Salmons’ role has changed with Bulls

The walk from the Arco Arena floor to the loading dock where the visiting team’s bus routinely parks is a short one.

But that didn’t keep former Kings swingman John Salmons from losing his way Tuesday, veering more toward his old team’s nearby practice facility before realizing the error of his ways.

He’s Chicago’s property now, an eight-year pro who was afforded his best opportunity yet when the Kings traded him and Brad Miller in a six-player deal in February. As his Bulls bosses have learned early on this season, they need Salmons to stay on track if they’re going to go down a road similar to the one they took late last season.

After the Bulls went 17-11 with Salmons and Miller, they pushed Boston to seven games in a first-round playoff series that lacked neither style nor substance. Salmons played as big as any of his new teammates at many of the most crucial times, averaging 18.1 points in the series. His 35 points in the Game 2 victory in Chicago helped make it clear this would be no Celtics rout.

The Bulls are 6-6, and there is much talk in the Windy City about Salmons’ slow start and how the team’s offensive game isn’t yet what it was before.

Salmons entered Saturday’s game shooting just 35.7 percent overall and 32.7 percent from three-point range. His scoring is down (14.4 points per game after 18.3 last season), which is not surprising given that the defensive attention paid to him is up.

“We need him to play at a high level,” Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro said. “And I expect him to.”

The changes around Salmons have certainly played a part, as the Bulls lost scoring machine Ben Gordon via free agency to Detroit and opposing defenses feel far too comfortable filling the lanes to slow second-year point guard Derrick Rose. There has been a position change of sorts, too. Salmons mostly played small forward last season because of an injury to incumbent three-man Luol Deng but is now the team’s starting shooting guard.

Salmons said the overall outlook remains rosy, with his age (he’ll be 30 on Dec. 12) and place in life (he and his wife recently had their first daughter after having their first son 17 months before) helping him handle the inevitable ups and downs.

“The Windy City is cool,” said Salmons, who had 23 points in the Bulls’ win over the Kings on Tuesday. “Coming to Sacramento, when I first came here, I saw that as a blessing. Being here (in Sacramento) definitely helped me to grow as a person, as a player.

“But (the playoffs with Chicago) was part of the blessing of going there. Being able to play in a playoff series, let alone play in one like that. I grew up a lot, learned a lot about myself that I couldn’t have learned in Sacramento just because we weren’t in that position. It was definitely fun.”

Recent struggles aside, Salmons has never felt so validated as a player. Not in his four seasons in Philadelphia, when the presence of the league's longest shadow – otherwise known as Allen Iverson – meant Salmons would never have a prominent role. And not in Sacramento, where Salmons' production reached career-high levels in his twoplus Kings seasons but he was hardly part of a successful core.

“I think people know who I am now,” Salmons said. “Are they 100 percent sold (on his abilities)? I don’t know, but people know who I am.”



(rotoinfo.com)