Chisoxfn

Beautiful!

Add Patrick Beverly on the room MLE and you increase your depth a lot.

They could always flip Porter elsewhere (say in a Conley Jr. deal). That said, Buckets can play point guard a bit and Porter can defend the 3 and in the modern NBA can also play the 4 a bit as well. It isn't a normal lineup but if you had Butler, Lavine, Porter, Mark, and Carter Jr, you should be a pretty good defensive team and you have a number of guys who can bring up the ball (albeit no natural point guard). I won't project championships with that roster and I could see it being challenging at times, but I could also see it working and being pretty solid (and from there you hope the younger guys grow and / or you eventually deal a few of the other players for another star via trade).

As Jimmy Bucket's #1 fan, I find it interesting that Boylan and Buckets reportedly had dinner yesterday. I'm sure it was more the two of them catching up than anything to do with the Bulls making a play to bring Jimmy back.

That is where I think Conley differentiates (vs. a Collison). I agree with you that the above lineup is tough and very dependent on Lavine, Lauri and WCJ's future. But that roster is missing the 7th overall pick (cause I'm not trading that for Collison).

Robert is going to be a transformational star if he stays healthy. Eloy will win a batting title and regularly contend for batting titles. People don't appreciate just how good those two guys are. The beauty of Robert is he'll also be very valuable in the field. IF they are healthy I don't see anything getting in the way of either of those prognosis. Moncada will be a, at worse, well above average guy, and given his OBP capabilities, power and ability to field, he too could be Robert (albeit, I put better odds on Robert because I think he is more elite defensively). The fact that you also have Tim Anderson, in addition to those players, gives me a lot of hope because that is four guys who are very valuable. I won't comment on McCann and whether he can maintain, but he looks like a starting catcher. I am more optimistic on the Sox than most, but I actually think this year has gone way better than expectations, even though Rodon and some other prospects have struggled. I can't project out Collins and others because I could see them working out but I could also just see someone like Collin's bat speed not being enough and him just being a lousy player (who if he is stuck at 1B just doesn't play). Madrigal I see being a league average guy at worse, because I think he'll do enough little things that play and if the hit tool comes around (like it can) he becomes one of those sneaky good players (who is probably always underrated by metrics) but when you surround him with the other guys I mentioned, great. And than there is Tillson, Rutherford, Cordell, etc. The big wildcard to me is the rotation as I have no idea how that could go. While Rodon is injured, Lopez and Gio have flashed ability to be middle of the rotation guys (they could also be too inconsistent and end up not either). I doubt either is a top of the rotation guy, but it could happen, this year will tell us a lot more (imo). The key to me is how good Cease and Kopech are as they both could be aces, but that is a major questionmark and then you need to find depth around them (cause pitchers get hurt). I don't know if they'll end up having the elite pitching which might require them to trade for it and/or get it via free agency (and that is hard to do). But in this league, the most important part of making the playoffs is having a good lineup (which I think they are well on their way to doing) and a deep rotation filled with a number of quality guys (they don't have to be great, but depth is huge as it will enable you to win a lot of games surrounded by a good lineup). That same depth might not put you over the top in the playoffs, but the first step is getting into the post-season regularly. At that point you need to be hot and having front of the rotation aces who can win games on their own becomes key in increasing your chances at ultimate success.

I'll just go on record as saying, I'm cautiously optimistic on the Bulls offseason and more importantly the type of player they could get @ 7. I think White, Culver and Reddish (not to mention Garland...albeit I'll downplay him due to his injury and limited scouting) could all turn into very good players. Sure they could also bust, but there are components about any one of them that could lead them to be better than say Ja Morant (who I think has a high upside but also a risk element to him).

If you acquire Conley, you have an MLE so that gets you another player plus you still have your 7th draft pick (and have not even dealt Dunn...albeit to get Conley they might have to give some of those pieces in addition to Felicio). They also didn't have Porter for most of the year and that is a big issue. Their depth was also artificially lower because of "tanking". Note: If Bulls acquire Conley, I'm hoping they get Reddish. I like his game enough and think his ability to shoot can ultimately turn him into a Klay type of guy. Not saying he will be that guy...but I could see it happen. I think he is underrated given the other two stars he played next two and I like his game from an NBA perspective. I actually think even if they didn't get Conley, I still lean to Reddish.

Is Mike Conley a tolerable PG or one of the better PG's in the league. I guess that is the question.

Separately, do people buy into the Bulls being a pretty good team with a Conley at the point. Very well rounded player, strong leader and vet presence (for the young guys we do have). And if an opportunity develops, you can move a Porter plus other pieces to land a bigger fish over time. First they need to get to respectability.

Kobe tried it. Bulls just weren't able to pull it off. People act like the Bulls haven't had legit shots at superstars, when they were good...they were in everyone's conversation to land the big free agents. They swung and missed. Right now...they are on no ones list though. Why because they suck.

I presume Memphis will keep the 2nd pick, but I wonder if the Bulls make a very strong play to go up and grab Ja (if after they finish their scouting they determine he is a generational guy). If so, do they offer Dunn, this years 1st, plus next years first + ?. I don't know that Memphis does that (Bulls probably need to offer another future 1st, which is risky), but this is probably the last year the Bulls will be this awful (they might still be bad). Than again, with the lottery odds flatter, being on the back of the lottery isn't necessarily bad either (you at least have a better shot of moving on up). Based upon the Bulls roster construction, if there was a year to be ultra aggressive, this would be the year. I don't know Memphis to know where they stand in their rebuilt and what other pieces they have, but they might still be earlier in the asset accumulation phase where moving down isn't a bad thing (especially since they have Conley, who is still very good, but has a large contract). The alternative is the Bulls move Felicio and any other spare parts and just trade for Conley (who I presume Memphis would move purely to clear cap space). Know you've sunk your cap space for 2 more years (Porto and Conley) if you are the Bulls and roll with that. The move absolutely puts the Bulls in a playoff spot, albeit, their flexibility will be a bit hampered and I don't know how good that team could be, but it absolutely should be a playoff team. Conley is a massive upgrade (presuming he can stay on the floor and doesn't have any known LT injury concerns (I know he has had a couple seasons recently where he's missed some games due to injury). As I type this...I'd have to kind of say, Conley might be the Bulls most realistic path. I don't know how they position from there to a true contender, probably very dependent on the growth of Lavine, Laurie, Wendell and I don't think any of them are stars. They would have a ton of well rounded pieces and than you just have to hope with the team being much better, at some point a superstar forces his way to Chicago (and you move some of the pieces to get said player).

Bulls reportedly interested in Rozier and/or Beverly. Both would be nice additions. Rozier could have some upside and will be interesting if he sticks around Boston. He shined in the post-season last year when Kyrie was out.

Would be smart if they did it.

It will be interesting to see what the team does. I have to think trading the 7th pick is on the table and obviously they are going to look at free agency to get them better (but they are highly unlikely to be players for any of the big guys). The one potential exception would be Kemba.