A lot has happened in the NBA over the last couple weeks. Free agency exploded and then, finally, slowed just a bit as the new influx of revenue began to trickle down to seemingly every free agent as Summer League play ended. The Summer of Spending!

Either way, let's move on to your (real and imagined) questions in the CSNChicago.com mailbag.

(Send your questions to vgoodwill@comcastsportsnet. Some questions may be shortened for the sake of brevity or convenience.)

Question: Kevin Durant going to the Golden State Warriors has certainly upset the balance of power in the NBA, creating one of those dreaded “superteams” that everybody seems to hate. I mean, I don’t like it. Or maybe I do, I’m not sure. Either way, how will all 30 teams enter the season feeling like they can compete for a championship when two of the three best players in the game decide to team up together? Nervous in New York, A. Silver.

Answer: Well, Adam, I mean, “A”, there’s nothing Durant’s transition from Oklahoma City to the Bay Area has realistically changed aside from weakening the Thunder. The contenders are still the same: the Cavaliers in the East, with the Warriors and Spurs in the West.

In a given year, there are only three to five title contenders, realistically. Others will masquerade as contenders with decent regular seasons, but the exclusive room is exclusive for a reason.

Pick a year, pick an era, the results are usually the same with small degrees of variance. In case fans didn’t know, the records of all the games played in a given season add up to the same number of wins and losses.

Everybody can’t be good, or even great.

And even if you’re good, it doesn’t mean you’re a championship contender. Take 2001 for instance. A record seven teams won at least 50 games in the Western Conference, while Minnesota came within three wins of hitting that mark as well.

But only San Antonio and Los Angeles were realistic contenders in that season, which if memory and the history books and every other metric of time that marks it serves us correctly saw the Lakers run through every team in the Western Conference playoffs, going undefeated until the Finals.

It’s lone loss was to Philadelphia and Allen Iverson in the opening game of the Finals.

But Sacramento (55 wins), Dallas (53), Utah (53), Phoenix (51) and Portland (50) all had a realistic chance at winning a ring, right?

Wrong, and it didn’t produce record ratings or record interest for the league, either. You can’t fool a smart fan, regardless of a winning percentage.

But bringing it back to the present, Durant has taken hits as if he’s supposed to bear the responsibility of ensuring competitive balance in the NBA.

One player?

No one man should have all that power, especially when it takes until Year 10 to actually have freedom of movement to make a decision for where he wants to play. I understand Mr. Silver was speaking more for the majority of the owners he works for as opposed to his own feelings or even what’s best for the league, but the best ratings in the NBA Finals since David Stern took over as commissioner starting in the 1984-85 season usually featured some type of “superteam.”

— 1998 (Bulls-Jazz), superteam featuring a 6-foot-6 Superman.

— 1988 (Lakers-Pistons), superteams with some guys named Magic, Kareem and Isiah.

— 1993 (Bulls-Suns), Superman again.

— 2016 (Cavs-Warriors)

So the numbers show us that fans tune in for these “superteams” when it’s critical to the league that the most eyes are paying attention.

So with that said ... see you in June, KD.

[WATCH: Denzel Valentine hits game-winner in Summer League championship]

Question: (Denzel) Valentine has looked decent on offense, unselfish player, always makes the smart decision and a pass-first guy who can shoot the 3. But his (defense) is not very good, his lack of athleticism is hurting him. It just stands out as a whole. Can he get better on that end? The Bulls already have way too many one-way players. Jesse.

Answer: Jesse, Valentine’s lack of athleticism isn’t something that’s necessarily new to him, so I wouldn’t worry about that. His medicals could pose an issue later in his career with the wear and tear on his surgically repaired knee, but most league officials see that as something that won’t factor in early.

Also, he’s a rookie. You can’t put the ills of the Bulls’ roster on him as he walks in the door, especially as the 14th pick. The Bulls do have a lot of one-way players, but that’s a job for coach Fred Hoiberg to figure out who will play where and how.

Having a versatile guy like Valentine on the bench, who can develop at his own pace, isn’t a negative thing. Defense will always be a concern, but the Bulls will do better by not having him defend from the top of the key against point guards.

If (IF!) he can master the angles and become a decent enough help-side defender, not getting completely lost when rotations are moving from double-teams in the post, he’ll be fine in time.

And also, putting any kind of long-term expectations or proclamations based on what happens in Summer League is a recipe for disaster borne out of boredom.

Say it with me: It’s just Summer League.

[MORE: Bulls' Doug McDermott puts Victor Oladipo on a poster]

Question: The NBA slightly amended the “Hack-A” rules, and my favorite owner in Dallas voted against the slight rules changes by saying, "rewarding incompetence is never a good business strategy," in reference to the handful of bad free-throw shooters in the NBA. They should’ve just left the rules as-is, right? Mark C, in Texas.

Answer: Mark, sorry to disappoint you, but you’re right and wrong at the same time. For the NBA to amend the current rule, saying teams can’t intentionally foul off the ball for the last two minutes of each quarter as opposed to the last two minutes of each half, is so useless they would’ve been better off not changing anything.

It won’t stop the “Hack-a-Shenanigans” at all, meaning coaches will tell their players to keep fouling the likes of Andre Drummond and DeAndre Jordan off the ball without any thought to flow of the game.

Nobody wants to see that, and those that do, I wonder if they have some perverse fascination with watching professional athletes struggle on a large stage. That’s like putting Aaron Rodgers at cornerback or turning Adrian Peterson into a field-goal kicker.

It’s a cop-out for coaches and for the league, it’s a weak-willed half-step to something as opposed to taking a hard stand on something that seriously detracts from the quality of the game.

Nobody is saying Drummond or Jordan shouldn’t continue to work on their free-throw shooting, or that teams shouldn’t foul those guys when they’re underneath the basket ready to throw down a dunk.

No, foul them and make sure they don’t embarrass you on the way down. That’s in the flow of the game. That sends them to the foul line. That doesn’t distract from the quality of the game.

And the league has done things to ensure certain players’ weaknesses weren’t being exposed on a grand stage by amending rules or stringently enforcing them. Ever hear of the hand-check? Players who couldn’t dribble or get their own shot were often shackled by physical defenders who restricted movement and put them on punishment ... until the league put a point of emphasis on freedom of movement about 10 years ago.

Guys who couldn’t dribble all of a sudden became valuable stand-still shooters who didn’t have to worry about being hassled at the top of the key. Scoring opened up more, and pace-and-space has become in vogue.

It’s the same sentiment here, and those who disagree with me about the hack-a-shenanigans ... yes, you’re wrong.

[MORE: Bulls' Bobby Portis named to All-NBA Summer League First Team]

Question: Do you see the Bulls eventually starting Bobby Portis this season? And if so what position: power forward or center? Mega Tony.

Answer: Tony, Portis’ status is a very interesting proposition, and it’s likely at the top of Hoiberg’s dossier come training camp. Injuries will happen, so he will play and play more than he did last season, and his body has improved from last season when it was hard to get consistent time.

But where does he fit?

I wouldn’t say at center because Robin Lopez is penciled in as starter and Cris Felicio could start for more than a few teams this season. They’re set at the pivot.

At power forward is where things get tricky — or fun, depending on how you look at it.

Taj Gibson, Nikola Mirotic and Portis will battle for minutes, with Gibson being so necessary because he’s their most solid frontcourt player as well as being a stout post defender.

Mirotic will get minutes because the Bulls are in desperate need of perimeter shooting with Jimmy Butler, Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo slated to take up space and time on the floor — and opening up driving lanes is critical.

Mirotic’s struggles on the defensive end will probably limit him to playing far more at power forward than small forward, and the Bulls only have Mirotic and Doug McDermott as knockdown shooters.

Which leaves Portis, who’s shown so much energy and an improving polish with his back to the basket as well as his outside shot, with a question mark.

He slipped to 22nd in the draft in 2015, executives have told CSNChicago.com in recent days, because of a lack of explosion at the rim and an inconsistent outside shot.

The explosion has improved a little bit, and the shot looks more fluid now than it did last season — which makes him valuable to Hoiberg.

But where he fits compared to the Bulls’ needs in the frontcourt will make things interesting come camp, should the personnel stay as-is.

[SHOP: Gear up, Bulls fans!]

Question: Vincent, do you think the NBA D-League is how the league will seek to find NBA-level talent on discounted contracts?

One other note, I feel dedicated NBA fans will appreciate the opportunity presented by the D-League as it allows us to play the role of a “scout.” I might be one of very few who is a season-ticket holder for both the Bulls and the Windy City Bulls, but I cannot wait till the start of both seasons.

Go Bulls, Go LeBron! (Very confusing I know, but it is what it is.)

All the best,

Robert

Answer: Robert, you’ve said a mouthful, but it’s interesting nonetheless. The D-League is always a way to find diamonds in the rough without having to pay free-agent prices, and there’s been discussion about the D-League salaries being raised with the infusion of revenue to the NBA.

Teams will always use leverage on players who don’t have a track record to get them to agree to team-friendly deals in order to evaluate them in a year without having the stress of long-term ramifications, that’s not new.

But with the salary cap, you wonder if teams will scour the D-League more this season in preparation for the increase of money next summer, i.e. signing D-League guys to low-market deals during the season to free up space for bigger names in the summer, before the bidding war gets underway.

And I wouldn’t be surprised if you weren’t the only “scout” who spends time on Madison Street as well as in Hoffman Estates to see the Windy City Bulls. Everyone is a talent evaluator nowadays.

And as for your “Go Bulls, Go LeBron” statement ... weird, very weird.