Chicago Bulls

Bulls' Tristan Thompson Talks Ties to Derrick Rose, Chuck Swirsky

Thompson talks Bulls ties, from D-Rose to Chuck Swirsky originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

MIAMI — Tristan Thompson’s pre-Chicago Bulls career is filled with plenty of ties to the franchise.

He grew up in Brampton, Ontario, where general manager Marc Eversley played high school basketball, and worked out for the Toronto Raptors when Eversley served as that franchise’s assistant general manager.

As a Raptors fan, he listened to Chuck Swirsky on the call and played youth basketball in Toronto with Chuck’s son, T.C., who now is a coach for the Memphis Hustle in the G League.

And perhaps most memorably, he is the Cleveland Cavalier who closely contested Derrick Rose’s iconic buzzer-beating 3-pointer in Game 3 of the 2015 Eastern Conference semifinals at the United Center.

“I was right in his grill. And he shot it from like two, three feet behind the 3-point line. So I thought it was a good contest,” Thompson said following the Bulls’ morning shootaround in advance of Monday’s game against the Heat. “Just a great player making a big-time play.”

Thompson then paused and smiled.

“But it worked out for us next game when LeBron (James) hit that corner [game-winner],” he said. “We got them right back.”

Indeed, James’ baseline jumper over Jimmy Butler directly in front of Tom Thibodeau and the Bulls’ bench and off an inbounds pass from Matthew Dellavedova knotted a series the Cavaliers claimed in six games.

“Thibs was screaming take away the baseline,” Thompson said. “They didn’t.”

Thompson averaged 9.2 points and 11.3 rebounds while playing a huge role in that series, logging 37 minutes per game for a Cavaliers team without Kevin Love.

“Oh man, that series was amazing,” Thompson said. “K-Love was out with a shoulder injury. Kyrie (Irving) was dealing with tendinitis. So a lot of the time Delly (Matthew Dellavedova) was our point guard and played off the ball. I had to step up and play more minutes. Me and (Timofey) Mozgov going two-big lineup, which people haven’t seen for a long time. But it worked out for us.”

That postseason marked Thompson’s first taste of playoff basketball and he talked fondly about the experience of guarding established players like Pau Gasol, Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson.

“The United Center energy was amazing,” Thompson said. “That was opportunity for me to make my name in this league.”

And now it has come full circle with Thompson getting this opportunity to try to help the Bulls make an extended playoff run. With 83 games of playoff experience, he owns more than any player on the roster and, along with Alex Caruso, has won a championship.

“I’m very blessed for this opportunity. There’s nothing like playing for a team that has winning and competing at a high level as its aspirations,” he said. “Obviously, I know what putting on a Bulls jersey represents, all the greatness before us. Just trying to continue that going.”

Speaking of full circle, Thompson grew up listening to Swirsky on the ball for Canadian stations like TSN and SportsNet. Now, Swirsky describes his actions for Bulls games broadcast by the flagship station, WSCR-670 AM.

“I remember Chuck when I was a kid. I played youth ball with T.C. Me being a kid, watching Raptors games on TSN and SportsNet, Chuck would always say, ‘Here’s the salami and cheese,’” Thompson said, referencing one of Swirsky’s known phrases.

“You know Chuck is a legend back home. He’s a big man on campus in Toronto. So it’s just crazy how basketball works and comes around full circle. I used to hear Chuck on TV and just wish I could be an NBA player one day, to now having him broadcast my games.”

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