Bulls team and getting a a little taste of just the camaraderie that we’re seeing in the offseason with this group and I know you have some things on that when it comes to the younger guys getting together in the offseason yeah a bunch of guys gathered last week in LA it was kind of informal it did i was told it was not like the more organized mini mini camp that I sumu and Kobe White uh uh uh organized and engineered last season in Miami which took place in August but there were uh five maybe six players that I know Dalon was there io Kobe uh Josh Giddy uh Modis um I might be missing a couple or two um you know uh they just kind of gathered together in LA they did some informal workouts got some runs in worked out together um celebrated a Bulls video coordinator’s birthday out there some of this was on the socials i I was told about it uh by an agent of one of the players and you know I don’t want to overstate this cuz you know other teams do this too but you know I will say given the Bulls team building philosophy right now where they’re banking on this young core to progress and develop you know that onc court chemistry uh can be helped by offc court chemistry and we saw that last year um moving into uh the season with that mini camp that the Kobe and IO led um and you know this is a team that gets along uh I’ve said it many times and to see those young guys kind of going through it together and supporting each other and kind of going through the offseason trials and tribulations together again not making too big a deal out of it but it’s something to note um uh because you know the Bulls are banking on their young core to show internal improvement that’s going to be one big way they improve this off season they’re obviously going to be adding a draft pick here too um but I heard yeah I heard the workouts were good and um you know Modus has been front and center in a lot of ways including a live stream with our guy IO last night so uh um yeah it’s just it’s just cool when you see stuff like that um you guys got to make an effort and an expense to get there and they can afford it obviously but uh it’s um it’s a good thing to to see that happening in the off season casey I love that you say that guys have to make an effort and that speaks volumes when these guys are really thinking about each other during the offseason because they’re you know they’re NBA players they’re millionaires they can do anything with their time either being with family and I’m sure those guys will do that uh throughout the offseason before they get back to uh real work but they want to be around each other and I think those are the bricks that you continue to lay down for the foundation as you build towards the future right i mean I’m I know you’re thinking about the teams that you were on when you played basketball that were successful i’m thinking about those same teams as well especially my senior in 2007 with uh my SIU Salucis we made it to the Sweet 16 KC but I just remember the off season the regular season after practice we were always around each other just spending time with each other and it just speaks volumes for just your team chemistry and it it shows on the court too where you don’t have to verbally say anything it’s a non-verbal communication that you have with each other each other on the court and you just read off of someone’s you know anticipation or just lack of and you can make up for them so those are like the little things and again to your point not going to overstate this thing and and make it seem like the Bulls are the only team doing this but it’s great to see these young guys really get together especially I’m not part of this streaming world and this is where I kind of continue to shift back to the old man old school version but I’m I’m starting to get a little more familiar with it like I know the names of Kai Sanad and Juski and all these guys and I always done that throughout the season in terms of streaming but it was really cool if you go to uh the CHSN Instagram page where they have a post that they put up today of just like the highlights from that stream last night between IO uh Modus and also Taylor Horton Tucker THT was part of that stream as well and so u there’s a question that someone posed to uh in the chat to Modis of and also IO who was rocking a Kobe white jersey which was really cool as well so again it goes back to the camaraderie and respect and love they have for each other but they were asking how is it guarding Giannis and you know they went through their breakdowns of how difficult it is and it was really cool to see Giannis comment on the CHSN post saying that like this is lit this is really great and so you just have those moments which are really cool for this group and again it’s it’s just it’s encouraging to see i think that’s the best word to use from from my standpoint and my perspective encouraging to see these guys spend time with each other in the offseason yeah again let’s let’s emphasize this you you got to make a choice to do this right i mean like there’s an effort and a choice and and they’re choosing to spend time together which can only be a good thing and again I don’t want to equate this with the dynasty era Bulls or make this bigger than it is but there’s a famous story if if we want to go back in history of you know the Bulls you know bumping up against the brick wall that were the Detroit Pistons and losing game seven and the next day Michael Jordan uh bring starting that breakfast club you know where they would meet at the Berto Center and lift together um the next day uh offseason workout started right then and again I’m not equating this to uh you know the Bulls are going to win a championship next year or anything like that but it is a choice and an effort um to to to be together and the fact that they want to do this and be together can only be a good thing i too didn’t uh miss that live stream i I did hear a couple highlights though i first of all I heard it was three and a half hours long i was like way too much and supposedly I don’t I can’t confirm this but supposedly someone told me that at one point someone put in the comments that they should call me and uh I said I said he would have but he didn’t have my number so obviously uh I’m both thankful for that and possibly going to correct that for for next season but I I was wondering how I would react if I got cold called for a live stream i think I might be a little too old for that but I I probably would have uh had gone the same place you did i thought it was very cool that I was wearing a Kobe White jersey that’s the first thing that uh that stood out to me when I caught up on it today uh on social media i thought that was like wow that’s pretty cool man it was really cool definitely really cool a piece of advice Casey because if you get a FaceTime call from IO just know that he’s streaming and he’s really putting himself under pressure to have you answer the FaceTime cuz he did he actually did that with Kobe White and was a little nervous cuz he wasn’t sure if Kobe would answer and after a couple of rings I believe Kobe picked up and it was just like I was showing the Kobe on the on the FaceTime to the stream and to the chat and it was really cool to uh just have them say with each other like yeah you know I would answer for you like you know it’s always love and that was just really cool and he’s showing like Modest is there and THT is there so it’s just that genuine fun and just just love that they have for each other is just really cool but KC if it gets out somebody tag IO right now tell him to get in contact with Casey so Casey can get that cold call and get FaceTime on the next IO stream we gotta have that that could be must see TV maybe show but we were talking about uh a modest and you know you know streaming and everything and he’s on Shaquille O’Neal’s new show Power Moves on Netflix and if you didn’t know the Shaq has now taken over as president of Rebrock the apparel brand and has Alan Iverson as his VP you know this is again this is a different era the older era but Shaq was one of the main faces of Reebok back in the day when he came into the league in the early 90s and Alan Iverson was part of that as well when he entered the league in 96 so they’re trying to bring Reebok back into the forefront and really put them on the same levels of a Nike or Adidas or Under Armour or you know all these different shoe brands that are out but the cool thing that you see about that show is that Modis was in an episode with Shaq and Shaq was pitching Modis on Reebok and Modis is there with his parents with his grandfather his siblings the entire family is around and Shaq is just you know being Shaq of course but also doing it from a serious position with a serious tone of just how Reebok is a family that he really believes in Manis and that he wants them to be a part of just the new wave that Ria has and have him join the roster that has Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky because Reebok is trying to get themselves back into the forefront so Casey watching that clip I’m like “Yeah this is this is pretty cool.” And kind of get like an inside look into these you know pitch meetings with these shoe brands but also Shaq doing the pitch meeting and also doing it in pajamas just to let you know that he’s Shaq and he’s just kind of laid-back and cool yeah exactly but but I know you know this like one of the most successful businessmen around i mean like you know Matt Johnson would be up there shaq is up there i mean these guys have gone on to become incredibly successful businessmen in their post playing career so that was a pretty uh in uh convincing pitch to me uh I’m not sitting in that chair that Mus is but I did think the family aspect to it was the best because you know obviously the way Shaq was raised how much he he has respect for the discipline and and the love in a family and uh Shaq pointing out Modis’s family being there being uh you know powerful to him I thought was a very cool moment um I I think you know Shaq would be a hard guy to say no to uh it’s not my decision but uh yeah that’s pretty cool and uh I’m not a sneaker head um but I will say uh wasn’t uh New Balance wasn’t that the pump up ones with D Brown and the dunk contest or No that was Reebok reebok Casey I got you reebok yeah I got you no that’s what I’m saying okay I I switched New Balance because I had Zack Lavine and New Balance in my mind we are talking about Reebok and Zack Lavine so I was right that’s the same brand d Brown and the pumpups right yeah definitely those are the See Casey you’re more of a you’re more of a sneaker head than you know you’re more of a sneaker head than you know Casey but uh but Reebok’s trying to you know New Balance had had this kind of run a couple years ago with Zack and Jamal Murray and and obviously they have Otani on the baseball side um so they’re they they’ve been trying to make inroads into this market but uh it’d be cool to see a renaissance with Reebok especially you know with the with the league going back to the old school NBC angle too so like you know back Reebok with NBC days too so let’s see where this goes look nostalgia always reigns supreme so if you can get it back to again like old school NBA on NBC days and you’re bringing back Reebok and you know actually D Brown’s daughter Lexi Brown is is signed with Reebok as well that she plays in the WNBA so yes bring us all the nostalgia bring it all back because we just you know always wins Casey no doubt about it did you ever have the pump up did you ever have the pump up i ne I never had the pumpups but I had no I never I never had the pumpups i had a friend in in elementary school that had the pumpups and so all day it was either me or all the boys and sometimes the girls too would just walk over to our friend just start pumping up his shoes right and he got so sick of it that he just took his shoes off and never wore them for the rest of the year just because we just were just aggressive with it like come here let me pump up your shoes especially when we’re playing basketball and getting the better of them cuz he just hated that that’s awesome yeah man so really really cool to see Models with Reebok and um the family aspect for sure runs deep with him and you know he signed his deal with Reebok right before the season so I’m sure he has some things underneath his his sleeve along with Reebok to get himself uh into the forefront when it comes to the younger athletes talented athletes of getting their brands off so really cool to see with that casey Casey you know as we continue to move forward throughout this off season it is June we are a couple of weeks away from the NBA draft man we are getting there so what’s the latest that you’ve heard uh when it comes to the the NBA circles and as we get closer to the draft yeah I know and we’ll get uh you know as we move closer to the draft we got a couple podcasts between now and then we’ll get a little more specific we might even have our predictions for picks things like that we can break down individual prospects but yeah the two that I I’m still seeing most consistently mocked to the Bulls are Colin Murray Boils and Assa Noel um and Assa came in for inerson workout at the Advocate Center um posted that to his social media i I was told that you know there are some question marks about his shooting ability i was told it it’s just one workout i was told he shot it very well that day um you know obviously his field goal percentage is spectacular he’s very crafty finisher around the rim the question marks is can he be a floor spacer does he project to be a floor spacer he’s obviously not going to be one his rookie year he’s a oneanddone prospect but I I was told at least this one day he shot it well uh from all over the court um and the Bulls were impressed um you know really intriguing prospect i I still see his name linked to the Bulls quite a bit and I can just tell you from what I was told it was an impressive workout again just one data point um but it’s an important one when you get into the building and uh perform in front of the Bulls and and go through their specific workout and perform well that that can be a significant data point um we’ll see i I’ve not seen him mocked in the top 10 so I think he is going to be available um and what are your what are your thoughts about him do you have strong thoughts about him yeah I really have strong thoughts about him because he’s a live body KC and with the length and height at 610 but then also his leaping ability and how quick he is off his feet so you watch him and if for those that didn’t watch him in his long season at Georgia but he was a guy that could protect the rim i believe he averaged just uh around one and a half blocks uh per game in his freshman season at Georgia but it it says a lot when you think about that conference too and just the bigs that are on those teams with a Florida or an Auburn right so when he’s able to do that at a young age and have some double double games against Auburn and against Florida some of those bigger front lines and older and experienced front lines there there’s uh possibilities there right you can understand what he can be in the NBA so I really like that you mentioned that he had um a great workout for the Bulls and just kind of you know from what you’ve heard out there especially with his shot so with every single team in some form they’re going to put you through a workout that mirrors what they do or mimic what they do offensively and so for new I’m sure rebounding the basketball running in transition being the trail guy catch and shoot or pick and pop and popping out four threes on catch and shoots or catching and ripping and going to the rim him showing well bolds for the possibilities of him being drafted at 12 for the Bulls i I think he would be a great and awesome decision if the Bulls pick him at 12 if he’s available right because you know how these things go with the draft as guys get more workouts and these hotter names start to build and climb when it comes to a lot of these mocks yeah one one thing Cam that that we know we don’t have to worry about with him is we talked so much about how the Bulls one thing that’s driving their draft philosophy this year is fit in this new style of play right and that is that he checks that box i mean his ability to run the floor his athleticism um you know his potential as a two-way player all these things fit into the future vision for this next roster iteration as they move forward um so um that you know is a significant thing because you know we’ve talked about them not being hung up on position but obviously they would probably prefer to draft a front court player and um this is a front court player with a lot of potential a lot of intrigue a lot of upside um definitely fits the long-term timeline of our tourist carnish asking fans for patience i mean I believe he’s 19 obviously a oneanddone player uh like all rookies but particularly someone with his frame will need to get a lot stronger um we can say the same thing after one full season of Mus Balis he needs to get stronger um I know Modus will you’d like uh to think um this kid will too uh I actually did not get a chance to talk to him in the group media session at the combine i I believe you did were you in with him i did i did speak with him Casey and the question came up about his shot and I flat out asked him you know does he feel that his shot one is one of the parts of his game that needs the most improvement and he did not hesitate in answering this he said that no my my shot is is pretty solid like he believes in a shot and when you look at him shoot the basketball the mechanics are there the fluidness are there but as a big and what was needed from him at Georgia he wasn’t required to be on the perimeter and be a catch and shoot type guy but you expect to grow when he gets to the NBA gets some seasons under his belt and really gets into a system that will require him to do that and the work ethic is there with Assa he he’s going to be a guy that’s going to put the work in because there’s no way in hell that you’re one of the elite prospects on the high school level make the jump to the collegiate level as a freshman in that SEC conference and put up the numbers that he did i mean it was very impressive i believe it was 15 points seven rebounds and as I mentioned about one block or one and a half blocks per game which for a Georgia team nobody really was checking for Georgia right and when you look at and think about the SEC conference but he made a lot of opponents really second guessess themselves and do more of a intense study when it comes to the scouting report against the Georgia Bulldogs just because he was a problem for certain guys in that lane so just his confidence is there in speaking with him and just understanding who he is and what he wants to bring to a team and that’s something for me that struck me and I was impressed by just him knowing who he is and that says a lot about a guy that’s 19 years old and you know on a new path a new journey with everything being thrown at him of trying to achieve the dream of getting into the NBA yeah i mean one thing I consistently do at that combine every year and I’m always impressed with how different players handle it is I ask “What’s one thing you think can translate immediately to the NBA level?” And what’s one thing you think you need to work on and you really can tell a lot about how players answer particularly the latter question um so it’s good to hear that ASA kind of you know talked about that head-on uh in his media session because like I said I I I did not get a chance to get over him you and I were double teaming that day we were concenting concrete we talked to a lot of prospects that day yeah uh I I told you before and said on this podcast before I was really impressed with Colin Murray Bole’s media session again just one small part of it but uh I like people that are uh very outgoing and and uh you know enjoy the the banter with media i was uh very impressed with his session so uh you know I know the Bulls aren’t going to consult us for the media angle to this but if they did I’d be voting for Colin Merly Boils uh he would be a good talker in the locker room as they say but uh no uh the new the ASA uh you know projection for shooting will be a question mark and we’ll see where it goes but uh you know like I said for one workout it sound like it went well some people feel that there’s a slight comparison to Joe Noah Casey i just you know wanted to throw that out at you do you see a little bit of Joe Keem in Assa and his game and what he brings to a front court or especially on the defensive end um you know I think he’s probably a little more fluid and athletic the what I’ve seen on tape than than Joe Keem i mean that’s not a knock on Joe Keem i mean he was a two-time national champion in college but he was you know he was awkward uh I would say his shot looks a little bit more natural than Joe Keem also even though he didn’t shoot a high percentage from three he does have a lot of arc on his jump shot that’s one thing that’s jumped out to me in watching some film on him um but uh the rim protection yeah I mean like we’ve said many times the Bulls are lacking in two-way players they’re lacking in rim protection uh Assa Pred projects to be impactful potentially in both areas so I I don’t think there’d be a lot of people that would hate that pick if he’s there at 12 and the Bulls make it i I think that would be most Bulls fans would kind of go okay I I I see that that one makes sense so yeah but uh a lot lot more intrigue and twists and turns as we move into the final home stretch in the next two weeks and like I said at some point you and I will uh again put down receipts and make our prediction i got the Patrick Williams pick right in 2020 don’t get mad at me i just brought the information all right people on that note that will do it for the By the Horns podcast presented by Toyota toyota has more all-wheel drive and four-wheel drive vehicles than any other brand so find yours and shine on Toyota let’s go places hey I just want to shout out to all of our viewers on the CHSN YouTube page for watching by the horns and all the pods that we have along with our content as well as everyone that is getting uh wherever you get your pods the show for by the horns welcome to our Xfinity customers congratulations we welcome to the family because that deal with Xfinity and Chicago Sports Network is officially done and you can catch by the horns on your Xfinity channel 200 I believe if you’re in the Chicago land area or in the city of Chicago so welcome we have a lot of great stuff coming your way as we move forward especially in this NBA offseason casey noted a couple of weeks out from the draft so we have some very special content heading your way from himself and I on by the horns but we will see everybody next week take care [Music] [Applause] [Music]

Cam Smith and K.C. Johnson break down the NBA Finals so far—Indiana’s Game 1 steal, OKC’s bounce-back in Game 2, and what’s next. Plus, Bulls offseason workouts, Asa Newell’s draft stock, and Shaq’s Reebok pitch to Matas Buzelis.

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