Bulls Great Sends Strong Message About Chicago’s Young Core

One game into the regular season, and Chicago Bulls fans likely were bracing themselves for an emotional roller coaster of a year.

Early results for a team with a young nucleus will look like Wednesday’s showing in Toronto.

That’s what makes Friday’s win over the Bucks all the sweeter.

While No. 4 overall draft pick Caleb Wilson was serving a 20-piece en route to his and Tiago Splitter’s first win for Team #SeeRed, Bulls great Horace Grant was meeting fans at a pep rally at Burlington in Bucktown.

Grant’s message to the fans: you just have to flush that loss to the Raptors and stay passionate. He also cautioned that fans should expect inconsistency as the roster develops.

"It's going to be a little up and down because the team is very young," Grant said. "But if the fan base can stay patient, you're going to be very surprised at the end product."

To be clear: the four-time NBA champion isn’t promising immediate success, though he said he sees considerable potential in Matas Buzelis and Wilson sharing the floor together. Building a winner takes time – years, in fact.

“I tell people all the time, the Bulls drafted MJ in 1984," Grant said. "Scottie [Pippen] and I came here in '87, and it took about four or five years before we progressed to becoming the champion. So, be patient. I mean, you got Matas, Josh [Giddey], you got Caleb, you got [Norman] Powell, you got a group of core guys that need time to mesh together. Just be patient, and hopefully they'll get back to that championship era. “

Grant’s got an eye for both the organization’s talent and mission. Yes, he helped the team win three titles from 1991 to 1993. Today, he's still involved with the Bulls as a special advisor. He engages with fans at community appearances like Friday's in Bucktown. He’s got a talk show premiering Saturday on CHSN, Legends in Session, produced by Chicago-based Urban Grind TV. All that effort helps to connect fans to the team.

“I think it's more of guys like myself, Joakim Noah, Bill Cartwright, Will Perdue, Randy Brown, Toni Kukoč, so many guys like us used to play here who have given our blood, sweat, and tears for this organization to come out and just give back to the fans on behalf of the Bulls,” Grant said.

On the talent side, Grant previously expressed optimism about Wilson, calling him one of Chicago's most promising draft selections since Derrick Rose. His comments Friday extended that confidence to the potential of Wilson and Buzelis together.

"There's no ceiling. There's no ceiling," Grant said. "I watched Matas when the Bulls drafted him, and I watched Caleb when he was at North Carolina, and then he got hurt. And I watched him in Summer League, man, and preseason, man. This guy has no ceiling.

"These two guys have no ceiling, and I can guarantee you, those guys stay healthy, the Bulls are looking very promising."

For a Chicago team that is just two pages into its new chapter with a first-year head coach and several new faces, Grant's message is clear: the talent is there, and development will take time. Enjoy the ride.