Some believed the Bulls were going to make some noise in the 2018 NBA draft. Some believed they were going to trade up to get one of the top players on the board. Many thought they were going to be able to land Michael Porter Jr.  The Chicago Bulls had the number seven draft pick and they played it safe in picking Wendell Carter Junior from Duke. It’s a safe pick that is indeed not sexy. Most teams will draft the best player overall. While some teams will draft players at positions they need. The Bulls were in need of a center and that’s why they scooped up Carter Jr instead of taking a gamble on Michael Porter Jr. who could be one of the best players in the whole entire draft. Did the Bulls drop the ball not taking Michael Porter Jr. ?

Michael Porter Jr. did eventually get picked at number 14. He will join the Denver Nuggets and most likely be red shirted his first year in the NBA. Michael Porter Junior has shown the world his talents since high school. He is a gifted and very talented basketball player. However his problem is he suffered a back injury being on the court playing for University of Missouri. In November, he had an invasive back surgery called L-3-L-4 microdiscectomy to treat herniated discs in the back. Michael Porter Jr. did return to the court March 8th in the quarter finals of the SEC tourney and also played in the NCAA March Madness tournament. He played In two games and he came off the bench only for precautionary reasons. His Senior year in high school he averaged 36.2 points per game along with 13.6 rebounds leading his team to a perfect season. The kid racked up all the awards from Mr. Basketball USA to McDonald’s All American. Plus what he did in the Nike Summit leading the USA team over the World Select team scoring 19 points in 23 minutes. The achievements on his basketball resume go on like Santa’s naughty and nice list.

The Bulls and other teams passed on this kid because they believe that his back probably will not hold up in the NBA. The Bulls brass are probably still being haunted by all of the Derrick Rose injuries he suffered after coming into the league like gang busters and winning an MVP award in the process. Both Gar and Pax wake up in cold sweats at night thinking about all the multiple Rose comeback attempts that fell short. Perhaps the Bulls brass’ jobs are on the line and if the Porter Jr. experiment did not get out of the lab and blew up, things could get ugly for them. The Bulls and other teams will always say they did not like the doctor reports on Michael Porter Jr’s back and they will have their excuse for the future on why they passed on him.

I think the Bulls should have gambled and taken Michael Porter Jr. First of all, the Bulls are in a rebuild during which you have time to sit this kid for a year and help him get his back stronger with right training and diet to take on the long grind of a NBA season. Second, this draft was very weak with only a few players that can make an impact right away. Plus you have a few years that no one is getting pass the Warriors or Lebron’s newer team. With only a handful of teams that are above the rest you have time to tinker and gamble to come up with a future squad that can wreck havoc over the league for years to come. Plus, I do not believe John Paxson and Gar Foreman’s jobs are on the line. Working for the Bulls you can hold on to those jobs like the pope. You do need guys like Wendell Carter Jr.  for all the dirty work they do. I love those types of grinders that get the rebounds and play defense. However you do need a super star that can score anytime he wants to. In this league you need more than one. Will the Nuggets rise up in the west with Michael Porter Jr. leading the charge? Will the Bulls and other teams have egg on their face like the Portland Trail Blazers when they passed on Michael Jordan? If the Bulls did draft Michael Porter Jr. they would have found a way to shoot themselves in the foot the way they operate things.  The Bulls brass is running the organization like a lemonade stand.  Porter would have been the biggest lemon if Paxton and Foreman got their hands on this kid.  Now at least he has hope for a bright future with the Nuggets not suiting up in Chicago.

Washington D.C. has not had something exciting happen to their town in a very long long time. Eight long years with Obama and his care packages. The battle royal with Hillary versus Trump as they fought with each other, biting one another. Scratching and pulling hair like two school kids at the bike rack after school. Then the latest tragedy of Trump in the White house. With him meddling into all the sports leagues. Such as throwing big time fuel on Kaeepernick and his kneeling for the National anthem. This caused backlash across the league. It could have been a subject that would disappear on it’s own. Now it’s become more slimy and gruesome, Now you have championship teams boycotting going to the White House to meet that despicable man who is running this country.  These are the dark days of Washington D.C. I can’t even see the local badminton intramural team coming for a visit.

Besides the raunchy smell of politicians in D.C.. the sports landscape has not fared well either. Georgetown still suffers from the Princeton upset in March Madness years and years ago. Then the Redskins have been nothing since the 1990s. Only topics are a name change and getting rid of the Redskins who have played like deadskins. Besides not being able to strike a multiple deal with a franchise quarterback, less of topic to chat about since Kirk Cousins finally departed the DC area and headed to Minnesota. Georgetown and the Redskins are dinosaurs as their history was the talk of our capital. Now they are old clunkers found on the road dead.

The Wizards, Nationals and the Capitals are the three teams that are talked about. However with all the talent these teams have acquired over the years, how come when it comes to the playoffs, they have just fallen on their faces? The Nationals have been a pick to win the World Series every year. Even with Dusty Baker sucking on his swizzle stick, people thought it’s coming soon. The pitchers. Bryce Harper, one of the best young players in the game. However it’s the same old story, the Nationals create mistakes they can’t overcome and watch the Cubs move on to the next round. Dusty gets fired but they went cheap and replaced him with Davey Martinez. Which it could work well. However with Bryce Harper’s ticket out of town coming after this season, it could set their team back a few years. Could be sent to the scrap yard with the Skins. Same with the Wizards who can’t get past round two in the Eastern conference which is very weak. I think people talk more about the few years Michael Jordan came out of retirement and played for the Wiz, over the current teams. Can the Wizards add a player that could put them over the top to be able to get them to the next level? If Lebron James leaves Cleveland, the conference could  be wide open. Could the Wizards beat anybody representing the West? Or do they need to wait until the Warriors break up the band. This could be another Washington franchise heading to the junk pile.

Something finally changed and it was on the ice, not the field when the Capitals finally overcame the Pittsburgh Penguins. It was like finally beating the bully that has tormented you for years. No Capital team during the Ovechkin era has made it past round two. Alex Ovechkin is the Capitals superstar like Bryce Harper is for the Nationals. After the Penguins, the Capitals rolled through the playoffs and made it to the Stanley Cup to face the Las Vegas Golden Knights who have existed only for one season. The Golden Knights won the first game. So you’re thinking more dark clouds forming over the Capital. Thinking a team who was not a team at this time a year ago is going to make history. Now you will be on the bad side of history. However something changed and the Capitals prevailed and won four games in a row. Which won them their first Stanley cup. Finally a Russian helping the city win something that is good for the city. Now we wait to see if the team in Trump’s backyard, stops over for tea at the White House.