In one sense, the Blackhawks need Seth Jones. In another sense, the Hawks would be better off without Jones. Both those statements can be true.

He’s the one proven top-pairing defensemen on the current roster. His ability to devour minutes on a nightly basis provides much-needed stability and allows new coach Luke Richardson to shelter many of the weaker defensemen he’s having to also dress. Jones has averaged 25:24 of ice time through the first three games of the season, sixth-most in the NHL, and that’s actually below his 26:13 ice-time average from last season.

Conversely, Jones’ significant on-ice value and talent somewhat work against Hawks management’s unstated tanking objective. And then, of course, there’s the case of his already infamous contract: eight more years at $9.5 million per year.

At the moment, it’s such an albatross that it negates all of his trade value. The Hawks are stuck with him and he’s stuck with the Hawks, even if such a marriage makes little sense for either side. He said during training camp he had “no regrets” about signing it and had embraced its implications, adopting a big-picture viewpoint. It makes him the clear frontrunner to be the Hawks’ next captain once Jonathan Toews departs.

If the NHL salary cap had risen over the past three years at its usual rate, though, the contract wouldn’t look quite so terrible. If not for COVID-19 and its impacts on league revenue, the cap might’ve been around $91 million this season instead of $82.5 million, the actual number.

That doesn’t excuse former Hawks general manager Stan Bowman’s decision whatsoever — he gave Jones the contract more than a year after the pandemic began — but it does suggest that part of the contract’s absurdity is based on context.

And when the cap starts rising again, that could help the Hawks either rebuild around Jones’ contract or trade it without extreme difficulty.

The NHL gave teams estimates of future cap numbers last month, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported, and those numbers are encouraging. After another meager $1 million rise to $83.5 million next season, the cap could surge to around $87.5 million for 2024-25 and $92 million for 2025-26.

That potential $9.5 million increase over the next three years would exactly match the annual cap hit Jones will carry through 2030, meaning the Hawks could have as much cap space with him on the roster in 2025-26 as they would’ve had without him this season.

That’s not exactly a fair way to look at it — every team will receive that extra $9.5 million in flexibility, and it’d be preferable to not have it already committed to someone whose career arc likely won’t match the franchise’s long-term trajectory — but that admittedly rose-tinted interpretation provides some reassurance nonetheless.

Furthermore, the Hawks’ cap outlook moving forward actually looks quite favorable other than the Jones dilemma.

They have just $37.5 million in committed salary for 2023-24 and $18.8 million committed for 2024-25, per Capfriendly, the lowest in the league in both regards. Jones, Connor Murphy and Jake McCabe are the only three players contributing to that 2024-25 total; indeed, the Hawks have zero current NHL forwards or goaltenders signed beyond next season.

So while GM Kyle Davidson has no chance to possibly find a suitor for Jones this season or next — and it’s not believed he’ll even try as a result — a return to normalcy in terms of cap-ceiling increases could help that cause down the road.

And even if Jones’ performance declines to the point his contract never does become moveable, it should still be easier to fit other big contracts around him by the time the Hawks start developing and pursuing players worthy of such big contracts again.

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MVP front runner, Aaron Judge, could be on the poaching radar of the Chicago Cubs, as MLB Insider suggests.

American League MVP frontrunner, Aaron Judge is set to be one of the top free agents on the market this winter, and it is believed he would likely re-sign with the Yankees.

Though the team that will emerge best suitor is yet unknown, but according to a report by New York Post’s Jon Heyman, a few franchises are potential competition for the services of the 30 year old.

Heyman reports that the Yankees “envision the main competition coming from the San Francisco Giants and maybe the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers.”

Here is what he wrote in the report from Sunday:

The current belief is that the Yankees prefer not to go to $40 million a year — or certainly not to $400 million total for Aaron Judge, who is 30, as they recall the lengthy deals for 30-somethings Miguel Cabrera and Albert Pujols, and certainly their own Alex Rodriguez. The Yankees envision the main competition coming from the Giants and maybe the Cubs and Dodgers (though LA is known to prefer shorter deals at higher AAVs; Bryce Harper didn’t go for that when they tried $160 million for four). But of course, you never know in free agency.

The Yankees prefer not to eclipse an AAV of $40 million, nor do they wish to offer a $400 million deal to a player on the wrong side of 30.

For the Cubs, they have an opening in center field this winter, but it remains to be seen if they would go to the top of the market for Aaron Judge, who — after turning down an eight-year extension worth $230 million (including 2022) — could command over $300 million.

Both the Dodgers and Yankees would be good fits for Judge. They are competitive teams looking to win a ring in 2023. The Giants and Cubs, however, are on a different track.

While the Cubs are looking to spend big money this offseason, they are a year or two away from truly competing, while the Giants are on the downswing from their 107-win NL West winning campaign in 2021.

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Billy Donovan still has no idea if the new-look offense will translate when the Bulls tip-off their 2022-23 regular season in Miami on Wednesday night.

The coach has hopes, he has a solid idea, but the specifics of what certain groupings will look like on the floor and how his players will embrace a more read-and-react style of play outside of preseason games and practices?

That’s the great unknown.

That’s what the last few days of this training camp were about. Donovan and his staff need to at least have a feel of what packages they are bringing down to South Beach when the team charter heads out after the Tuesday practice, and what they are still building out as the season begins.

“It’s striking that balance between you put so much stuff in, you’re not really good at anything, and then all of a sudden you get into the season, games start coming, and you have no time to practice,” Donovan said. “So the things we know we’re going to have to do game-in, game-out, you’re trying to really drill down those things, get them to compete in those things.”

The best news to come out of the last month for Donovan was no new injuries.

Obviously, starting training camp in late September, knowing that Lonzo Ball was headed for a second left knee surgery in less than a year was a gut-punch, but not an unexpected one.

That gave the Bulls the entire camp to hold “tryouts” for the point guard position. A length of time they really didn’t need, as former Morgan Park and Illinois standout Ayo Dosunmu instantly staked his claim by preseason Game 1.

Dosunmu is not Ball, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be a poor man’s version of him.

Dosunmu can defend at a high level, sees the floor well, and if he can knock down the corner three off the drive-and-kicks from Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan, well, the Bulls just might have a solid option to hold down the fort until the evaluation on Ball’s knee is known next month.

What should also allow Donovan to rest a bit easier at night was how his “Big Three” showed up to camp and played throughout the preseason.

While LaVine seemed to use exhibition games to simply get his wind built up, the reports out of intrasquad scrimmages were completely different. Rookie Dalen Terry might still be looking for a piece of his soul that LaVine stole over several afternoon head-to-heads.

DeRozan was his usual workman-like self, getting his 21 points and 4.7 assists in just under 25 minutes per game in the three preseason games he played in, but it was Nikola Vucevic that had the Bulls breathing a sigh of relief.

Since he started making the three-pointer a regular part of his repertoire, Vucevic was coming off his worst season shooting from beyond the arc, hitting just 31.4%. The fact that he hit 7-of-14 (50%) from long range in the preseason is at least a sign that he could get back to normal “stretch-Vooch.”

If opposing defenses have to again respect Vucevic from outside, that leaves more operating room for DeRozan’s mid-range game and a clearer runway to the rim for LaVine.

What it will also allow is for Donovan to go with his “big lineup,” playing Vucevic and Andre Drummond at the same time.

Just one of those looks that are still a work in progress heading onto the regular-season stage.

“We have to still build out the offense,” Donovan said. “I think when we start to play, we’ll get to some moments where we can now start to get into some different combinations, some different areas, whether it’s playing Vooch and Andre together or going small, and seeing what that looks like.”

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During the mini-bye weekend, watching potential rivals compete made it evident that the Chicago Bears might end up being among the first teams selected in the following spring draft.

Recall that the Chicago Bears were supposed to have the eighth-easiest schedule in the NFL this season. All of that was based on teams’ records from the previous season. Chicago Bears anticipate being more competitive between the conclusion of this season and the beginning of free agency in 2023, but an amusing thing happened in between.

The lesson learned from a Chicago Bears-free Sunday was how tougher the schedule now appears. It would be pretty simple to make a case for the Bears losing the rest of the season if not for two chances against the Detroit Lions. There are just two games against teams that currently have losing records, while the Bears’ remaining opponents currently have a.594 winning percentage (38-26). Those contests are both against Detroit.

Per Gene Chamberlain, “The Jets made Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers look anemic in Green Bay, which had to leave mixed feelings with Bears fans. They always like it when Green Bay loses but seeing the Jets this good when there is a road game coming Nov. 27 with the Jets can’t be encouraging”.

Here is the challenging path that lies ahead for the Bears.

Week 7: At Patriots (3-3)

Week 8: At Cowboys (4-2)

Week 9: Dolphins (3-3)

Week 10: Lions (1-4) 

Week 11: At Falcons (3-3)

Week 12: At Jets (4-2)

Week 13: Packers (3-3)

Week 15: Eagles (6-0)

Week 16: Bills (5-1)

Week 17: At Lions (1-4) 

Week 18: Vikings (5-1)

At this point, the possibility of the Chicago Bears receiving a very early pick in the upcoming draft appears likely, and we should all be aware of the error of our ways and refrain from doing it in the future when evaluating the opponents for the current season.

Follow us on Twitter at @chicitysports23 for more great content. We appreciate you taking time to read our articles. To interact more with our community and keep up to date on the latest in Chicago sports news, JOIN OUR FREE FACEBOOK GROUP by CLICKING HERE

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During the mini-bye weekend, watching potential rivals compete made it evident that the Chicago Bears might end up being among the first teams selected in the following spring draft.

Recall that the Chicago Bears were supposed to have the eighth-easiest schedule in the NFL this season. All of that was based on teams’ records from the previous season. Chicago Bears anticipate being more competitive between the conclusion of this season and the beginning of free agency in 2023, but an amusing thing happened in between.

The lesson learned from a Chicago Bears-free Sunday was how tougher the schedule now appears. It would be pretty simple to make a case for the Bears losing the rest of the season if not for two chances against the Detroit Lions. There are just two games against teams that currently have losing records, while the Bears’ remaining opponents currently have a.594 winning percentage (38-26). Those contests are both against Detroit.

Per Gene Chamberlain, “The Jets made Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers look anemic in Green Bay, which had to leave mixed feelings with Bears fans. They always like it when Green Bay loses but seeing the Jets this good when there is a road game coming Nov. 27 with the Jets can’t be encouraging”.

Here is the challenging path that lies ahead for the Bears.

Week 7: At Patriots (3-3)

Week 8: At Cowboys (4-2)

Week 9: Dolphins (3-3)

Week 10: Lions (1-4) 

Week 11: At Falcons (3-3)

Week 12: At Jets (4-2)

Week 13: Packers (3-3)

Week 15: Eagles (6-0)

Week 16: Bills (5-1)

Week 17: At Lions (1-4) 

Week 18: Vikings (5-1)

At this point, the possibility of the Chicago Bears receiving a very early pick in the upcoming draft appears likely, and we should all be aware of the error of our ways and refrain from doing it in the future when evaluating the opponents for the current season.

Follow us on Twitter at @chicitysports23 for more great content. We appreciate you taking time to read our articles. To interact more with our community and keep up to date on the latest in Chicago sports news, JOIN OUR FREE FACEBOOK GROUP by CLICKING HERE

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Billy Donovan still has no idea if the new-look offense will translate when the Bulls tip-off their 2022-23 regular season in Miami on Wednesday night.

The coach has hopes, he has a solid idea, but the specifics of what certain groupings will look like on the floor and how his players will embrace a more read-and-react style of play outside of preseason games and practices?

That’s the great unknown.

That’s what the last few days of this training camp were about. Donovan and his staff need to at least have a feel of what packages they are bringing down to South Beach when the team charter heads out after the Tuesday practice, and what they are still building out as the season begins.

“It’s striking that balance between you put so much stuff in, you’re not really good at anything, and then all of a sudden you get into the season, games start coming, and you have no time to practice,” Donovan said. “So the things we know we’re going to have to do game-in, game-out, you’re trying to really drill down those things, get them to compete in those things.”

The best news to come out of the last month for Donovan was no new injuries.

Obviously, starting training camp in late September, knowing that Lonzo Ball was headed for a second left knee surgery in less than a year was a gut-punch, but not an unexpected one.

That gave the Bulls the entire camp to hold “try-outs” for the point guard position. A length of time they really didn’t need, as former Morgan Park standout Ayo Dosunmu instantly staked his claim by preseason Game 1.

Dosunmu is not Ball, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be a poor man’s version of him.

Dosunmu can defend at a high level, sees the floor well, and if he can knock down the corner three off the drive-and-kicks from Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan, well, the Bulls just might have a solid option to hold down the fort until the evaluation on Ball’s knee is known next month.

What should also allow Donovan to rest a bit easier at night was how his “Big Three” showed up to camp and played throughout the preseason.

While LaVine seemed to use exhibition games to simply get his wind built up, the reports out of intrasquad scrimmages were completely different. Rookie Dalen Terry might still be looking for a piece of his soul that LaVine stole over several afternoon head-to-heads.

DeRozan was his usual workman-like self, getting his 21 points and 4.7 assists in just under 25 minutes per game in the three preseason games he played in, but it was Nikola Vucevic that had the Bulls breathing a sigh of relief.

Since he started making the three-pointer a regular part of his repertoire, Vucevic was coming off his worst season shooting from beyond the arc, hitting just 31.4%. The fact that he hit 7-of-14 (50%) from long range in the preseason is at least a sign that he could get back to normal “stretch-Vooch.”

If opposing defenses have to again respect Vucevic from outside, that leaves more operating room for DeRozan’s mid-range game and a clearer runway to the rim for LaVine.

What it will also allow is for Donovan to go with his “big lineup,” playing Vucevic and Andre Drummond at the same time.

Just one of those looks that are still a work in progress heading onto the regular-season stage.

“We have to still build out the offense,” Donovan said. “I think when we start to play, we’ll get to some moments where we can now start to get into some different combinations, some different areas, whether it’s playing Vooch and Andre together or going small, and seeing what that looks like.”

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Billy Donovan still has no idea if the new-look offense will translate when the Bulls tip-off their 2022-23 regular season in Miami on Wednesday night.

The coach has hopes, he has a solid idea, but the specifics of what certain groupings will look like on the floor and how his players will embrace a more read-and-react style of play outside of preseason games and practices?

That’s the great unknown.

That’s what the last few days of this training camp were about. Donovan and his staff need to at least have a feel of what packages they are bringing down to South Beach when the team charter heads out after the Tuesday practice, and what they are still building out as the season begins.

“It’s striking that balance between you put so much stuff in, you’re not really good at anything, and then all of a sudden you get into the season, games start coming, and you have no time to practice,” Donovan said. “So the things we know we’re going to have to do game-in, game-out, you’re trying to really drill down those things, get them to compete in those things.”

The best news to come out of the last month for Donovan was no new injuries.

Obviously, starting training camp in late September, knowing that Lonzo Ball was headed for a second left knee surgery in less than a year was a gut-punch, but not an unexpected one.

That gave the Bulls the entire camp to hold “try-outs” for the point guard position. A length of time they really didn’t need, as former Morgan Park standout Ayo Dosunmu instantly staked his claim by preseason Game 1.

Dosunmu is not Ball, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be a poor man’s version of him.

Dosunmu can defend at a high level, sees the floor well, and if he can knock down the corner three off the drive-and-kicks from Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan, well, the Bulls just might have a solid option to hold down the fort until the evaluation on Ball’s knee is known next month.

What should also allow Donovan to rest a bit easier at night was how his “Big Three” showed up to camp and played throughout the preseason.

While LaVine seemed to use exhibition games to simply get his wind built up, the reports out of intrasquad scrimmages were completely different. Rookie Dalen Terry might still be looking for a piece of his soul that LaVine stole over several afternoon head-to-heads.

DeRozan was his usual workman-like self, getting his 21 points and 4.7 assists in just under 25 minutes per game in the three preseason games he played in, but it was Nikola Vucevic that had the Bulls breathing a sigh of relief.

Since he started making the three-pointer a regular part of his repertoire, Vucevic was coming off his worst season shooting from beyond the arc, hitting just 31.4%. The fact that he hit 7-of-14 (50%) from long range in the preseason is at least a sign that he could get back to normal “stretch-Vooch.”

If opposing defenses have to again respect Vucevic from outside, that leaves more operating room for DeRozan’s mid-range game and a clearer runway to the rim for LaVine.

What it will also allow is for Donovan to go with his “big lineup,” playing Vucevic and Andre Drummond at the same time.

Just one of those looks that are still a work in progress heading onto the regular-season stage.

“We have to still build out the offense,” Donovan said. “I think when we start to play, we’ll get to some moments where we can now start to get into some different combinations, some different areas, whether it’s playing Vooch and Andre together or going small, and seeing what that looks like.”

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Our third preview of the Central Division focuses on a potential contender in the Cleveland Cavaliers

Part three of our Central Division preview is now looking at teams with real expectations. For parts one and two, you can read my Pacers preview here and Pistons one here. Today, we look at the Cleveland Cavaliers and how much of a factor they can be in this top-heavy Eastern Conference.

2021-22 Recap

Record: 44-38 (9th in Eastern Conference)

Lost in Play-in game vs Brooklyn

vs Bulls: 1-3

Memorable moment: Evan Mobley with a Dr. J reverse lay-up

2022 Off-Season

The Cleveland Cavaliers put their chips on the table and traded for Donovan Mitchell from the Utah Jazz in exchange for three players, three future first-round picks, and two pick swaps.

2022 Preview

It’s hard not to be excited for this Cleveland Cavaliers team strictly as a basketball fan. Everyone knows how much they’ve struggled to really build a team that doesn’t have LeBron James on the roster, so to see GM Koby Altman put this roster together over the course of just three years is something to behold. Stealing Center Jarrett Allen from Brooklyn, drafting two studs in Guard Darius Garland and Forward Evan Mobley, then putting on the big-boy pants to go get Donovan Mitchell from Utah is extremely impressive. Cleveland is back.

Now’s the hard part. For the first time since 2017-18, Lebron’s last season in Cleveland, the Cavaliers are expected to win and win quite a bit. How much will they win? Well, I believe it’s mostly on them.

Defense

Cleveland won’t have a problem scoring. Garland and Mitchell can create their own shot plus create for others. Mobley, who’s only entering his second season, can step out and shoot the J and is lanky enough to finish over bigs. Allen is a lob threat at any point. Starting Small Forward has shown this pre-season that he can hit spot-up threes.

Defense is where this team can go from good to “oh damn, watch out” and that starts with the back-court. Neither Garland nor Mitchell is known for their defensive prowess and elite teams have guards who defend. Mitchell, in particular, was awful defensively in the playoffs against the Mavericks, and people then started to question how good he actually is. It’s time for Mitchell to become that two-way player everyone thought he should be by now and take that next leap into that top 10-15 player status.

Mobley, Allen, and Okoro should do a fine job holding up in the front court, giving Cleveland versatility on pick-and-roll actions.

Evan Mobley

Every basketball nerd loves Evan Mobley and you can go ahead and throw my name in that group as well. A 6’11 forward/center who can guard one through five and who can score in multiple ways, he stands out on both ends. The only gripe for me on his rookie season was that he shot 25% from three, but I expect that number to climb. I’ll be interested to see if Coach Bernie Bickerstaff allows Mobley to bring the ball up more in transition to create, as well as post up a bit more for offense, especially when it slows down in the playoffs. His potential is unlimited and he’s about five years away from his prime. Scary.

Rest of the Roster

Forward Kevin Love is the longest-tenured Cav, coming off a good season. Guard Caris LeVert is expected to be their scorer off the bench, though his effectiveness to create for others could be an issue as they inch closer to April and the playoffs. Ricky Rubio is back, giving Cleveland a solid backup Point Guard when he fully returns from his ACL injury.

The small forward position, currently occupied by Isaac Okoro, will be one to monitor the Cavaliers. If Okoro can average 12-14 points and can hold up defensively, then that’d be a real asset for this team. If not, look for Cleveland to be active in the trade market for another to fill that role.

Prediction

I really like this Cleveland Cavaliers team and with some luck, Cleveland could end up as a top-four seed in a crowded Eastern Conference. I love the aggressiveness to get Mitchell and put themselves in the mix. Title contenders? I’d say a year or two away.

For More Great Chicago Sports Content

Follow us on Twitter at @chicitysports23 for more great content. We appreciate you taking time to read our articles. To interact more with our community and keep up to date on the latest in Chicago sports news, JOIN OUR FREE FACEBOOK GROUP by CLICKING HERE

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