Chisoxfn

Ignore my original post. Deal makes way more sense now. I literally thought Cleveland traded BAUER for Puig.

Why? Why the hell didn’t sox find a way to get in on this. I’d take Bauer for next year.

Is he related to Ben Sheets?

Really?

The one thing we don't want is for him to fall of a cliff at the end of the year. I think we will see him bounce back and then he'll go into this off-season with more confidence and more time to continue to refine and tighten his improved mechanics (more from just the pure muscle memory perspective, etc). What I'd like to see is him grind through this year, with a nice finish, with a good offseason where he comes back next year adding back in his dominant curve to the mix. That is what will put Gio over the top (in terms of being a next level...true front-end (#1/#2 pitcher).

And the key point is...I wouldn't bet on all of these things, but what the Bulls can control is building up a young team that can contend, while maintaining flexibility. Focus on that and continuing to get better (while maintaining flexibility) and be aggressive when the opportunity strikes. I fully believe that Pax can do the first part...it is the bolded part that will be interesting to see as I think we've always been a bit more gun shy (and to some extent with good reason as they are probably too cautious on the "maintain flexibility" since the fear is if you bet wrong where you go aggressive, you don't capitalize). I also think people don't recognize that you can't just will things happen.

I am not ready to say it will happen, but build a good team with nice assets and flexibility and at least you have a chance. Odds are Davis & Bron crush it next year, but we don't know, Lebron truly could finally have age catch up to him and if that happened, all of a sudden, fans could get testy, etc, and things could go south fast. I wouldn't bet on this happening (as Lebron had his first long off-season in forever and should be coming in extremely fresh) but you just don't know. No one would have predicted what happened this past off-season a year ago. On a side note, I have seen some cap experts who have indicated Bulls could clear space (without Porter opting out) for a max contract. It would involve moving a lot of guys and probably surrounding a pick to dump Felicio, etc. But it is absolutely doable while maintaining Porter, Lavine, Mark, White.

What about muni bonds? There are some relatively low risk funds that should have minimal downside and tax adjusted could get you 4 percent or so.

Very rarely do teams win via free agency. Doesn't mean free agency can't be part of the plan, but don't expect it to be the catalyst to greatness. Expecting that, vs. player development, good drafting, and proactive trading is fools gold. I very much see the squad being aggressive in going after guys with a few years left (vs. going and handing out 7 yr deals to a starting pitcher).

The one Garland pitched in at Angel stadium?

And for those that are going to blame on that side, there is always the fact that the Sox were more comfortable with Christopher Sale's delivery than others and were able to land a guy who is a likely HOFer because of it.

Or maybe they just thought he needed some time to see the major leagues, get some game action, while learning how to work with pitchers, etc. Development is a marathon vs. a sprint.

Plus it’s been barely any games. It is worth giving him time to learn etc. the overreactions some people have on this board is just crazy. Especially for a team that isn’t contending this year.

I am okay grabbing a starting pitcher who can help us in the long-term during the deadline (at the right cost). Not sure that we'll be able to jump in and buy at the right price though.

I think it is clear that they also can't just rely on free agency, they need to do everything they can to continously make the team better (while maintaining flexibility) and they have to be able to pivot and capitalize when a player gets disgruntled. We don't know who the next disgruntled star will be, but it will happen again and the Bulls need to ensure they are a team that a player would be interested in going while having the flexibility and assets to be able to make a move.

I didn't imply Bulls are getting him..but more players potentially out there in a year where the Bulls should be a pretty solid team with cap space...the better. I haven't seen one good NBA analyst knock one thing the Bulls did this off-season. In fact, Lowe has been extremely complimentary of their entire off-season as well as the roster build-up. For being 2 years and a month removed from the Jimmy Butler trade...they have actually adjusted much quicker than most organizations who went down this path.

Bulls 2021 plan gets a little more interesting with Kwahi ending up on a 2+1 deal.

And developmentally wise..a pretty big step forward.

This. I don't actually think people have any issue or a major issue playing with Russ. I just don't get why they never surrounded Russ with better shooters. I feel like the Thunder regularly had a couple bad shooters around Russ at all times (guys like Robertson or whatever his name was).

Three straight would be incredible...but this is 2 straight. They had a great run. I didn’t make a new thread cause I didn’t want to jinx it. Now hopefully men win gold cup tonight. They have played well too.

Lavine can flat shoot and I actually think he can play off the ball. He showed it a ton last year (which was a major advancement for him). I just don't like trading Lavine. I do agree that Porter gives nice spacing. They just have a lot less flexibility at this point in time, given the recent free agent signings.

Finally watching the summer league game while shooting hoops with the kid...Gafford sure got a ton of dunks. Clearly athletic with a ton of hustle.

I'm not trading Lavine for him. His contract is a bargain and he's the one guy on this squad with true super-star upside. Not saying he will be a superstar, but if someone told me he became one, I wouldn't be surprised at all. He has every physical tool in the book and a fantastic shot. I think he will have a monster season (if he's healthy). He literally has gotten better every full season in the league and is still extremely young. Porter for Westbrook is about as much as I'd do (and I don't love it). I think their best bet is sticking with the current group and being aggressive on the trade market in next year or two (whenever a superstar becomes disgruntled). When they do...keep more of your players and trade a bunch of picks. But it needs to be an in your prime, signed superstar. I am already predicting Giannis will be a Bull in 2021. I figure the Suns will acquire Westbrook. If someone could tell me Russell would be healthy & productive throughout his contract, I would make the deal...I just can't make that statement with confidence. I think patience is better (at this point in time).

His contract is awful and he's had declining advanced analytics the past couple years. At the same time, they literally should be able to get him for free (well technically for Porter since they need to move him to make cap space). My gut says no...but at the same time, Russ wants to win and he'd have much better spacing with the Bulls (not sure if that would help...but I always felt like he never was surrounded by shooters in OKC). Paul George had a career year next to him, so he can't be all bad. The guy is a cyborg but he's got so many miles on him at 31.

This would be awesome. Jalen Rose indicating a high degree of confidence that Kwahi will return to Toronto and sign a 2 yr deal. Would be stellar for the nba.