1.7% of Being Happy

As the raging optimist I am, I chose to go with the 1.7% chance I will be happy in a couple of hours rather than the far more 98.3% chance of me continuing to languish in basketball fan Hell.

_This was the only image of Cooper Flagg I could find that was free to use. I think even saying his name costs like $8. He is the poster boy for the new NIL era... which I'm actually all for. _

You see, by the time I finish writing this, I will know if my beloved Chicago Bulls will win the NBA Draft Lottery and secure a chance to "capture the Flagg". In this case, the ultimate prize is a 18 year old, 6'9" tall young man who "experts" have deemed "the next great thing" in pro basketball. To be honest, I watched him in the NCAA Tournament and I was not overly impressed. I didn't really see him dominate and take over a game. But it is not often that Duke, who is always stacked with talent, needs one guy to take over. But the experts have been drooling over this guy for what seems like years. Every GM wants him. So what do I know.

Here's what I know: if the Bulls don't pull of the highly improbable and land this number one pick, I have absolutely no hope of them being championship contenders for at least 10 years. They need this shortcut to greatness. Their ownership and front office don't seem to have any desire or clue on how to build a championship caliber team. It seems the organization is perfectly happy with play-in or first round playoff exits. Some teams have a fan as an owner who treat the team like a hobby (I'm looking at you lucky bastards who love the L.A. Clippers). These owners pay for blocks of tickets and fly fans out to away playoff games in the hopes of making an opponent miss a free throw or two. These fans/owners are BILLIONAIRES. They have all the money they need so they just want to win.

Then there is Jerry Reinsdorf who happens to own two of my favorite sports teams. The Chicago Bulls... and the worst team in the history of baseball (it's a fact, you can look it up) The Chicago Whitesox. It seems Reinsdorf's version of "winning" is adding to his Scrooge McDuck pile of money while swimming in a pool filled with his teams' fans' tears.

Name this player. I'll give you 1 million guesses. Go!

And its not that Reinsdorf doesn't spend money on the Bulls. It's just that he, and his front office, just spends it so foolishly. But don't take my word for it. Just look at the $90 million contract they signed Patrick Williams to last off season. Who is Patrick Williams? Great question! He is a complete bust of a #4 overall pick from the 2020 NBA draft. He was drafted for hi s"upside". he didn't even start for his college team before the Bulls spotted this gem they could not live without.

How did he earn that $90? Well by averaging 9.6 points, 41. rebounds and 1.5 assists per game during the 276 out of 410 possible games. Who exactly were they bidding against in this race to sign Williams? Absolutely no one!

The team has had 27 years to attract a star here since Michael Jordan left after being forced out by the GM and owner. They have "attracted" exactly 1... Derrick Rose whom they won the rights to when they had a 1.7% chance to do so back in 2008.

Wait. 1.7%.... it's fate!

Time to jump back on the Bulls bandwagon!

Are you rooting for anyone in the NBA draft tonight? Where would you like to see your favorite college player land?