NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Monday night was just a hang-out, share the feelings session. Tuesday it was a trip to Top Golf. Mix in numerous team dinners, and a scheduled visit to the Tennessee Titans facility on Friday, and all that was missing from Bulls training camp this week was a bonfire, someone strumming the guitar, and “Kumbaya” filling the night sky.
But there has been a method to the madness of this destination training camp, and veteran DeMar DeRozan was a key figure in why it went down.
Back in his days with the Raptors, DeRozan & Co. seldom held training camp in Toronto. It was usually off to cities like Vancouver and Montreal, just to get away from the city where players would spend most of the season.
“That was a big part of our success, quite honestly,’’ DeRozan said of that methodology. “On those trips, we did a lot of stuff that we probably wouldn’t do if we were at home just practicing. And that carried over to the season as far as having each other’s backs.
“That’s why I was all for it. I’m going to be honest, I always hated training camp in the city you played in. We’re going to be in Chicago half the year. So why not just get away going into the season to try to lock in?’’
DeRozan’s other point was there have been too many training-camp moments at the Advocate Center where guys put in the practice and then simply went home to their lives. This week hasn’t allowed that. With planned team functions almost every night, eventually heart-to-heart conversations have to go down.
Just what this roster needed.
It’s been easy to point out all the weaknesses of this group the past few seasons, especially with the core of DeRozan, Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic having just one playoff game win since coming together.
To a man, however, the biggest off-the-court concern has been an inability to really be honest with each other.
“They’re really good guys and all have good relationships, but there’s a different kind of connection that you have to have in your job to be really, really good,’’ coach Billy Donovan said. “I think that was something they all felt they needed to be better at.’’
It didn’t take newcomer Torrey Craig very long to notice what Donovan was talking about.
The veteran has only spent a few weeks of scrimmage time with the group and now four days of training camp together, and admitted that he could tell the group needed some toughness in that how-to-talk-to-each-other department.
“Obviously a lot of great talent on the floor,’’ Craig said. “Now it’s about trying to find that edge. Being honest with each other is a good start.’’
That’s why the Patrick Beverely departure may hurt a bit if newcomers Craig and Jevon Carter can’t pick up the slack. According to Donovan, Beverley came in last February and instantly forced guys to get together off the court.
“One of the things we talked about (this offseason) is we’re bringing back the same group so we have to do something different,’’ Donovan said. “It’s not just about going to dinner. It’s about having conversations about really what they need from each other as teammates, how they can help one another.
“We have to communicate well on the stuff that matters. Sometimes they’re not always going to be easy. They’ll be difficult. It’s not personal. They all want to win and come together and figure out ways to do that. But the more they can connect with one another to have those conversations, I think the easier it is.”
