Keeping Satoransky wasn't in Wizards' budget
Tomas Satoransky was a restricted free agent this summer, so Washington could have kept him around. Instead, the Wizards agreed to a sign-and-trade with the Bulls, collecting a couple of second-round picks in the process.
Before Wednesday's game at the United Center, Washington coach Scott Brooks talked about the decision to let Satoransky leave after three seasons with the team.
"He got a great contract," Brooks said. "He was great for us. He plays hard, team guy. He came here and we knew his long-term goal was to be a starting point guard in the league. We don't have John (Wall) yet this year, maybe not at all this year (due to an Achilles injury). But John's our point guard. So he was never going to be able to fulfill that part of his goals."
The Bulls gave Satoransky a three-year, $30-million contract, with the final season reportedly a partial guarantee for $5 million. He's started every game for the Bulls so far this season.
"Tomas, he was great," Brooks said. "He's tough, he's competitive, he plays hard. He's not about the stat sheet, it's about making the right plays. He had a lot of great opportunities to play and he grew as a player. I talked to him. We wish him nothing but the best."
All-stars aren't winners:
Bulls guard Zach LaVine and Washington's Bradley Beal might rank 1-2 in the Eastern Conference in the category of "guys who would be all-stars if their teams weren't so bad."
Wizards coach Scott Brooks doesn't think wins and losses should be a significant factor when choosing all-stars.
"I learned when I first got into coaching," he said. "Shareef (Abdur-Rahim), he spent a lot of years with teams that never made the playoffs, so it's natural to think, 'He's a good scorer on a bad team.' I coached him in Sacramento as an assistant coach and that guy is one of the biggest winners I've ever been around.
"How he prepared, how he talked to younger players, how he communicated with the veteran players, how he communicated with coaches. If he was in an organization that was in a different spot, he might have been a 10-time all-star, because that guy was a big-time player and I have big respect for what he brought.
"So I don't ever look at that because it's unfair. Sometimes you get caught up in a situation where it's not your fault. If you're one of the 12 best players in the conference, you should be voted in as one of the all-stars."
Fixing the break:
Bulls coach Jim Boylen talked about wanting to do a better job of not fouling jump shooters and getting better spacing on fast breaks.
"Some of this is on me. I want a multi-handler system," Boylen said. "We don't have the ball in John Stockton's hands every fast break. It's not. It's in a different guys' hands every time. I've got to coach it better."
No word on whether the Bulls tried offering that Stockton guy a two-way contract.