Sure, we’ve only reached the Conference Finals for the NBA Playoffs at this point of the year. But that doesn’t mean offseason action and rumors plan on slowing down any time soon. In fact, multiple coaches have already parted ways with their organizations after their seasons ended. The Celtics were among those teams, and they eventually made a trade with the Thunder to move Kemba Walker and some picks for Al Horford and picks. And now with the NBA Draft Lottery right around the corner, things are about to get even spicier in the league. So where do the Chicago Bulls stand as we approach the NBA Draft Lottery?

The Outlook For The Bulls

Depending on how you view it, the Chicago Bulls historically unlucky NBA Draft Lottery outcomes are both good and bad. On one hand, they’re good because we aren’t necessarily the worst team in the league so our odds to receive a top pick are lower and we shouldn’t expect them. But on the other hand, they’re still one of the 14 worst teams in the league given the fact they’re invited to the NBA Draft Lottery, and not receiving high picks doesn’t help. Since its inception in 1985, the Chicago Bulls have only lucked out on the #1 pick twice. In 1999 when we drafted Elton Brand, and in 2008 when we drafted Derrick Rose.

The Chicago Bulls face an interesting scenario for the 2021 NBA Draft Lottery this year. First and foremost, we NEED to secure a top four pick to be able to even draft in round one. If we don’t, that pick will go to the Orlando Magic as part of last season’s trade for Nikola Vučević. Our current odds to keep the first rounder are at 20.3% which comes from odds of 5.7% for pick 4, 5.2% for pick 3, 4.8% for pick 2, and 4.5% for pick 1. So basically, there’s an 80% chance we lose our first round pick. These odds don’t make it impossible however, and they are similar to the Bulls odds at receiving a top 4 pick in last year’s NBA Draft Lottery where we managed to jump all the way up the board. All we Chicago fans can do now is keep our fingers crossed and wait.

When is the 2021 NBA Draft Lottery?

This year, the balls will drop for the NBA Draft Lottery on June 22 at 7 P.M. CST. To watch the lottery, tune into ESPN on your TV or through the app. The Bulls will need all the luck and support they can get. Once the picks are confirmed, the 2021 NBA Draft is the next big event on the leagues calendar. That’ll take place on Thursday, July 29. Stay tuned Bulls fans!

The post Chicago Bulls Odds In The NBA Draft Lottery appeared first on UrbanMatter.

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You’re vaccinated, you’ve got a cutie to do things with, and Chicago is open again— so now what are you going to do? There are so many great ways to have fun with a friend here in the city; here are just a few suggestions to resurrect Date Night with the perfect summer bae-cation: 

Kennedy Rooftop

1551 W North Ave, Chicago IL 60622

Experience Patio Season as it was meant to be experienced: with a great view of the city and the perfect cocktail. This newer rooftop spot in Wicker Park is situated at the top of Hyatt Place Chicago/Wicker Park, giving you the best vantage point from which to appreciate the skyline with your boo.

The Hotel at Midtown

2444 N Elston Ave, Chicago, IL 60647

Located at 2444 N Elston Ave, Chicago, IL 60647, The Hotel at Midtown is perhaps the finest boutique hotel in the entire city. But it’s so much more to that. Attached to the Midtown Athletic Club, a stay at The Hotel at Midtown gives you access to a world-class fitness facility, a brunch restaurant, indoor and outdoor pools, tennis courts, and a spa that is to die for. It’s truly a perfect blend of luxury and wellness, indulgence without having to stay directly in the heart of The Loop.

Navy Pier

700 E Grand Ave, Chicago IL 60611

With food, music, and other attractions, it’s no surprise that Navy Pier is one of Chicago’s top destinations. Even if you’re a Chicago native who’s had all the deep-dish pizza and ferris wheel rides they can stand, the summertime fireworks are always a great opportunity to get outside with your honey and gaze at the night sky.

Art on theMART

222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza, Ste 470, Chicago IL 60654

This huge light display on the facade of the old Merchandise Mart building is often accompanied by music, and features work by world-renowned artists. What better way to take in the summer nights than to see some local art in the fresh air?

Garfield Park Conservatory

300 N Central Park Ave, Chicago IL 60624

With thousands of plants on display in eight different indoor gardens, Garfield Park Conservatory is an oasis of green within the urban landscape. Make a reservation for you and your friend to take a minute and smell the roses.

Chicago Riverwalk

This 1.25-mile walk includes some of the city’s best dining, public art, outdoor activities, and more. Check out the Chicago Architecture Center, grab some lunch at one of the Riverwalk’s many restaurants, and even try your hand at urban kayaking!

Museum of Contemporary Art: Tuesdays on the Terrace

220 E Chicago Ave, Chicago IL 60611

June through August, you can catch live music at the Museum of Contemporary Art every Tuesday at 5:30p.m. No more date nights watching music livestreams on a screen!

Photo by Sawyer Bengtson on Unsplash

The post 8 Places in Chicago for the Perfect Summer Bae-cation appeared first on UrbanMatter.

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Two people were wounded in a shooting Monday night on Interstate 290 near East Garfield Park on the West Side.

About 10:30 p.m., officers responded to the westbound lanes of I-290 at Kostner Avenue, for calls of a vehicle with passengers who had been shot, Illinois State Police said.

Two people, the front and rear passengers, were struck by gunfire and taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries, state police said. The driver was not injured.

About 11:55 p.m., all lanes of traffic were closed for an investigation, with traffic being diverted to Independence Avenue, state police said. All lanes reopened about 3:45 a.m.

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Chicago Blackhawks: 3 new Jack Eichel trade packages by Vincent Parise

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Chicago Bulls (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)

Ben Simmons is fresh off the lowest point in his career as an NBA “superstar.” The 76ers point guard is most likely to hit the trade block after the eye-popping series he performed with little action on the court. Should the Chicago Bulls go after him?

Ben Simmons is certainly an intriguing option for the Chicago Bulls.

Simmons, 24, is formerly the number one overall draft pick in the 2016 NBA draft to the 76ers. Coming out of LSU, NBA scouts were excited about the fact that Simmons can run the floor, facilitate on offense, and be a reliable defender, at 6-foot-11.

However, things are not looking bright for Simmons to stay in Philadelphia after his heart-wrenching performance in game seven against the Atlanta Hawks. He scored five points in 36 minutes, only shooting the ball four times and putting in two shots. Simmons did not attempt a shot in the fourth quarter, nor did he play in the final minute of the close game.

“I don’t know the answer to that,” said head coach Doc Rivers said after the game when asked if Simmons could be the point guard on a championship team.

Doc Rivers answers a question whether Ben Simmons can be the point guard of a championship team pic.twitter.com/8xL35u98RC

— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) June 21, 2021

Now that Simmons could be up for grab in the trade market, NBA fans are going into a frenzy about possible landing destinations. And of course, Simmons was the number one Illinois trending topic on Twitter for eight hours the day after the game, according to Daniel Greenberg. It’s only right that as Bulls fans, we recap the reasons that the Bulls organization should not and will not go after Simmons in the trade market this offseason.

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Judging from the energy of practically every Why? Records release, the four rappers who make up the underground Chicago hip-hop collective and label could easily spend the rest of their lives collaborating in different configurations on a half dozen albums per year.…Read More

The violence follows a weekend when 52 people were shot in the city, seven of them fatally,

Seven people were killed and nine others were wounded in shootings across Chicago Monday.

• A 19-year-old woman died in an attack in Fuller Park on the South Side. She was sitting in the passenger seat of a car in the 300 block of West 52nd Place about 9:42 p.m. when someone stepped out of a gray Infiniti G35 and opened fire, Chicago police said. She was struck twice to the side of her body and once to her lower back. She was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.
• Minutes earlier, a man was killed and a woman critically wounded on the Far South Side. They were sitting in a car in the 11800 block of South Michigan Avenue when someone fired at them about 9:40 p.m., police said. The man, 32, was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn where he was pronounced dead. The 35-year-old woman was taken to the same hospital in critical condition.
• A man was killed while working on his car in Fernwood on the South Side. He was in front of his home in the 10400 block of South Eggleston Avenue about 8:40 p.m. when someone fired from a silver Chevy Malibu, police said. The 28-year-old was struck multiple times and taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead.
• Two people were killed in a shooting in Woodlawn on the South Side. An 18-year-old woman and a male were in the 6300 block of South Kimbark Avenue when they were shot in the head about 5:40 p.m., police said. Both were pronounced dead at the scene. A weapon was recovered.
• A man was killed in East Garfield Park. The 23-year-old was in a car in the 3400 block of West Walnut Street when a car pulled up and someone inside opened fire, police said. The man was struck in the neck and back. He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
• A 67-year-old man was shot and killed in a road-rage shooting Monday morning in Lawndale on the West Side. The shooter thought Patrick Earl had cut him off in the 1600 block of South Kostner Avenue at 9:45 a.m., police said. He argued with Earl, took out a gun and fired two shots, striking Earl once in his chest. Earl, who was the only person in the car, crashed and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
• A 43-year-old man was critically wounded in a drive-by in Englewood on the South Side. About 11:30 p.m., he was walking in the 1200 block of West 73rd Place when someone in a passing white sedan fired shots, police said. He was struck in the back and leg, and drove to St. Bernard Hospital for treatment.
• A 4-year-old boy and a teen were shot inside a Woodlawn home on the South Side. The child was hit in the hand and a 17-year-old boy was shot in the foot around 1:50 p.m. in the 6500 block of South Ellis Avenue, police spokeswoman Michelle Tannehill said. They were taken by paramedics to Comer Children’s Hospital, where they were listed in good condition, Tannehill said. Police did not immediately release the circumstances of the shooting. The shooting occurred inside a home, according to Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford.

Five others were wounded in shootings citywide.

Fifty-two people were shot, seven fatally, last weekend.

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According to a report from Larry Brooks of the New York Post, the Chicago Blackhawks are now a part of the Jack Eichel sweepstakes. That is a move that would change the franchise for a very long time as Eichel is one of the truly great players in the National Hockey League right now. When he […]

Chicago Blackhawks: 3 new Jack Eichel trade packages – Da Windy City – Da Windy City – A Chicago Sports Site – Bears, Bulls, Cubs, White Sox, Blackhawks, Fighting Illini & More

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Heiress, socialite — and alleged accomplice to a monster. Ghislaine Maxwell was arrested in Bradford, New Hampshire, by the FBI last July and awaits trial this November on charges of six federal crimes, including enticement of minors, sex trafficking of children and perjury, all while aiding and abetting Jeffrey Epstein. In the three-part Peacock original documentary series “Epstein’s Shadow: Ghislaine Maxwell,” we get a thorough and straightforward and comprehensive look at the woman who grew up privileged and could have done anything with her life but wound up a fugitive and eventually behind bars after years of allegedly procuring victims for the hideous Epstein.

The documentary follows the tried and tested formula for true crime series. There’s a slick and urgent tone to the opening titles, and the episodes include a mix of archival news footage; previously unseen footage of Ghislaine and her father, the media baron Robert Maxwell, and interviews with journalists and former friends and acquaintances and university classmates of Maxwell. (Not surprisingly, Maxwell did not respond to the filmmakers’ request for an interview.) Some of the material will be familiar to viewers of the Netflix documentary series “Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich,” but whereas Maxwell was the alleged accomplice lurking on the fringes in that series, she’s under a harsh and deservedly unforgiving spotlight this time.

New York State Sex Offender Registry

Episode 1 begins with a recap of the arrest of Epstein and the news of his death by suicide. A number of survivors talk about how Maxwell was the one who introduced them to Epstein, how she was almost always at Epstein’s side. “Jeffrey had the sickness, but they worked together as a unit,” says survivor Virginia Giuffre. “She was the main procurer for Jeffrey.” We then flash back to Ghislaine’s upbringing as one of eight children of Robert Maxwell, the media mogul who died in the Atlantic Ocean in 1991 after having fallen from his yacht. It was subsequently learned Robert Maxwell had stolen hundreds of millions from his companies’ pension funds.

Ghislaine was a favorite of her father, who bought an Oxford football club as a present of sorts for his daughter when she was still in college and in 1991 purchased the New York Daily News, giving his daughter, who acted as his unofficial ambassador, an entree into New York society as instant power broker. A number of observers note that the mercurial, difficult, forceful, narcissistic Robert Maxwell was by far the most important in person in Ghislaine’s life — and after her father’s death, she attached herself to another obscenely wealthy and manipulative egomaniac in Jeffrey Epstein. “Epstein and her father, both men had that terrible moral compass,” says former friend Christopher Mason, while the writer Anna Pasternak notes, “Ghislaine set her sights on Jeffrey Epstein, who could give her the lifestyle she’d become accustomed to.”

Survivors tell harrowing stories of how Maxwell would recruit them and bring them to Epstein when they were teenagers. After Epstein’s arrest and suicide, Maxwell eventually went underground, with her days of hiding coming to an abrupt end in July 2020 when the FBI took her into custody in a sprawling home in New Hampshire where she was hiding out under an alias. Maxwell’s defense team seems set to present her as a victim of Epstein. “I just can’t handle the fact that this woman is pretending she’s a victim,” says survivor Maria Farmer. “The victims were children and young girls, young vulnerable women.”

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Seven people were killed, and nine others were wounded in shootings Monday in Chicago, including a woman who died in a shooting in Fuller Park on the South Side.

The 19-year-old was sitting in the passenger seat of a vehicle about 9:42 p.m. in the 300 block of West 52nd Place when someone stepped out of a gray Infiniti G35 and opened fire, Chicago police said. The woman was struck twice to the side of her body and once to her lower back. She was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.

Minutes prior a man was killed, and a woman critically wounded in a shooting on the Far South Side. They were sitting in a vehicle about 9:40 p.m. in the 11800 block of South Michigan Avenue when someone fired shots, striking them both multiple times, police said. The man, 32, was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead. The 35-year-old woman was taken to the same hospital in critical condition. Police said the pair were unable to provide details on the incident because of the severity of their injuries.

About an hour prior, a man was killed in a shooting while working on his vehicle in Fernwood on the South Side. He was in front of his home about 8:40 p.m. in the 10400 block of South Eggleston Avenue when someone fired shots at him from a silver-colored Chevy Malibu, police said. The 28-year-old was struck multiple times and taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead.

Two people were killed in a shooting in Woodlawn on the South Side. About 5:43 p.m., an 18-year-old woman and a male were in the 6300 block of South Kimbark Avenue when they suffered gunshot wounds to their heads, police said. Both were pronounced dead at the scene. A weapon was recovered.

A man was killed in a shooting in East Garfield Park. The 23-year-old was in a vehicle about 3:40 p.m. in the 3400 block of West Walnut Street when a vehicle pulled up alongside and someone inside opened fire, police said. The man was struck in the neck and back. He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

A 67-year-old man was shot and killed in a road-rage shooting Monday morning in Lawndale on the West Side. The shooter felt the man had cut him off in the 1600 block of South Kostner Avenue at 9:45 a.m., police said. He argued with the man and took out a gun and fired two shots, striking the 67-year-old once in his chest. The man, who was the only person in the car, crashed and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. He was identified as Patrick Earl of West Garfield Park, the Cook County medical examiner’s office said.

In non-fatal shootings, a 43-year-old man was critically wounded in a drive-by in Englewood on the South Side. About 11:30 p.m., he was walking in the 1200 block of West 73rd Place, when someone in a passing white sedan fired shots, police said. He was struck in the back and leg, and drove himself to St. Bernard Hospital for treatment.

A 4-year-old boy and a teen were shot inside a Woodlawn home on the South Side. The child was hit in the hand and a 17-year-old boy was shot in the foot around 1:50 p.m. in the 6500 block of South Ellis Avenue, police spokeswoman Michelle Tannehill said. They were taken by paramedics to Comer Children’s Hospital, where they were listed in good condition, Tannehill said. Police did not immediately release the circumstances of the shooting. The shooting occurred inside a home, according to Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford.

Five others were wounded in shootings citywide.

Fifty-two people were shot, seven fatally, last weekend.

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