Chisoxfn

I hadn't seen this, but I thought the quotes from denze valentine a few weeks back were somewhat intriguing as it relates to Niko. Gives more to the addage that he rubs people the wrong way (or at least some). Certainly seems like he's moved by the end of the week. from this article: https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/is-niko...-the-wrong-way/

That is awesome (re: Moncada helping out Robert). Fantastic to see.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jan 16, 2018 -> 11:03 AM) The thing is with this core I can legit see a group as good as the Raptors in a year or two. But if they can get in that top 5 and maintain development, I see the seams of a championship team (assuming development). The thing with Mirotic is he is demanding a trade. He's cool now, but he has an end in sight. What if we remove that? what happens when team hits skids? Justin Holliday should net a 2nd, RoLo can hopefully be used to clear space next year, and Mirotic hopefully gets us a 1st. It pushes Felicio to bigger minutes and removes our most potent lineup of Markannen and Mirotic at 4 and 5. I still think it's worth it to try. My dream scenario is we move Niko, Felicio, and a future 1st to the Cavs for their 1st round pick because Lebron demanded it. Haha.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jan 16, 2018 -> 11:03 AM) The thing is with this core I can legit see a group as good as the Raptors in a year or two. But if they can get in that top 5 and maintain development, I see the seams of a championship team (assuming development). The thing with Mirotic is he is demanding a trade. He's cool now, but he has an end in sight. What if we remove that? what happens when team hits skids? Justin Holliday should net a 2nd, RoLo can hopefully be used to clear space next year, and Mirotic hopefully gets us a 1st. It pushes Felicio to bigger minutes and removes our most potent lineup of Markannen and Mirotic at 4 and 5. I still think it's worth it to try. I've heard that Mirotic is demanding a trade if our intent is to tank / suck. He has made it known with management that he loves Chicago, wants to be here long-term, but only if our plan is to start winning and win soon (basically do you believe in what you've seen from us already or are you going to try and maximize the "tank"). If the answer is you want to maximize the tank, then definitely move me (and by the way that obviously helps facilitate the tank) because I don't want to play for a losing team. No one really wants to. People act like it is so easy to tank. On paper its a great idea, but between paper and reality a lot goes astray. Maybe no one on this board has the in-depth feel for how bad it can get but being in LA, holy crap, what a disaster. I still go back and argue the case of, no team has yet to make the illustrative case that tanking was some genius concept that worked perfectly. Teams have sucked and gotten good but to intentionally tank is a different concept. Losing teams tend to suck for a long-time, which goes back to the notion, that you suck for a reason (i.e., a crappy front office and/or coaching staff that can't draft & develop or build a team).

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jan 16, 2018 -> 10:56 AM) I wrote this about Bulls situation today: https://theloopsports.com/2018/01/16/bulls-...ath-be-altered/ I think they'll trade whatever they can and try to pick as high as possible. They could play in free agency this offseason though. They are ahead of schedule. Lets say they snag Villanova SF Mikal Bridges in the draft and sign Cousins in the off-season. That's easily a top 3 seed in the East without LeBron. I fully agree with your end state that if we get Cousins with the main core we could be top 3 seed as soon as next year (albeit I get nervous about the fact that Cousins hasn't won anywhere and losing can be toxic). Now here's a counter...what if they try to win now and make a run at the playoffs and then make a push at Cousins and George (not sure if we have the cap space or not). We really seem to have built a good culture with this current group (again kudos to Hoiberg and staff). I blasted him for a couple years but have to change my tune a lot this year. And by trade whatever they can, who are you implying to move? I presume Lopez / Niko?

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 16, 2018 -> 10:09 AM) I was very skeptical, but I have to agree. Levine definitely seems like the real deal. He gets to the rim what appears to be effortlessly. Dunn's shooting is up and down, but everything else except the occassional turnover bug, seems exceptional. Lauri is obviously going to be a great player. Some of these other guys seem to be decent bench pieces. I am not buying the Bulls attracting a top free agent, but if they could, I could see this team as being too good to call it NBA hell. It's almost to a point where if they trade someone, it better help their draft position drastically, because if it is only slightly, a guy like Threekola nailing 3s, is pretty valuable, and could make you worse in the long run. You nailed where I stand exactly (on the trade and in-terms of watching). Dunn's growth shooting has been awesome...he's still inconsistent with that jumper but given how much improvement he's shown year-over-year there is so much to like. Will reserve things till I see more of Lavine but he reminds me a bit of Crawford in the sense that he can really score, but more aggressive in his ability to get in the paint (Crawford really was only a shooter but a damn good one). Defensively Lavine has the athleticism and size that he should be able to defend but he's got to put in a lot of work on that part of his game. The nice thing is Lauri and Dunn, two of are other core pieces are both fantastic. My question is do you try to get a draft pick or do you try and get a free agent. I recognize those aren't directly tied and you could do both, but if you make a run at the playoffs this year, I think the chances of landing a big free agent increase (no guarantee though). If you don't make the playoffs, I think the reality is you are probably waiting another year to make your moves in free agency (and might have more competition at that time).

Just two games but man Lavine hasd a shot and he can flat out score. I really hope he stays healthy and can keep improving. Hell with what you all think, I think we got a darn nice core going right now. This team has been quite enjoyable to watch.

The separate part of this question is how do you evaluate Niko. I know a lot of people say Niko is going to get expensive in 2 years and you wouldn’t want to pay him, but I’d argue 2 years from now (when that happens) we are probably done being able to add any “max” type player. We basically have this year and next year’s free agency to add 2 max guys before we will largely be who we are (from a cap perspective...and this is dependent on how you manage that flexibility, but internal guys like Dunn / Lavine getting their money will quickly shrink our ability to make external FA moves). The reality is we have went from a team with 1 major asset a year ago (Butler) to a team with Dunn / Lauri / Lavine / (This yr/s 1st) and you could argue Niko (because he really has been damn good now for a more extended period of time). It seems Niko is on his way out (either way) but I’d still argue I might try moving Lopez to see if that hurts the tank enough that you can keep Niko and add another FA move (you’ll get a lot better a lot quicker, imo)...unless you just don’t see Niko fitting on this roster. My view is you can’t just “dump” Niko because when you look at his contract (short yes) and his stark improvement in play (which I would argue matches his physical abilities as historically he had underachieved), you have a guy that you should be able to get a real asset for. We’ll know soon enough with Niko as it sure seems like he is gone in the next few days (if not today).

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 15, 2018 -> 08:58 AM) If they have any competence at all they should have realized last summer how well set up they were for Free Agency this year. That was the end result of the Butler trade - they have room to add a max deal in a year when very few teams have room to add a max deal. To be honest, I think they realize they had free agency capacity but I get a feel they thought they would be getting a top 3 pick this year and probably a top 5 pick the following year and because of that I think they were going to be very measured in free agency this year (because the reality is, they thought the team would largely suck (yes it would add a top talent in this years draft and get another year of Dunn / Lavine) but I don’t think any of them thought Dunn & Lauri would be this good (or at a minimum, this good this fast). If you look at history, good free agents don’t sign with teams with bad records (or worse records then the team they are coming from). The only exception to that in recent history is Lebron returning to Cleveland. However, based upon the current trajectory, I’d argue this Bulls team could actually be a relatively attractive destination for a free agent, albeit part of that will be seeing continued growth of Lauri / Dunn as well as seeing how Lavine holds up.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jan 15, 2018 -> 01:28 AM) Doesn't matter. These idiots keep winning too many games. We'll miss out on Bagley, Ayton, Bamba and Young. But hey, build that winning culture. Because, um, yeah, there is no reason for that right now. This has 2003 written all over it. Sorry ass team but won too many games to have a chance at Lebron, Wade, Melo or Bosh. This f***in' franchise can't do a god damn thing right since Michael left. So would it be better that Lauri & Dunn just sucked? Cause a lot of the winning has been because of those two guys getting good very fast. Both could profile out as all-star type players and Lavine has a similar shot. Could be none of them reach that point, but having 3 guys under 24 who profile out in that nature is not a bad thing. I have to think they move Lopez and Niko soon, albeit I still argue with this team getting good sooner then expected (I want a good pick in this years draft but will leave with a slightly lesser pick with it driven by strong growth in our youth) and with that the front office needs to evaluate how it intends to build out the team long-term (since that strategy has likely shifted by how quick the team bounced back up). I guess I’m the only one not totally shocked by this since I made comments to the fact that if this team was healthy all season it would be a playoff team in the east. Lavine & Niko’s injuries helped create the deep hole that will enable this team to be a lottery team and ultimately get a top 8 pick, but top 3-4 probably is going to have a lot of luck involved. My question is, if we move Niko, do we think we stop winning at this pace or does Lavine counter the loss of Niko (albeit I’d expect some rust / tranisition) and thus even moving Niko isn’t enough. Personally I think the Bulls should be calculated in who they move to facilitate the better draft pick (without negatively impacting the overall culture or implying to the team...we don’t want you to win, etc). Rolo seems like a guy who should be moved (but damn if he isn’t a great guy in the Locke room, etc). You need to be careful that you don’t turn into the cancer that is the Lakers (for example) or even the Sixers (might be looking good now but in no way would I call how long they sucked a good path / strategy).

If Bulls are able to land a Doncic, I’m okay with how the lottery played out. Obviously I’d like one of the top 3 guys but I don’t see it happening (without pure lottery lock) and Doncic is still a really good talent. I think the Bulls front office ultimately is coming to the realization the rebuild might be ahead as scheduled (and might not have hit the full low’s it probably expected (I won’t comment on whether that is good or bad but it is likely the reality) which means that free agency probably becomes a key part of the story going forward (as soon as this off-season) where previously it was probably another off-season away.

Turning the table, the Bears are going to be interesting. I don’t know that they will be amazing or what, but they are going to be progressive or so it seems (based upon how they have built out this staff). Could turn into a giant dumpster fire but this is like no Bears coaching staff we’ve seen (except maybe Trestmans, haha). Not saying it’s the same as Trestman’s as Fangio on the D makes things a lot better but Trestman would have been considered somewhat of a “progressive” coach (not as young though). Excited to see what happens.

I had when players like that fail in a massive moment. For example, back in the national championship game, I didn’t want Bama to win but after their kicker had that miss (where he choked), I kind of wanted them to win so no one would crucify the kid. I feel more strongly about this fact pattern when it comes to amateurs vs. professionals, but still that just sucks. I also think to myself, what if that happened to the Bears (or for the Bears). I think I’d have died in either case.

3yr deal per Schefter. Staff coming together nicely...hopefully we see most of Fangio's coaches staying as well. As DA said, lets keep developing the existing talent but now to FIND MORE TALENT!!!

Chuck Pagano could be another very intriguing candidate. Extremely experienced, quality character, etc. While I still prefer continuity of Fangio I think we have a couple really strong options out there (as long as this doesn't drag on too long).

QUOTE (Harry Chappas @ Jan 12, 2018 -> 08:53 AM) I thought Arians was a defensive guy. Pure offense.

The Bearreport guy that has been close to this still thinks Fangio comes back to Bears. But Bears might be closer to giving an ultimatum. Also mentioned he didn't buy into the Fangio Shurmur stuff being a slam dunk. I think he said that basically Tuesday was the 1st time Nagy and Fangio talked so it isn't like Fangio's stall has been as bad as maybe us inpatient fans want to think it is. That said, he might also just stall a bit longer to kind of put the pressure on the Bears (never know).

Latest reports have Fangio headed to Arizona to be DC under Shermer (sp?). This would mean Vic stringed Bears along (wouldn't surprise me) and would mean we have to put full court press on Arizona's current DC (who would be a stellar hire).

QUOTE (bmags @ Jan 11, 2018 -> 07:21 AM) I recognize the Paul George is a good player but he is by far my least favorite good player around. And a team where he is the best player just...meh to me. I tend to agree with you. George is good, but not as dynamic as other elite players. He's still pretty good though and we need to get as many good players as possible and then hope one becomes elite (imo).

Given the young players who have developed / shown...does anyone think Paul George would be a good fit? Do the Bulls try making a run at George? Thinking out loud here. Or do they wait one more off-season?

QUOTE (bmags @ Jan 10, 2018 -> 07:22 PM) Bulls win. Dunn was horrendous but Lauri dropped 33 on the knicks. I wonder if the Bulls are sitting Niko longer to see if trading him really would make them bad enough. Dunn couldn’t hit anything but he always gets really good looks in the paint. They just weren’t falling. Lauri has f***ing showed up when he plays against Porzingis. After that rough stretch he had, he’s gone back to being fantastic. Such a stellar pick.

3 Former Bears assistants on the staff. Tabor is a really good hire. Bringing Toub’s system back to Chicago. For him to survive as many coaches and GM’s in Cleveland was impressive. Browns ST wasn’t as good this past year but for most of his tenure they were very very good. Toub clearly put in a good word for Tabor with Nagy (and I’m presuming Tabor has to be thrilled to be coming back to Chicago). Patrick Mannelly gushed about Tabor earlier tonight.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jan 10, 2018 -> 03:22 PM) Where are you seeing this? I searched twitter and can’t find anything that says Helfrich is being considered for the Bears I was relying what a couple other people told me. I can’t see twitter when I’m on my firewall so was relying on them being accurate. I know Helfrich has a standing offer to be the UCLA OC (rejoining Chip Kelly).

There was a rumor out there that the Bears might be interviewing the Arizona Cardinal DC for a spot on the staff. If there is any truth to that, I hope we get him (albeit I’d miss Fangio). Arizona DC’s is awesome. Fangio is really good too. Upside with Fangio is he is probably not going to get a HC job where as the Arizona DC is young, charismatic, well regarded and if he doesn’t get the Arizona job he’s probably getting a HC job sometime in the next couple of years.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jan 10, 2018 -> 01:23 PM) Ah, think you are thinking of Kris Richard, their DC. Bevell is their OC. No I just can't type...said Bevell instead of Bradley.