The Chicago Bulls can look to the New York Knicks and know anything is possible

When my daughter was growing up, I tried to instill confidence in her and always said “you can do it, you can do it”. Then when she was seven years old, she had an accident at school, and we had to take her for emergency surgery. I, as the parent, was freaking out of course, and then she looked up at me and calmly said, “right dad, you can do it?”.

The New York Knicks were the Chicago Bulls’ biggest rival back in the nineties, a team that I was forced to watch while living in New York for 16 years from 1997-2013. When they won the NBA championship last night, my gut tightened, my blood pressure went up and I had to listen to that same daughter, who became a Knicks fan after being raised in New York, call me and yell into the phone that “OG is the greatest!”

Yes, it’s hard to watch. But I can do it. At least the star of the team did play high school ball in the Chicago area at Stevenson High School and won an Illinois state championship.

The question is how did they do it? How did the forsaken NY Knicks win a title?

On July 12, 2022, they signed Jalen Brunson on a four-year $104 million deal. “We are beyond thrilled to add Jalen Brunson to our organization,” said Knicks president Leon Rose. “He’s a competitor, a leader, a playmaker, and most importantly a winner. His addition is a perfect complement to the team that we are building and the culture we are establishing.”

The key words being a “winner” and “culture”. They identified a player who was raised in the NBA limelight and has won at all levels, including two NCAA championships. They then surrounded him with a big man who can shoot lights out, a couple of two-way forwards that can take over a game when needed, and a lock down defensive wing who plays his quiet role on offense to perfection, always seeming to be in the right spots. All of them can defend. All of them can score. Three of them won college championships together.

Looking at the Eastern Conference, there is no reason the New York Knicks should not be favored to get back to the finals next year. It took Jalen Brunson 8 years in the league and 4 years in NY to climb the mountain. They found the axis and added the spokes. That wheel is turning.

What can the Chicago Bulls learn from how the Knicks built their team?

The Bulls are on ground zero, like a flat tire. The first step is accepting that reality and remembering, as Bryson Graham said, that the goal is to build a sustainable winner. With two first round draft picks, he has his first shot at landing that special player. We have heard that this draft has four prospects that can become the cornerstone of a franchise.

It just takes that one special player. Brunson certainly makes a case though for that player being someone who can score and have the ball in his hands in crunch time. Caleb Wilson, as great of an athlete as he is, does not seem to be the guy who will be a primary ball handler down the stretch.

Perhaps that is why there is so much talk of the Bulls moving up for a second lottery pick. They need to find the player that the team can run a half-court offense through, “a competitor, a leader, a playmaker, and most importantly a winner.” Key word being playmaker.

Of the first four picks, Cameron Boozer seems to fit that description the most. If he falls to the Bulls, we have our cornerstone. Caleb Wilson, who many believe has a higher ceiling than Boozer, AJ Dybansta, and Darryn Peterson, will be a special player but the case can be made that he is far away from being the guy with the ball in his hands during crunch time.

That means that the Bulls need to surround him with pieces that make sense. The Bulls do have Josh Giddey, but Giddey struggles to create his own shot. They also have Matas Buzelis and Noa Essengue and Leonard Miller at forward. All similar in some sense to Wilson. What they will lack, even after drafting the explosive Wilson, is size, shooting and half-court offense.

The good news is that they have cash flexibility; two first round picks this year and all their first-round picks going forward. With the 15th pick they can grab a center, shooter or playmaker. However, they won’t solely rely on the draft to find that special player. Brunson and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won championships after being traded from teams that drafted them. There are fish in the sea if Bryson Graham knows how to cast a net and make some impactful trades.

Realistically, turning the Chicago Bulls into the 2026 New York Knicks will take three to five years. In the meantime, we have a draft coming, a new coach, free agency and perhaps a couple surprising trades. Bulls’ fans will have to be patient but if the Knicks can do it, WE CAN DO IT!!!!