These two NBA franchises have a small amount of impactful off-the-court history. It all began when Tom Thibodeau and the Bulls front office stopped seeing eye-to-eye. Come May of 2015, Thibs split ways with the Chicago Bulls with a coaching tenure that spanned from 2010-2015.
Thibodeau took nearly a full years rest before returning to the league, to do what he did best. On April 20th, 2016, the Timberwolves dawned on the era of becoming the TimberBulls as they hired Tom.
During the off-season of 2017, the Bulls front office dealt Jimmy Butler to the Timberwolves, which Jimmy Butler was in shock to find out. His name had been in trade rumors for the previous few seasons, but he always told the media that he let it go through one ear and out the other.
What was included for Chicago in the trade? The Bulls received the two-time dunk champion, Zach LaVine, and the promising point guard, Kris Dunn, who only played one season in the NBA for the Wolves.
Following up the T-Wolves Draft Night acquisition of Butler, they added Rose, Gibson, and Jamaal Crawford to their roster. At this moment in time, Bulls fans became TimberBulls fans, all across the nation.
Back to the present moment, in 2018, the T-Wolves are only thriving with former Bulls players, Rose and Gibson, as Butler and Crawford were sent in different directions.
Chicago has came out the gates rough this season, having the worst record at this point of the season in over 15 years. Fortunately, Bulls fans understand that they have a ton of young talent on the team and they are a work in progress.
But, excuses aside, the future of the Bulls franchise, LaVine and Dunn have been plagued with injuries ever since stepping foot into Chicago. We have already seen Rose battle injuries while on the Bulls and we don't want to see a repeat of that. So, if LaVine and Dunn miss more than half of the games this season, I think it would be fair to part ways with them and forge an alternate path.
Minnesota sent Butler to the 76ers back in early November, ending the Butler saga. According to reports, KAT and Wiggins had issues in the locker room with Butler, thus the front office believed they were more valuable and got rid of Butler.
Derrick Rose received a warm welcome back home at the United Center. With a standing ovation, MVP chants, and cheers when he check in the game, it was almost inevitable for Rose not to use the momentum to his advantage.
And, he did. He tore up the court, and made Chicago put a double team on him at points when he was on fire. Derrick finished the game with 24 points, 8 successful dished passes, and a pair of steals. He led his team in points scored and assists.
KAT absolutely dominated the boards, as he tallied 20 rebounds and 20 points. Not only did former Bull Rose put on a show, but Gibson's veteran mentality completely exploited Lauri Markkanen on the post as he came up one point shy of tying his season high for points scored at 17.
All season long, Chicago has faced the issue of playing only 3/4 quarters with full confidence and endurance. Nothing changed last night, which is why they lost their 26th game of the year.
On a positive note, Zach LaVine came back on the court after a 13 day absence to take on his former team. He came off the bench and played 26 minutes. LaVine made several highlight-reel plays, as he posted 28, but obviously his performance alone wasn't enough to get a dub.
Chicago split the rebounds among all of their players, as not even one player managed to get double-digits in that category. Wendell Carter dropped 16 and picked up 9 boards, just one short of notching a double-double.
Losing by 25 points with a completely healthy team to a T-Wolves team who is in the middle of the pack is unacceptable. It just goes to show how much work the Bulls still need to put in on the court and at practice.
Chicago will look to redeem themselves on Friday when they face Wall and the Wizards. Meanwhile, Minnesota will look to get one game closer to .500 as they host the Hawks on Friday.
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