Summer Champs

No, there won't be a rally in Grant Park and it's unlikely the United Center will get a new banner.  You could also say the Summer League doesn't mean squat as it's made up of rookies, players going into their second and third years and guys who will never see meaningful NBA action.  Still, you can't help but be encouraged by what the Bulls did in Las Vegas, which was run the table.

In Monday's meeting between Tom Thibodeau's past and present, the Bulls won the Las Vegas Summer League championship by defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves 84-82 in overtime.  Denzel Valentine tied it with a 3-pointer with 0.2 seconds left in regulation.  He followed that with a game-winning buzzer beater.  It certainly got the attention of Dwyane Wade.

There was more than Valentine's clutch play in the final that got people's attention though.  Bobby Portis wrapped up an All-NBA Summer League First Team selection with 26 points and 10 rebounds.  Jerian Grant became the final's MVP by scoring 24 to go with 10 boards and five assists.  Cristiano Felicio's 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field topped off a league performance in which he shot 75 percent.

These guys make up a small, yet meaningful portion of the roster.  Most of the time, they won't be playing the most important minutes, especially not all together.  Even so, you need players to weather the time when the stars can't be on the floor.  There's at least 48 minutes in every game and you can't expect your top guys to play them all.

What if somebody gets hurt or in foul trouble?  You just saw the players who can answer those calls.  Although they would be playing against far superior talent to what they just saw, they just showed they have to potential to stick around the NBA long-term.  Even if a lot of them are raw, they could be making plenty of noise in the future, even if it's not necessarily with the Bulls.

But this is an organization that invests lots of time in its draft picks and international free agents.  And if this is any indication, the Bulls have a solid foundation built.  With a little more time and experience, they could blossom into something very special.  If they won't be stars, they can at least be solid supporting characters.

The attention now shifts to a real period of relaxation before training camp opens in a couple of months.  We should also pray that Jimmy Butler doesn't get hurt while with the Olympic team.  If he can avoid the Zika virus too, that would be great.  Here's to everyone just getting through the rest of the summer in one piece.