There’s no replacing Stacey King, but the Bulls will have to try.
King, the team’s longtime TV analyst, shockingly died June 7 at 59. After their Summer League season ends Friday, the Bulls’ next games will come in October in the preseason. Chicago Sports Network figures to carry them, so the Bulls will need an analyst in place.
No one will be able to duplicate King’s enthusiasm and catchphrases, and that’s OK. No one would expect that. But because of the enormous shoes the next analyst will fill, the Bulls are leaning toward using several analysts this season to ease the pressure on them, the Sun-Times has learned.
That would be prudent. The Bulls didn’t think they needed to keep a list of potential successors to King, and because he rarely missed a game, he didn’t have backups like play-by-play partner Adam Amin does.
But there are plenty of options. Requirements aren’t set in stone, but pluses include having played for the Bulls, having won a championship and having Chicago ties. Bulls president and CEO Michael Reinsdorf and executive vice president for brand and public affairs Susan Goodenow will make the final decision.
If the Bulls go the rotation route in hopes that a fan favorite emerges, they’ll need to avoid making the mistake the Blackhawks made when they auditioned successors to Hall of Famer Pat Foley several years ago. All the different voices annoyed fans and took away from the broadcasts. A rotation of three or four analysts over 82 games could work for the Bulls.
That said, they’ll be forced to use two replacements when Amin misses time in the first half of the season to call NFL games for Fox. An analyst with national commitments could pose scheduling problems for the Bulls, requiring them to have backups for both play-by-play and analyst roles. Amin, whose profile is growing nationally, has two years left on his Bulls contract.
Here’s a list of candidates to be a Bulls TV analyst, including my personal pick (hey, it’s my job):
Kendall Gill
The longtime Bulls studio analyst has never been a game analyst. If he wants to give it a shot, now’s the time. Gill has always provided outstanding analysis in the studio, and he tells it like it is. The Chicago native, former “Flyin’ Illini” star and 15-year NBA veteran played one season for the Bulls, in 2003-04. Otherwise, expect Gill to be back in the studio with host Cam Smith.
Robbie Hummel
The Bulls are interested, and Hummel is interested — but it probably won’t work. Hummel, one of the best analysts around, has too many national commitments calling college basketball to make himself available to the Bulls permanently. A package of games as part of a rotation might work, but for the full-time job, Hummel would have to take a pay cut to come here. The Valparaiso, Indiana, native filled in on Bulls TV and radio in 2022.
Sarah Kustok
The Chicago-area native and former DePaul player began her broadcasting career at Comcast SportsNet Chicago. She became the first female full-time analyst for an NBA team’s local TV broadcasts in 2017, when the YES Network promoted her for Nets games. Kustok also calls the WNBA for NBC and USA. She’s a star in the business. Would she want to come home? The Bulls would love to have her.
Will Perdue
He’s my pick, and he checks all the boxes. He was on the Bulls’ first three-peat teams, he was fantastic on the studio shows with Gill and former host Jason Goff and he was a game analyst before, having worked with the late, great Jim Durham. The Bulls might bristle at his criticism, but that’s what fans want. Broadcasters can’t pull the wool over fans’ eyes in Chicago; they’ll get called out. Of everyone on this list, Perdue would fit in seamlessly.
Scott Williams
Another member of the Bulls’ first three-peat teams, Williams is the analyst for Grand Canyon University in Phoenix and ESPN’s college basketball coverage out west. Previously, he was a TV analyst for the Cavaliers, Bucks and Suns. Williams has a personality similar to King’s that could endear him to fans quickly. He’s also a motivational speaker, which could come in handy during another rough season.
Remote patrol
Two of the White Sox’ three games this weekend against the Blue Jays will appear on streaming services.
The game at 6:15 p.m. Friday will air on Apple TV, with Alex Faust, analyst Eric Hosmer and reporter Tricia Whitaker on the call. The game at 11:15 a.m. Sunday will air on Peacock, with Dave Flemming, analysts Dan Plesac and Caleb Joseph (a former Jays catcher) and reporter John Fanta on the call. That game will simulcast on NBC Sports Network.
• The Cubs’ Marquee Sports Network will air the dedication of the Champions Gate outside Wrigley Field live at 10 a.m. Saturday. It will be replayed at 11.
• Jon Sciambi, analysts Eduardo Perez and Adam Ottavino and reporter Buster Olney will call the Tigers-Cubs game at 7:10 p.m. Wednesday on ESPN. “Baseball Tonight” will precede it at 6.
• Jack McMullen, the Marlins’ radio voice and The Score host Matt Spiegel’s nephew, was named the lead voice for the CW’s coverage of the Mountain West, which now includes NIU.
