Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show - 5 On It & Julia Poe explains how Bulls are relying on luck (Hour 3)

Episode Date: February 5, 2026

In the third hour, Leila Rahimi and Marshall Harris discussed a variety of sports topics in the 5 On It segment. After that, Tribune reporter Julia Poe joined the show to discuss the Bulls’ recent series of trades and how a good deal of the organization’s plan appears to rely on luck these days. Later, Rahimi and Harris discussed if the Bears will pursue Raiders star pass rusher Maxx Crosby this offseason.

This hour is brought to you by vasectomy clinics of Chicago. It's time for five on it. Rahini Harrison Rooney. Bring you five topics on their minds today. On 104-3, the score. I got five on it. Number one. The NBA trade deadline is today at two, but it seems like a bulk of the bull's moves are obviously done.

If that is indeed the case and our terrorist kind of showvis and company, Stan Pat, the rest of the way. What letter grade are you giving the Bulls for their moves? Marshall loves that question. Take it away, Marshall. Professor Marshall, what grade are you giving the Bull? If they don't do another move after this to where they are right now, they're getting a D plus. They're getting a D plus.

Here's why they're getting a D plus. They're getting D plus because if you look at their roster as it's currently constructed right now and Billy Donovan doing what he does, they're going to win more games. They're not going to win too many games to tank, is what you're saying. Not just too many games to tank, but also explain to me what they're going to have at the end of the season

when all the contracts that they traded away, they're expiring contracts for, also expire. I'm looking at you, Anthony Simons. I'm looking at you, Colin Sexton. They gave Josh getting more money, Because they wanted to. True, true. I don't have as much problem with Giddy as some people do because it's still $25 million for your lead point guard who's going to average close to a triple double,

regardless of who you put around him. That's just who he is. And I know the defensive liability is there. The problem is if you still have Jalen Smith starting at center, if you still have Isaac Okoro and Mattis Buzellas. If you still have fill in the blank with whoever you want to put beside Josh Giddy, you're going to be okay. Mac McLough.

And in a world where there's already 10 to 12 other teams tanking way harder than you, you're going to come up with wins that you don't want to come up with. Well, that's it. It's that they're, they can tank for the Bulls,

but tanking for the Bulls is not necessarily tanking as to what it looks like for the rest of the league. Keep in mind, an Achilles injury has made the team that nearly won the NBA finals. And the Pacers. Now, one of the worst teams in the league. And that's what you're up against when it comes to losing and trying to do this in a way that gives you the better chance.

The saddest part is what it came down to last time, which was the coin flip for the first overall pick and it went to the Mavericks because of the tiebreakers. That's the saddest part. Like, do you think the Bulls are going to get any closer to that chance again? You know what's sadder than that? If the Bulls had won that tiebreaker and if they had picked Cooper Flag, do you still try? Do you still trust Arturish Karnasovas and Mark Eversley to make the moves to surround that young core with players good enough to properly develop him? Yeah, because they had Yokic in Denver and AK was the assistant GM. Like if you've got the star of all stars, like if you've got that guy, then life becomes infinitely easier in the league.

I don't know that I trust them to make the right moves. Concerning these same players we're talking about, Kobe White, Iota Sumu, Vuch. Does Vuch get moved? are we dealing with the same type of deadline? That's my point. If you get Cooper flag... They probably try to win now based on that group. Exactly.

And that would have been a mistake with that group. That's the problem. Vooch is old. He cannot play defense. You've got to have a team like the Celtics with all these defenders to be able to build a... We're talking about championship, not just get into the playoffs. But you're also talking about the difference of like four months

when you consider that Vooch's contract was up at the end of the year. Like you're assuming that Vooch would have. have been extended in that scenario. Oh, I hope not. But you see what I'm saying? Like his contract was up anyway. Yeah, but you still should get something for him. That's all I'm saying. You should read. So what Dallas is doing right now with Cooper Flagg is perfect. They're letting him go out there and do all the things. You know what else they're doing?

They're losing, so they're going to have somebody else to put beside him this coming off season. Yeah, it sounds so strange and counterintuitive, but it really does take work to lose enough to be guaranteed those chances. And it also takes having a stable of draft picks that you can use for somebody else. And now the question becomes, is that somebody else to Monta Savonis? And that's where I sit with this.

And the answer to that is a stern no. But what's the grade? I think for me the grade is like a B. Maybe like a B minus because they got draft picks. Okay. I would have liked to have seen a first round draft pick. That would have changed it for me. but they are doing the right things.

And I would have kept I.O. But I think they are doing the things that they needed to to get out of some of these expiring deals. It was just they waited too long. My D plus is based more on still not having a sense of direction. But like this question was based on if nothing changes between now and two. So I'm just answering it.

Come back to me after the deadline. I might have a different answer for the grade. Number two. On Wednesday, the Tribune's Brad Biggs reported that the Bears will hire former daughter. Dolphins running backs coach Eric Studeville for the same position on Ben Johnson's staff. On a scale of 1 to 10 on the confidence meter, trademark, where would you rate your level of confidence that Studeville will pick up where Eric B. Enemy left off?

Well, Studeville has work experience with Ben Johnson and Miami. So I think because of that, he knows who he's getting. And therefore, I have a high level of confidence. I would say this is out of seven or eight for me because you already have a, an established pattern with known personnel, both on your offensive line to block for them and your running backs who are going to be in that room. So given that you'll be in Kyle Menongai's second year, given that DeAndre Swift will be in somewhat of a privy year yet again, coming off of a career year for him, I like the confidence of knowing who you're getting

and the coach you're hiring combined with all of those other things. For me, I'm going to give him a nine. One, I trust Ben Johnson. he's given me no reason not to trust him at this point. Two, this is a guy who has an extensive resume when you talk about coaching guys who have had very successful seasons in the past. Marshaun Lynch, Willis McGahey, C.J. Anderson, Rahim Mostard, all Pro Bowl seasons playing for Studsville. He's also been there for guys who have gotten 1,000-yard seasons such as Willis McGahey, the aforementioned, Tiki Barber, also, Noshan Marino. Fred Jackson, one of my favorites, obviously, Anderson, Mostert, and Devon, DeVon, Echan.

A. Chan? Yeah, A. Chan. I like the opportunity here for them to just keep going with the guy, especially if they do decide to upgrade that running back room. Five on it. Number three. Friend of the show and Take the North podcast co-host, Dan Weider, dropped a new piece for The Athletic this week. And, you know, this is what it's called. We know we'll do like things with five in it on the midday show.

Five on it. Clearly, five key questions ahead of free agency and the NFL draft. This question is inspired by Weezy. Weezy. What are the Bears' top three needs this off season? And I would like you guys to please rank them in order of importance. Layla and Marshall. The Bear's salary cap situation needs to be rectified. A lot of it is because they spend a lot of money on an aspect of the team that I still think is their biggest need.

Edge Rusher. Edge Rusher's number one for me. Also, you know what's number two? You might think it's something else. It's safety. Do you know why? All of their safeties are free agents. All of them.

Like all the ones you're familiar with, the two and then the two back on the depth chart. So because of that, you're going to have. have to sign somebody to that position. In fact, you might have to sign four people to that position or draft one. You get my drift. Safety is a, you have to address it. That position wise and the fact that roster wise, that might be your biggest need just because you've got to acquire people to fill the position given that everybody came up

at the same time. But it's edge rush or it's safety and then it's left tackle. Because Ozzie Tripillo's injury is serious and it can debilitate some careers in the NFL. Thank goodness he's young, so he can at least be a little more flexible, both with the body and with the timeline. But Theo Benedict is here your answer? Braxton Jones is also coming up with a contract question. So do you extend Braxton Jones like a one-year permit? What do you do?

So edge wretcher, safety, left tackle. Okay. I'm freezing in here. Because of the way you answered the back in here of that question. question is why I'm starting there with my number one priority being left tackle. I don't want any questions about this offensive line. I love the fact that the only time we had questions about the offensive line is when the left tackle went down.

To know that from one position in from the left all the way over to the right, they were good, I like that idea. Let's address left tackle off the top and let Ben Johnson's offense with Caleb Williams still developing and all those weapons he has. Let them go out there and score 30 points a game. Let's just start with that. You're going to be in all the games. you score 30 points a game.

If they score 30 points a game, they're arguably, if they average 30, doesn't that put them in the top three of the NFL? Yeah, that's the goal. Yeah. That's the goal. That's what Ben Johnson's used to as a play caller, is having an offense that is in the top three. So that's where I'm starting. Next up, just give me somebody who can get to the quarterback.

I don't care if it's an edge rusher. I don't care if it's an upgraded defensive tackle. Somebody's got to get to the quarterback. There has to be a reasonable threat that on obvious, passing downs, your dude is getting sacked. So that's number two. At least disrupt the timing. Yes.

Something. And number three, so I guess I went in reverse order? Did I go in reverse order? Safety? Did you go safety first? Safety was second for me. Okay, so same three, just in different order. I'm going to go with safety. You probably need to know who's playing at your free and your strong safety.

You probably need to know. Confidently, you ask Ryan Poles. So who's safety? on your team, any of them. Then we'll name check Kevin Byard and say we hope to bring him back. Kevin nailed the elevator pitch. Kevin Byers is going to be a savvy businessman

after he leaves the league. Why not both right now? Yeah, he could do both, absolutely. The business of Byrd has never been better. Number four. This week, the New York Post, Joel Sherman suggested that the idea of the Cubs trading second baseman Nico Horner

is still a possibility. Quote, the Cubs were open to moving Horner at points during this offseason, especially after the signing of Alex Bregman, that could allow Matt Shaw to shift to second base. Sherman goes on to say he is due $12 million for $2026 before becoming a free agent, and the Cubs could have to get a strong return considering dealing him. So Sherman also called Horner, an ideal candidate for the Yankees. So there's a possibility the Red Sox are interested in him as well. On a scale of one, to 10 on the

Hegan meter, where would you rate the likelihood of a Nico Horner trade? Three on the Hegan meter. And I'm going back to the interview that Jed Hoyer did graciously with David Haw

and Bruce Levine at Cubs Convention on Inside the Clubhouse. And I took some rough notes and he talked about the interest in trading for Nico and developing the relationships with the players who you develop when they come up with your team.

and he's like, of course teams are calling because he's really good. I have to do my job. I have to listen. That's what he told him. And he said he wouldn't be doing his job if he didn't listen. And he's right. You have to listen to every possible deal because you never know when you can get a real steel.

And we don't know every trade that's discussed. And just like we do on this show, that's what GMs do. Like they start with the ideal trade and then go from there. So I understand he's going to. going to field calls, and I know he should. But I would hope that it's got to be a really high price on somebody who is such a reliable piece of your lineup this year. And Matt Shaw, when he got regular reps, did improve.

There's no doubt about that. That's what kind of worries me as well, is how dedicated is this team to making sure Shaw gets regular reps so he stays in that hitting vein. You know, we've gotten various reports about him as to whether or not he was coachable. out through the athletic a couple weeks ago. But you've got to balance getting your established guys who are consistent who can produce good time. And then also trying to get somebody who you think has offensive promise enough reps and

enough at bats to be able to do so. Ideally for Matt Shaw, if he can learn to play, I don't know, outfield, that would help. But like, let that guy get 100 starts. Everybody doesn't need to play every day. These players aren't 22, 23 years old. that he'd be subbing in for. I think on the he-gone meter? I didn't say that right.

He-gone! There we go. There we go. How... I... Yeah. How did that happen where we said it like that at the same time? I'm a wizard. He is a wizard.

You really are. Tyler Boutabar, as my colleague Marguerty often says, truly a but... Listen, put me at a 2.5. Because could he be gone? Yes. Do I expect him be gone?

absolutely not, but you never know what's going to happen. Is there anybody who's like a zero on the Higon meter? Yes, Ian Hap. He has a no trade clause. That would be Ian Hap. I have engineered my own zero on the Higon meter. Probably Alex Bregman. Also, he just signed him.

Yes. Well, for me, he's a 0.1 because crazy things happen sometimes. Fair enough. But yeah, 2.5 is where I'm going to put it. I don't expect him to be gone. You never know what can happen. They really need to figure. it out if they can re-sign this guy and resign Nico Horner.

I like him as a cornerstone for that team, or really any team, because Nico Horner is that dude. I mean, if the Giants are like, hey, we really want him. He's from the Bay Area. We'll give you Raphael Devers. You're like, hmm, interesting. Number five. It's a ridiculous trade.

It's not real. I made it up. It's five on it on 104.3 of the score with Leila Rahimi and Marshall Harrison. We have a very pressing question for question number five. Was Pit Bull really at the Spurs Thunder game last night? Because I tuned in to that game in the fourth quarter. And it was an action-packed game. And at a certain point, before they went to a commercial break, the announcer, the camera goes to the crowd.

And there's a guy dressed like Pitbull, a bald Latino dude with sunglasses in a suit. He did resent. Oh, and, yes, Leila. The facial hair. And the, you know, the very distinct mustache. The Fumannchu combination. Yeah. The chin, the chin beard and then the mustache.

Lined up just like Pitbull. And the announcers said even Pitbull is excited or something along those lines. Like they called out Pitbull by name. The only thing about this situation is the guy was not sitting courtside. He was like up in the crowd amongst the. the jackals, what they're called, the group that Victor Weimmynama has called for to be kind of like soccer-style fans

that are constantly making noise throughout the game. Maybe you wanted an authentic NBA experience. He really does look like pit bull. Does that mean you think he is pit bull? No, because I did some work on the topic and texted my buddy Hector, who is a sportscaster in San Antonio. What did Hector say?

Hector goes, could be wrong, but I don't think that was him. Was there last night into my seat for most of the game? So he didn't see the broadcast. And the PA guy didn't recognize him. A quick check of social media doesn't show anything other than a couple of tweets asking that it was him. And I go, well, if you need a kicker, you know, like the little fun thing at the end of your show,

that might be the one because they kept calling him pit bull on the air. Thanks for letting me know. And then he goes, ESPN did? And I'm like, yeah. Yeah, it was at least one time. But it was one time enough where the camera was isolated on the man. And they said it was Pitbull. They didn't say, is this Pitbull.

They said, this is Pitbull. I wonder if the director said, that's Pitbull and he sweat with it. Or it was in a joking manner. It was not in a joking manner. It was very serious. It was like serious. Like, even Pit Bull's loving it. I mean, it could have been, but it didn't sound like it to me.

It sounded like they really thought that was Pitbull. And the other thing, as you said, Layla, when you do do the check on social media and ask the question, was Pitbull at the Spurs game, you could search the Spurs social. media accounts, don't you think if Pitbull was at the game, they would have put something out there, some kind of picture of him. They did not. That's what the Bulls do. The Bulls are like in the house. And then they'll play some clip. And then that's how you know who's in the house. Every team does it because it's the smart thing to do. So yeah, A, the man wasn't sitting courtside. Mr. Worldwide is going to have a court side seat. And B, there's no official social media pictures from the team's

account. So I think ESPN got got on that one, and they just called another Latino dude that wanted to get on camera and knew what he had to do. Dress like Pitbull, I'll get on camera. I listen to Pitbull. That's what I did. Next thing you know, they're going to be saying that Pitbull from Miami

is an American and shouldn't be performing at the halftime show. Or just Pitbull because he wears a suit and is in it off commercials qualified under corporate rock? I mean, sort of I mean, Pitbull has his own stadium now. He sure does. in Florida. That's right. That's where

Tampa plays. I think that's Tampa, yeah. If there's anybody who totally won the day on dress for the job you want, not the job you have, is it not Pitbull for constantly wearing a suit? Always. I've thought about that a lot. Club ready, meeting ready, whatever you need

ready. And I'll just end my observations of the fake pit bull by saying one word. I did ask you, was he counting to four? And I asked if he was counting to four in both English and Spanish. finished. Did I not? You did.

You did. Because if you were, then we would have really known. But he would have been Corside. I hear he's trying to make a comeback. He is going on tour. And it is, the tour is coming to Tinley Park.

He's going on a tour with Liljohn. And I'm very excited about this. I would go to that show. And the East Side Boys? No, it's just, I think it's just Lil John. Oh, okay. More details to come, I'm sure.

I also would go to that concert. Tinley Park, we got to do it. I know, we do. I'm coming up next here on Rahimi Harrison Grotie on 670 to score. We've been asking a lot of questions about the Bulls. Well, guess what? We have somebody who can answer them. Like, who's playing tonight? Julia Poe made the trip to Toronto.

She will join us next, the beat writer for the Chicago Tribute on the score. Harrison Grody. Can you imagine Lovey Smith doing the whole good, better, best thing? And saying bleep the Packers. Come on, guys, good better best. never let rest. I'll see on Tuesday. Middays 10 to 2 on 104 3, the score.

He's got 18, and all the way to the cup, an ambitious, right-handed slam, Iyo-Dosumu, in the grill of Pete Nance. Yeah, that's just running the floor. And unfortunately, Iodosumu is no longer a Chicago Bull, that courtesy of our Bulls Radio Network. We now go to the Circa Sports,

Hotline. Download the Circus Sports app today to talk about IO and more as the Bulls are busy at this trade deadline. It is the Bulls and Sky Beat writer for the Chicago Tribune. Julia Poe, who joins us from Toronto and she's on Twitch. Twitch.tv slash the Score Chicago. Hey, Julia, thanks for joining us. Hey, guys, how's it going? I just had to make sure I had not also gotten traded while this is happening. It's been a pretty crazy day here.

Julia, you would fetch a first rounder. Let's not get it twisted. Several, multiple first rounders. No second round picks for Julia Power. We're not taking in those protected picks either. We want the straight up thing. We want our entry into the lottery. Speaking of, Julia, are the Bulls tanking?

It certainly looks like it. I mean, this is as big of a deadline dump as I think a team can really do. You know, looking at the list right now, they've got, I believe, eight players total have been. sent out. They have sent out the majority of their expiring contracts. And this is what a nose dive looks like. You know, you take a lot of guys that are on expiring deals and you get them moved, some of them kind of going for a lower price tag than I think the Bulls necessarily would have wanted. And you trade arguably one of your top three best players to the team that is chasing you for a

play in tournament spot. I think that counts as, you know, committing to at least a short term tank. Yeah, Julia, that's what we're trying to. to figure out because we brought this up in our 10 o'clock hour of the show and that was fresh off of the news about I'd assume of being traded away. Part of a trade involving four second round picks and Julian Phillips and we were even discussing whether or not that was selling a little bit low when it came to IOS value. You know, what do you think of the return? Yeah, I think that the first three moves of this deadline, there's been six total. I think the first three, which were the Uchievich trade, the Herder trade, and then tagging Emmanuel Miller into that three-team deal with Sacramento for the second rounders.

All of those made a lot of sense to me. And then about midway through the week, I think the Bulls have veered in a direction that I am struggling to follow. I think that the return on Iodosimu was much lower than what there was ever an understanding of the Bulls trying to get for him. I think that the return for Kobe White was a little bit lower than and just different than what. what was expected for the Bulls to go for. And I straight up don't understand. I know it's a smaller one, but I straight up don't understand the Dalin Terry trade for Yabusei.

So I think things have gotten a little bit convoluted here, a little bit messier, maybe than preferred. And that makes this whole idea of doing a short-term tank. It makes it sting a lot harder and a lot worse when the players that are being traded away are players like I.O. and Kobe who have meant so much to this franchise. Yeah, Julia, that's a point that we were making, too. was remember this time last year at the trade deadline when Arturis Carnish of us talked about

getting nine or ten, what we gather was, depending on the word you want to use, formidable players, better than role player players, really good players, however you want to... He said really good, I think, is what he said. Really good. You know, formidable, whatever you want to say, that's higher than role player, but not max contracts. That's essentially how I took it. When you consider that message that he gave based on now what we're seeing,

you know, how do you compare and contrast the two? Yeah, I think that when you look back at kind of the timeline of the last year, it's confusing. I think if this is where the Bulls were always going to end up, which is not investing in a long-term future with Iodosunu, with Kobe White, even just with Vucovich not being usable in terms of, you know, this is a season that is now being thrown away, if this was always going to be a throwaway season and always going to be a season about truly just fully invest. in the future, why weren't these trades made a year ago? Why was, you know, I don't want to say wasting time because maybe that's a little bit harsh, but why was there this wavering over the summer and at last year's deadline of kind of needing more time to figure out if Iowa and Kobe were going to be these investment pieces? It was very clear at this point last year that they were not, that they were always going to be building block pieces, that their future was definitely not

cemented, definitely not, you know, for sure, certain the way that maybe Josh Giddy or Modis Bezellis is. I do not understand why this took so long. And I really do fear for the Bulls that they just lost a lot of value by kind of waiting a year and rolling the dice and just kind of continuing to pump the brakes in this way that has been, you know, really a calling card for Arturis Karnasovas throughout his entire time in Chicago. Julia Poe joining us from Toronto, where the Bulls will take on the Raptors tonight. We don't know exactly who's going to be available in the starting line. Maybe you can clear that up for us.

Julia, of course, the Bulls and Sky B-Writer for the Chicago Tribune. Who was there at Shootaround? And who is available as far as you know? Yeah, it is going to be a little bit of a skeleton crew, which has become very familiar over the last week. One interesting note is that Jaden Ivy is there, was able to shoot around, will be available tonight. We were able to speak with him, just get to know him a little bit better as an introduction today. heard a lot of good things from him just about kind of how he's approaching this process,

but they're going to have to call in reinforcements. You know, Mack McClung is in on a two-way contract right now. Yuki Kawamura has been playing a decent amount of minutes. This is very much just kind of a grinded out, get through type of situation as the Bulls try to get the calls in, get these deals over the line, and then get guys into town. Anthony Simons was another player who was at shoot-around this morning, and although he couldn't speak with us because the deal was not through at that time, that is another player who is physically here in Toronto and could maybe be available.

Okay, so this is where I'm confused, because I'm assuming that Simons could still be flipped. I'm assuming Ivy is a guy who is going to be here because he is a restrictor free agent. They can control his future. So walk me through this. Help me understand why the Bulls, if this is a tank, why get these players, specifically Simons, is who I'm really focused on here. I think he's a better offensive weapon than Kobe when, healthy and I think he's healthier than Kobe White is right now.

It feels like they could still win a whole bunch of games with the guys that they have right now coming back in these deals. Yeah, I think like you said, there's a little bit of time left. The Bulls are still active. They're going to be active right up until the moment that the commissioner says pencils down at 3 o'clock today. So that is something to just kind of keep in mind and keep an eye on. I think that you're definitely right that there is, I think, Ivy Simons are two players

who are a good example of, you know, definitely players who can make an impact early on. But I still think that when you look specifically at what they've done to the front court and kind of where the front court is at right now, bringing in some players like Dillingham, like Diyang, who maybe have just not been able to play very much at all in their young careers, these are situations where I do think that you're seeing the Bulls take a significant enough step back that they believe that they are going to be able to duck out of the plan tournament. but you're not wrong. This is the problem with doing all of this, the deadline.

They won too many games at the start of the year to make this a very effective tank job. Like they just can't lose enough games. I was looking at kind of the standings of that earlier. All they're doing is improving on the margins. All they are doing is moving up in the lottery as much as they can if they are committing to a tank job here. But they're not in a good situation where they can really fully like nose dive down and be competing for solid odds in the top four.

And that is a really frustrating position to put yourself in. It's just that middle ground. It's a lot of middle ground in Chicago. No, it is, Julia. And it also just, part of this is, I think, the move, the Daly and Terry Tray that you brought up, that Nets back a center who I guess would be, would he be the starting center in this case for this team?

Or do you think that ends up being Lachlan Ulrich? Like, I understand trading for a position of need. but in doing so, I think they also communicated how they feel about some of their draft picks when you consider the return. You know, that's one that I want you to dive a little deeper on with us and just think out loud as to what that was, I get it, but then I also think it's a shift when you consider how you're valuing your players or how you understand the league values them and then what you plan on doing with picks like that. Like even though Essenge comes to mind when I consider how they move Dailen. Yeah, like I said, I don't understand that one. I really am looking forward to our conversation that media will get to have with Arturis later today. I would love to get a little more insight into that one.

It does not make sense for a variety of reasons. Yabusele has a player option next year that he will absolutely pick up. He is 30, so he does not fit the timeline that the Bulls are trying to fit into of like 23 and under being the ideal age range with, you know, maybe up to 25, 26 also being cool and working in with that group. He's well outside of that. And I don't know how he fits in with this group. The Bulls have really enjoyed playing a double big lineup. They feel like that's the best version of themselves. Are you going to lean into the best version of yourself if you are trying to maybe be a little bit less competitive?

I don't know. So I think this creates a very confusing lineup where, you know, they like playing Jalen Smith at the four. They like playing Modis Bezellis at the three. if you do that, maybe that means that you're committing to, again, a 30-year-old undersized center. I do not understand this one. I'm not going to pretend to understand this one. Maybe it will make more sense if different pieces of it fall into place. But I just think that that one's a real head scratcher, honestly.

Julia, follow me with this. I think they're playing a very dangerous game of roulette, musical chairs, hot potato, however you wanted to find it because they think they can, continue to make moves before 2 o'clock. I mean, we're less than 90 minutes away from this thing being over and done with. And if they don't, if they get caught holding the proverbial bag, it's going to be very bad. And I don't think A.K. Mark Eversley and Company, they're not going to have good enough answers for what has transpired. As you said, they start off with good, prudent, regular normal GM moves,

and now it looks like they have devolved into something else entirely. Yeah, I think that we are now in the worst case scenario for any front office, which is they have to get lucky. And that is a thing that can happen. Teams get lucky very often. Look at the Dallas Mavericks. But luck is going to come into play here, which is that they are going to be able to marginally improve their draft odds. And then if that hits, and then if they actually draft well, which as Lila brought up, is not necessarily the most proven thing. in their track record so far. If they're able to do those things, then I think fans by the end of the summer

will be able to come away from this feeling a lot better. At this time, I think, and again, I know emotions are not necessarily how you need to be making decisions here, but when you look at what some of these players, Kobe Y, I, O, Dismundi, when you look at what they meant to the fan base, you want to at least be able to kind of point at it and say,

look, I know this is heartbreaking. We're going to miss these guys so much. But look at what we're doing with, their value. Look at where we are moving the franchise with that. Right now, unless something drastic changes in the next 90 minutes, I just don't think they're going to have anything that they can point to that the average Bulls fan is going to say, okay, that's worth losing Kobe and Iowa over. And that's a really, really tough spot to be in. I think what you say makes a lot of sense. And those are the two people who I think a lot of people

think of when they think about what this team looks like when it's been successful on the floor. Julia Poe, thanks for telling us who is available at shoot around. anywhere who is there maybe not media available but at least we know who's out there yeah thanks thanks guys i hope everyone's looking forward to my five minutes off the bench tonight i'm going to get up as many shock as billy let me no shoot shoot do it hey you know what i say i got six fouls to give so if you want to go ahead and take a few shots i think together we will create some sort of team thank you julia we've got this thank you guys appreciate it that's julia poe you can check out her work on blue sky she's also at the chicago tribute

of course, and she covers both the Cubs and the Cubs, the Bulls and the Sky for the Chicago Tribune. So now we at least know who's there. That's good. That's a step up. And the deal gets done. Simons is available. Ivy is available. And then the Bulls have way more firepower than they had yesterday or the last time out.

And you could argue with no fooch in the middle playing Olai defense. They could put together a better performance than you think. I'm not saying they're going to win tonight, but I wouldn't be surprised if they did. I mean, I get the, I get, I get trading for a center because you needed one in Yabuselli. But she's right. Like the age and the fact that that option gets picked up. Again. But they traded Dale and Terry.

At 10 o'clock, I wasn't as worried as I am at 1242. That's what I'm going to say about it. As the timetable turns. Hey, what are two words that really get the people going on Rahimi Harrison Grotty? Crosby Max. Or? Max Crosby? Yes.

Oh, wow. It's just the two words. You didn't say they had to be in a certain order. Yes, it's true, though. So guess who finally wrote about, well, not finally, but we've got the latest from him on Max Crosby. Is it Brad Biggs? Brad Biggs is spoken. He has gotten a Q&A about this.

And if there's one thing our listeners love, it's to try to acquire Max Crosby. So let's give the people what they want. Let's read and react to the latest from Brad Biggs about the possibility of Max Crosby coming here. Or at least we're just keeping tabs on. him. Let's all just be nosy together next. Rahimi Harrison Grody, Midday's Tyndall 2 on Chicago Sports Radio 1043, the score. He's one of the best in the league, one of the best play callers, without a doubt.

He does an incredible job in all facets of offense. You know what I mean? Like the run game, to the past game, to the trickeration, he's really got all that. He's somebody I respect a lot. I really, I can't say much bad things about him. You know what I mean? Every time you go out there against the offense led by him, like you got to be on your,

and be at your best because he's going to make it difficult. So, yeah, respect the hell out of them. That was Max Crosby on the Let's Go podcast talking about Ben Johnson. And, you know, we try to pay attention to audience feedback and audience behavior. And sometimes you learn too much. But other times you just learn that the two words that send this group, us, the Rahimi Harris Grotie Show Collective,

you into a tizzy is Max Crosby. And you know what? I kind of like it. Yeah, Ray? Where all my Maxinistas at? Yeah. Hit us up. If you're a Maxinista. I like T.J. Max and I like Maxx and I likes Max Crosby. I think that makes me a Max andista thing again, Ray. So Max andistas, I mean, that's really Layla, right? It's the T.J. Max. If you shop at T.J. Max. You're a T.J. Maxx. I love T. So we're repurposing for the Max Crosby. Because there are a lot of.

Max Crosby fans out here in our audience. And if you are one, go ahead and text us. 312, 644, 64, 67, and identify yourself as a Maxenista. Yeah, or if you just like T.J. Max, because that works too. That has the word Max. I'm more of a Marshall's guy, but hey, oh, my God. Look at you. Why didn't I not even realize that until now? I'm just telling you. Marshallista. You think I know people. Great place to pop in and grab a belt or a tie or many of those things. 7-73, yes, send Crosby to the Bulls, if only. So Brad Biggs came out with a mail bag, and we know how these things go. I think Brad is calling it a Q&A now. I think that's what the kids are calling it, because a male bag implies like physical mail. We know how that goes. So Brad Biggs is up the title to Q&A, and we know what happens. He will sneak in breaking news on you or a big news nugget. And I didn't get to the big news nugget because I, like our listenership, stopped at Max Cross. So here is the question that was asked. I believe Max Crosby is too much risk for the bears.

Injuries cost to get him in age. Do you agree that there are better moves the bears can make for pass rusher? And then there's a picture and everything. So Biggs replied, Crosby, who turns 29 in August, is an elite disruptive player, who is one of the most incredible motors you'll ever see on a man who is 6'5 and 255 pounds.

And now I feel like reading who's your guy. Now I feel like that's what I'm doing. He's a tremendous theater for the NFL, and while from a distance, he looks like the kind of guy who could spend his entire career in a Raiders uniform Crosby's potential availability via trade will be a huge story this off season. Does Las Vegas with a new coach and the number one draft pick go full tear down and ship off the face of the franchise to the highest bidder? Last week at the Senior Bowl, I chatted with a handful of veteran personnel meant about the possibility that Crosby could be available. They said what you'd expect, nothing would surprise. then. Hmm.

On the Higon meter, is it starting to to percolate a little bit? 8.5. 8.5. They were also in agreement that given the choice between Crosby and Cincinnati Bengals' free agent

defensive end, Trey Hendrickson, they would choose Crosby. I think that's settled, right? I feel like that's everybody's theory. It's not an apples-to-apples comparison, though,

because Crosby would require trade compensation. Would Las Vegas consider moving Crosby. One thing the Raiders do not need this offseason is Capspace. They're number two of the league now in available space. The feeling I got was that people aren't concerned

the knee surgery Crosby had at the end of the season will negatively affect his production moving forward. But these people haven't had their team doctors examine medical records for Crosby himself. He goes on to talk about his stats. And then he says the Bears would need to have legitimate

internal conversations about any player of Crosby's ability who is available, if any are available. But my intuition is that general manager Ryan Poles would have a hard time bundling two first round draft picks or something close to that to acquire Crosby. If the price is lower, then

it would be an intriguing option. Please don't think current Bears players who might not be great. Salary cap fits could be valuable trade pieces in a bid to acquire Crosby. Okay, that's what I've been saying all along. I firmly believe this is Bigsy. if the Raiders shop Crosby,

they'll be looking for a big time return in draft capital. So throw out the idea of a DJ Moore headed that way. Well, he said, no, he just talked about the, yeah, oh yeah, great salary cap fits. Naturally, I was thinking defensive line. Yeah, they've got all that salary cap space, which made me think, okay, DJ Moore is someone who they might absorb for, I don't know, a young quarterback who just came off a national championship

and a Heisman and Fernando Mendoza. But I understand it. But I will say this. If it's too first and you expect to be good, that means your first will be in the late 20s, maybe even the early 30s. I mean, you ideally wanted to be like what the Packers gave up to get Micah Parsons, right? Probably not getting that deal, though.

No. Yeah. Because the level of talent Parsons is at a higher point in his career than Crosby. But you never know until you ask. Everybody's in a different situation is what we're finding out here as teams are trying to take that next step and clearly if you're trying to get Max Crosby

you're trying to take a big step. But Brad's right, it's just not as flexible even in today's salary cap where you are more flexible and you do have more money. The bears are not as flexible as they have been in past years to be able to get this done.

It would be amazing and wonderful and rainbows and all those things. But he's right. Like this is the reasonable take. Who's trying to be reasonable at a time like this? I know. 859 says I can already see big Max value meals at Chicago area McDonald's. See?

See? Does that sound reasonable? No, it doesn't. Sounds like a Maxinista. Oh, yeah. We got a few Maxinista texts. Hell yeah. Thanks, Maxinistas.

You know who I think also probably appreciates Max Crosby talent? Our next guest. And he might even just be an actual T.J. Max Maxxinista. I know he goes to Taco Bell. Kevin Harlan. joins us next on Rahimi Harrison Grotie on 1043, The Score.