Could Christopher Morel play the role of a younger Ben Zobrist? It’s a strong possibility, Cubs manager David Ross said.

”I’d say, in my eye, the value is his flexibility,” Ross said Friday.

And as long as Morel continues to produce, he’ll remain in the lineup for the foreseeable future.

Morel hit his third home run in as many games — a tying two-run shot in the sixth inning — that helped vault the Cubs to a 6-5 comeback victory against the Red Sox.

Morel, 23, became the first Cubs rookie to hit a homer in three consecutive games since Frank Schwindel on Sept. 3-5, 2021. He has hit safely in eight of his last 14 plate appearances, and he’s batting .326 (15-for-46) with three doubles, three homers and eight RBI in his last 10 games.

But his versatility played an instrumental role in allowing Ross to navigate the Cubs back from a 4-0 deficit. Morel started at second base before moving to center field after pinch hitter Nico Hoerner stayed in the game at shortstop after drawing a bases-loaded walk that gave the Cubs their first lead in the sixth. Andrelton Simmons moved from short to second.

”You feel like it’s a one-man bench,” Ross said of Morel, who has started 29 games in center, nine at second, one at third and one at short and also can play left and right.

Morel didn’t disappoint, as he fired a throw to first base to complete a double play in the fourth and nearly robbed Trevor Story of a hit with a diving stop in the sixth.

With teams employing 13-man pitching staffs, versatility has become a necessity. And with the Cubs in the midst of auditions as they try to construct their ballyhooed ”next great Cubs team,” Morel’s versatility and ability to adjust quickly to opposing pitchers at a young age mean two fewer questions team officials have to answer.

”That flexibility is super-valuable, and the fact [Morel] has been very clean on the

infield so far with the limited looks we’ve got, it’s fun for me to mix and match as best we can,” Ross said. ”And going forward, it’s very valuable in today’s game.”

And very valuable for the Cubs as they try to determine which young players are worthy of being a part of their future.

For instance, Morel’s ability to play center has allowed the Cubs to assess their options at second, third and short.

Top prospect Brennen Davis was projected to join the Cubs around this time. But Davis got off to a slow start at Triple-A Iowa before having season-ending back surgery.

Morel has taken advantage of every opportunity, as evidenced by his strong throw from center to home plate to nail a Reds baserunner Wednesday.

The least of the Cubs’ current worries is Hoerner at short. But they might be tempted to dip into a lucrative free-agent market next winter, with shortstops such as Carlos Correa, Dansby Swanson, Trea Turner and Xander Bogaerts likely available.

Or they could shift their attention to another position.

Morel started his pro career as a shortstop before moving around the infield and playing more frequently in the outfield last season. He joined the Cubs in May.

His versatility caught the attention of catcher Willson Contreras, who started his career as a third baseman before developing into a two-time All-Star behind the plate.

”It’s good to have a player who can play different positions but catcher,” Contreras quipped. ”Having his energy around the field is contagious. And I’m really proud of the work he’s done, and Ross is doing a great job of the way he’s using him.”

Morel said he relishes his various assignments, just as Zobrist did during a 14-year career that ended with the Cubs (2016-19).

”That’s why I work on it every single day, every position,” Morel said. ”Anywhere they need me, that’s what I’m there for — the team.”

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Bears general manager Ryan Poles’ overhaul of the staff at Halas Hall included dismissing one of the men who helped hire him: LaMar “Soup” Campbell, the vice president of player engagement.

The organization dismissed Campbell this week, a source said, ending a run with the Bears that began in 2015. He survived the transition from John Fox to Matt Nagy, but will not be around for the Matt Eberflus era.

Campbell, 45, played defensive back at Wisconsin and played for the Lions from 1998 through ’02 before pursuing post-playing careers in player development and business.

Bears chairman George McCaskey appointed Campbell to the hiring committee when the Bears began their search for a new general manager and coach in January, saying he trusted him to be the voice of players in the interview process. He supported Poles’ hiring, according to McCaskey, who called it a unanimous decision.

Nagy leaned on Campbell more than ever after the George Floyd murder in 2020 as the locker room processed the country’s uptick in racial tension.

“He does a really, really good job of understanding what these players are going through on a daily basis, not even just in 2020 but in prior years,” Nagy said at the time. “He builds unbelievably great relationships with him. They trust. They understand.

“He’s the conduit to making this thing go in times like this. We rely on him. We listen toSoup. We take advice from him, we balance it and then we put it all together. We wouldn’t be here without him.”

The Bears still listed Campbell in his former position on their website as of Friday evening.

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Rudy Gobert has been traded by the Utah Jazz to the Minnesota Timberwolves for a massive package of players and draft picks, a person with knowledge of the blockbuster deal said.

Utah is getting four first-round picks between 2023 and 2029, along with Patrick Beverley, Malik Beasley and a first-round pick this year in Walker Kessler, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press on Friday on condition of anonymity because the NBA had not approved the deal and neither team could announce it publicly.

ESPN, which first reported the trade, also said Jarred Vanderbilt was going from Minnesota to Utah as part of the deal for Gobert.

It ushers in the end of an era for the Jazz, and perhaps the start of one for the Timberwolves — who will have perhaps the best 1-2 big-man punch in the league with Karl-Anthony Towns and Gobert together now.

Gobert — a three-time defensive player of the year — spent his first nine NBA seasons in Utah, and the Jazz went to the playoffs in each of the last six seasons. But his relationship with guard Donovan Mitchell was always scrutinized and a series of disappointing playoff exits led to the annual question of whether the two could coexist on a title-contending team.

Minnesota struck the deal less than 24 hours after coming to an agreement on a $224 million, four-year extension with Towns, who is now under contract for the next six years.

Gobert has four years and $170 million left on a five-year, $205 million deal he signed with the Jazz last summer.

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Good afternoon. Here’s the latest news you need to know in Chicago. It’s about a 5-minute read that will brief you on today’s biggest stories.

This afternoon will be mostly cloudy with a high near 81 degrees and a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Tonight clouds will move in and the temperature will dip to 65 degrees. Saturday and Sunday will see clear skies with highs near 84 and 85 degrees respectively. And the sun will be shining on Independence Day with a high near 87 and a chance of thunderstorms.

Top story

Judge looks to Supreme Court gun ruling as he weighs whether to shoot down Chicago ban on laser sights

Chicago’s little-known ban on possessing laser gun sights is coming under new court scrutiny after the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision striking down a key provision of a New York concealed-carry law.

U.S. District Judge Robert Dow Jr. has asked lawyers involved in a Chicago gun-rights lawsuit to offer arguments on whether last month’s Supreme Court ruling applies to city ordinances that prohibit the possession of laser sights for firearms in Chicago.

Dow has given the lawyers until mid-July to respond in the case, Second Amendment Arms v. Chicago, which was filed in 2010 by a gun dealer in an effort to overturn the city’s ban on gun stores operating in Chicago.

In a separate case, another federal judge in Chicago struck down that gun-store ban in 2014.

Because the ban was overturned, Dow ruled that Second Amendment Arms wasn’t entitled to compensatory damages from City Hall.

But the judge still is deciding another issue in the case: whether Chicago’s separate laser-sight ban is constitutional.

On Monday, he wrote that “the court is particularly interested in whether the parties believe that the Supreme Court’s framework impacts the analysis and/or result on the laser-sight issue.”

On June 23, in the case New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen, the Supreme Court voted 6-3 to overturn a regulation that prevented people in New York from getting concealed-carry licenses unless they could show they have a special need.

Justice Clarence Thomas, in the majority opinion in the New York case, wrote: “To justify a firearm regulation the government must demonstrate that the regulation is consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.”

A key legal question remaining in the current Chicago gun case is whether the right to “bear arms” extends to laser sights.

Frank Mainhas more on the future of the laser sights ban here.

More news you need

Authorities say a Chicago police officer’s condition is “serious but stable” after he was shot while answering a domestic disturbance call in University Village this morning. When he stepped off an elevator, he was ambushed and shot multiple times, according to police.Mayor Lori Lightfoot said the shooting was another example of the “significant surge” over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic in domestic violence-related calls and the havoc those calls create. “Domestic-related” homicides by firearm and non-fatal shootings have increased by a staggering 125% since 2019, our Fran Spielman reports.Concerned South Shore activists gathered to voice their anger and sadness after a 5-month-old baby was shot in the neighborhood last week. Cecilia Thomas was killed during a drive-by shooting in the 7700 block of South Shore Drive.Norvell Meadows, a 19-year-old beloved father, community member and athlete, was fatally shot yesterday on the West Side. An All-City high school basketball player at Orr and Prosser, Meadows was “one of those kids that it is hard not to love,” one of his coaches said.Family, friends and fans are also mourning the loss of Dennis Cahill, a guitar great and virtuoso of Irish traditional music, who died at age 68. After growing up on the South Side playing guitar in rock groups and wedding bands, he went on to achieve worldwide fame and headline concerts around the world.A Chicago man today admitted his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, pleading guilty to charges that could result in up to six months in prison. Records show Athanasios Zoyganeles often posted about his intentions to storm the Capitol online, writing in one instance, “They can’t stop a million people.”For years, the Urban Prep Charter Academies charter school network in Chicago has gotten national attention for getting 100% of its graduates admitted to college. But Urban Prep has been mired in such deep financial trouble that CPS officials say they have “grave concerns” about its sustainability, WBEZ’s Sarah Karp reports.

A bright one

‘Billiken,’ new short film about Chicago’s Bud Billiken Parade, spotlights parade’s young dancers

Around 10 p.m. on a recent night, Wills Glasspiegel went to the Merchandise Mart to test-run “Billiken,” a new, eight-minute art film he co-directed with Shkunna Stewart, with animation by Brandon K. Calhoun.

He wasn’t preparing the film for a screening inside a theater. He was getting ready for something bigger, with the movie to be projected onto the mammoth, 340,000-square-foot facade of the Merchandise Mart.

Selected as the centerpiece of Art on theMART’s summer programming, “Billiken,” which premiered Thursday, will be projected onto the outside of the Merchandise Mart every night through Sept. 7.

Young dancers featured in the movie — from teams including The Jesse White Tumblers, Dance Force, Geek Squad and Bringing Out Talent Dance Co. — were there for the opening.

“Billiken” honors the youth dancers of the Bud Billiken Parade, the largest and longest-running African American parade in the United States. Started in 1929, the parade, which goes down South Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Bronzeville, heralds the start of the back-to-school season.

On the night of Glasspiegel’s test screening at the Mart, “There happened to be some kids out there with their mom, and they were dancing at the end of the projection, kind of a continuation of it,” he said.

“That’s when I knew it was done. It was making people dance. It’s doing a good thing for the city.”

WBEZ’s Isabella DeLeo has more on the “Billiken” film here.

From the press box

The Bulls and Zach LaVine have agreed to a $215.2 million, five-year contract, Joe Cowley reports.Time will only tell what the Bulls get for the money invested in LaVine, writes Rick Morrissey. In his latest column, Jeff Agrest lists the Chicago rivalries he thinks are worthy of documentary treatment.In light of MLB commissioner Rob Manfred’s comments about wanting robo umps in the big leagues, Maddie Lee spoke with the Cubs about their reactions to the plan.

Your daily question ?

What’s the key to a perfect BBQ?

Send us an email at [email protected] and we might feature your answer in the next Afternoon Edition.

Yesterday, we asked you: What’s the best park in Chicago?

Here’s what some of you said…

“Calumet Park on the far Southeast Side. Lakefront view, beach, walking paths and the Southeast Chicago History Museum in the iconic field house. Oh, and the Station Calumet U.S. Coast Guard!” –Wayne Garritano

“I prefer the Lakefront by the planetarium. I always liked that spot overlooking the whole Chicago skyline.” — Frederick Darrin

“Gill Park! All are welcome, including our pets and there is a pool there and lots of fun playground equipment for the babies. Steps from Lake Michigan and breezy in the summer. Movies in the park are cool for a nice evening with the family. Gill Park is the greatest.” — Ashabi Tanze

“Milton Lee Olive Park near Navy Pier is great. It’s this hidden-in-plain-sight little place no one seems to know about. It’s quiet and a wonderful place to just ignore the rest of the world. (Even with DLSD 50 yards away.)” — Julia B. Meyer

“Ellis Park. We party in peace and the kids can play in peace.” –Tyree Beamteam

“Sherman Park — got everything plus a library.” –Dennis Novak

Thanks for reading the Chicago Afternoon Edition. Got a story you think we missed? Email us here.

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