Chisoxfn

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 20, 2017 -> 06:38 AM) This team was 3-20 6 games ago. Let's not get carried away, they suck, and have caught a few teams at the right time to beat them. Would anyone really be surprised if they lost the next 6? That said, they do need to trade Lopez, Niko, probably Portis ASAP. They need as good of a shot at Bagley as they can get. Look at who was playing during that initial stretch. A lot of the guys contributing right now were hurt / not playing. Dunn had a stretch where he was injured, Nwaba was out for a while, Niko (obviously out), Portis (suspended). You had utter crap getting significant minutes and that has drastically shifted. I said it back then and I will continue to say it...this team is too good to be a bottom 3 team in the NBA (as currently constructed). In fact, if they were 100% healthy, I think they are a playoff team (I wouldn't have said that in the off-season but Lauri and Dunn are much better then I expected them to be at this stage of the season).

It's funny...if we weren't a year removed from blowing things up, I think fans would be legitimately excited about this Bulls team. I.e., if this were a team coming off the suck that was the post-Jordan era, we'd like at this roster a bit different. When I look at this roster, this is what I see: 100% Building Blocks: Dunn - Love this kid. Plays D and he is becoming such a confident offensive player. He still needs to develop his jumper but he seems to be improving his creation skills and offensively he can get into the paint. 3 point shot has improved massively from a year ago. Will take time but he's got some real upside (even though he is a bit older...he was behind developmentally due to some injuries, etc). Dunn is a legit building block, imo. Will never be a great passer and he also needs to tighten his handles. But such a good athlete. Lavine - Need to see how he is post-injury but pre-injury he was an ascening above avg player with upside Lauri - It is early but he is a strong rebounder and has showed fantastic athleticism for a 7fter. Defense is quality. Both his defense and rebounding abilities are something I didn't expect and have been pleasantly surprised with. Offensively he gets a little lose with his dribble, but the fact that he can do those things is a major plus. Shot can be inconsistent but clearly he has range and ability to shoot. Post game is solid but room to grow. High upside potential, imo. Not Sure: Nikolai - His contract is a bargain based upon his current production; He is a good defender (unless you play him at the 3) who is long and can shoot the ball well. In the past, he was pretty much a one-trick pony offensively (3 ball) and this year he's emerged with a real low post and mid-range game. The added strength has really enabled him to leverage his athletic abilities (he's very athletic for his size) and those extra dimensions to his game make him difficult to evaluate. On one hand, you can trade him and aid the tank, however, on the other end, he isn't that old (26) and if his long-term performance is going to be closer to the version we are seeing right now, he's an above average starter and someone who would be an asset and part of our rebuilding core. Bobby Portis - I'm not sure if Portis is a solid starter or a good bench player. His defense is not good...offensively he's not a bad scorer. Outside of the Niko incident, I'd say he is one of those hard-nosed guys you like having on the court though (always plays hard and with an edge). Paul Zipser - Last year he emerged as a solid player who I thought was going to be at a minimum, a very good rotational bench player. He isn't playing as well this year and I think some of it is a lack of confidence (as his shot just hasn't been falling). Still, small sample size so who knows. Solid Starter: Robin Lopez - This guy is a rock. Such a solid and dependable guy. Legit starting center; Good...not great player. Really good guy to have around team as well. Never realized how solid of an offensive player he'd be. Bench Player: Denzel Valentine - Can't start, but he's improved a lot from last year. Good passer, inability to score / create his own shot, great 3 point shooter. Definitely has a place and he has taken real steps forward this year. David Nwaba - Easily a good bench player; Might have some upside as a starter. Good defender and a great slasher. Jump shot is non-existent and I'm amazed teams aren't playing off him more (no one must scout that much these days); Will need to develop his jumper, however, if he did, he could emerge as a solid starter. Doesn't Matter: Justin Holliday - Volume shooter who is better suited for a bench role. Fits on most benches, doesn't start for many teams not named the Bulls. Garbage: Jerian Grant - Can't stand him; Can't run the point; Has some solid games but lots of weak games. Plays very hard though; Reality is he plays on most NBA teams (off the bench). Felicio - Disaster; He got fat and out of shape and just sucks at this point; Cap Space: Massive amounts of cap space...who knows if we can do anything with it.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Dec 19, 2017 -> 10:42 AM) Why would anyone hire that bum? Honestly...if I were the Browns, it would be a bad hire. He can stabilize the culture, etc. He won't be great, but getting them to mediocre and embedding a culture change would bring value to the Browns.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Dec 14, 2017 -> 01:21 PM) This team is still really bad as is, Niko isn't going to shoot 60 percent all year. The tank will be fine. Things do change a bit when Lavine comes back but you wait as long as possible to bring him back. Like make sure he's all the way healthy. I'm not saying it is a good team either...there are just a lot of really bad teams out there and some bad to lousy teams are going to make the playoffs.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Dec 14, 2017 -> 01:21 PM) This team is still really bad as is, Niko isn't going to shoot 60 percent all year. The tank will be fine. Things do change a bit when Lavine comes back but you wait as long as possible to bring him back. Like make sure he's all the way healthy. Maybe Niko will go back to sucking, but if you've watched his actual game, he's playing much different offensively. He's getting mid-range shots more then I've ever seen and he's also going down into the paint and using the extra strength he put up in the off-season a lot better. He's also getting much better form on his shot. He's always been a good shooter, but historically he'd rush his shot and get into bad footwork pre-shot which could impact his ability to consistently hit shots. Defensively Niko has become a pretty good defender. It is a really small sample size, but he's playing different and I think some of that could actually be a sign that a switch as flipped and he's emerging to be a better player. Lopez is a legitimate starting center, Niko is a legitimate player...Dunn is playing legitimate right now. Denzel / Holliday don't start for many teams but the depth in the bench is much improved. Portis is playing well and even Grant who I can't stand is much more effective as a bench player. Nwaba has been really solid. List goes on. I didn't even mention Mark / Levine one of which is a rookie who has been more than capable as a starter and the other is a guy who pre-injury had proven to be a legitimate starter. This team is not a bottom 3-5 team when healthy (as currently constructed when healthy). It is closer to a bottom feeder playoff team in the east then it is a bottom 3 team in the NBA.

I said it a while back, when healthy this team is too good to tank. With a healthy Levine and team all season, I still think they are a borderline playoff team. Part of that is because Dunn has been far better then I expected him to be (as has Lauri). Niko has looked fantastic. He's certainly added new aspects to his game this year. I could actually buy him being a much improved player (and it was part of why I liked his contract...from a value perspective). From a tank perspective, he kills the tank (as does Lopez).

I really wanted Burdi.

QUOTE (credezcrew24 @ Dec 13, 2017 -> 11:50 AM) I don't see it that way. They'll still need to keep in on the roster the same amount of time next year instead of this year. The only difference is this is more of a throwaway year than next year will be. Still I won't argue against drafting him He gets 30 days on the minor leagues (from a rehab perspective...which is nice) and then you only need only 90 active days on the roster (3 months..vs the entire season). This essentially means you don't need to carry him on your active 25 man roster the vast majority of the season...just 90 days and you could actually spread it over the 2 years. I really like the idea of Burdi either way, the flexibility is just an extra plus.

Burdi is who I would be all over. His injury actually positions us in a good position to get him and not need to stash him on the active roster as long. McCullough / Coshow are worthwhile too.

Your 5 year old runs web apps? Curious what he is doing (more since mine will be at that age). Related to that, what sorts of apps / learning techniques are people doing with their little ones relative to technology. We haven't done much with "screens" for our kids at this point. In fact, this holiday season is probably the most we've leveraged the screen (since the oldest is at the age where we are hyping up the Xmas theme).

Doesn't Cutler have an awesome record on MNF? And then on the flipside, sucks on SNF? Or do I have those backwards?

QUOTE (Tony @ Dec 9, 2017 -> 01:56 PM) We’ve also seen time and time again franchises embrace complete organizations top to bottom (solid farm system, advanced scouting ect) and compete with larger market franchises. Sustained success is harder and made easy by money, but the NBA/MLB comparisons just aren’t really true, from a competitive standpoint. This is true as well. Lots of small-to-mid market NBA franchises who have had a ton of sustained success. Nearly impossible to have "sustained" success in the smaller markets in baseball (or with smaller payrolls).

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Dec 9, 2017 -> 01:51 PM) Baseball won't be like the NBA simply because of how random the playoffs are. In the NBA, the best teams almost always win their playoff series, which is how you get CLE vs GS 3 times in a row. In baseball, anyone can win a 7 game series, and that will mix up the finals and World Series winners. It also gives hope to lower level teams, just get in the dance and anything can happen. To add on to this...baseball won't be the NBA mainly because one player can't tilt a series like an NBA player can. Best player on the planet usually means you are getting pretty far in NBA (1 of 5); In baseball that dominance is muted by the fact that there are just more guys in the game and if said player is a pitcher...only 1 out of x games where you can even impact the game.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Dec 11, 2017 -> 05:39 AM) They really need help at CB too. Fuller was mauling people yesterday and they weren't calling it. There have been games where he would have had multiple PI penalties. I don't know...outside of about 2 games, Fuller has been really good all year. He hasn't held on to the picks he should have had though.

Really sucks for the Eagles.

Fun fun game. Mitch was money as were most of the bears, including some of our young building blocks!!!

Fun...excited Angels got him. Now they need him to blow-up and then they can maybe find a way to build a winning franchise around Trout.

QUOTE (Quin @ Dec 8, 2017 -> 11:30 AM) Six players traded for cap. There are a lot of other pieces to grab in the marketplace and I'm sure Mariners will grab them.

This is hillarious from Pat McAffee (on how Troy Polamalu was a dream crusher)

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 7, 2017 -> 02:13 PM) Keenyn Walker was also a sandwich pick, equivalent to the mid 2nd round. So he shouldn't be quite lumped in with "Hawkins" as a flop. Mitchell might well have been a MLB player without injury, but ask it this way - the 25th pick in that draft was some speedy high school kid who had room to add muscle named Mike Trout. If you're avoiding athletes - that's what Trout started as. Actually it is funny...Trout was never billed as this overly athletic/toolsy guy. He just flat out wasn't. I remember at the time of the draft, Trout was just more of a guy who was likely to be solid but probably not a "star".

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 7, 2017 -> 02:10 PM) Like say, teams that collapse at the end of games with no plan, or teams where one guy breaks another guy's face? The Bulls are a crappy team that is going to collapse a lot. They don't have closers. You look at the good teams in the league, with star players, and they tend to pull out way more close games then the alternative. This team is playing hard..despite having very little talent. Later in the season I might have a different view. And the Portis / Niko thing is not something I put on the coach (not at this point). I haven't seen some massive issue with Hoiberg from that side. I argued that earlier but its just easy to throw things out in absolute and blame everyone. It's most people tendency in sports (fans) and on this board. I don't think the reality works that way.

QUOTE (JenksIsMyHero @ Dec 7, 2017 -> 01:29 PM) I was just listening to Bill Simmons' podcast with Steve Kerr and Kerr mentioned that he used an out of bounds play of Hoiberg's that he saw at Iowa State. So, there's SOME ability there. Hoiberg clearly isn't the long-term answer, but I do think he got a raw deal (to the extent someone getting paid millions and millions to coach a game can). He was brought in to play a run and gun style and was saddled with a roster full of b****y, whiny, old, slow guys. And this year he just doesn't have much talent to work with. The franchise is a mess. IMO Hoiberg is about No. 10 on the list of problems that need to be addressed. Hoiberg's job is to get guys to play hard and hopefully develop. We have a talent issue that I'm not going to blame on the coach. That said, culturally, we need Hoiberg to instill a positive energy and to hopefully get them ready to develop into winning habits. What we don't want is losing habits to infiltrate our young players and the organization. Losing ways are like a plague that can overcome an organization quickly and be very very hard to get rid of. I tend to think of Hoiberg as being that up beat guy that is good for a rebuild and to be honest I've thought they are legitimatley playing hard. There were moments yesterday where the team was fun to watch and other moments where we weren't fun to watch (i.e., good ball movement, etc). Talent is bad though but I'm actually pretty optimistic all things considered.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Dec 2, 2016 -> 03:05 PM) Honestly, if we are going to be rebuilding, I see no reason why we would just non-tender Avi. $3M is nothing and while I don't peg him to break out, we currently have no better options to give at bats too and he does have talent (so while I think he has flaws that will impact his ability to get there, $3M is easily worth paying to have him on the roster as of this point in time). I more had problems putting him in a starting spot on a team that was intending to contend. And for those of you jumping off a ledge, give me a break. This move has zero negative barring on the long term impacts of the team (from a downside) and from an upside, the tools and talent are there (albeit the probability of him breaking through are limited, but we've seen it before...see Bautista or Encarnacion. By the way, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying he is either of those players and Encarnacion clearly had a better start to his career then Avi, but things happen. I can safely say I don't regret this statement at all.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 7, 2017 -> 10:33 AM) jon greenberg‏Verified account @jon_greenberg 44m44 minutes ago Kris Dunn said the Bulls don't know what to do, what plays to run, at end of games. That's a problem, right? Part of this might be the whole fact that you don't have a "star" player who can help you in those moments. But I'd also say that is probably not something I'd want Dunn to be making publicly. That said, Dunn has really grown thus far this season (which is awesome to see).

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 5, 2017 -> 12:16 PM) Chris De Luca‏Verified account @ChrisDeLuca[/url] Just posted; Zach LaVine’s #Bulls debut now looks to be more like early January - My 100% belief is this is purely part of the Bulls tank strategy. And that is 100% okay. I do look forward to watching levine play and despite Lauri's recent shooting slump, I'm feeling more optimistic then ever regarding the return we got for Butler. Of course Levine is a huge wildcard in the mix (particularly his health and post-injury play). I pretty much watch the Bulls for Dunn / Lauri at this point. Dunn's growth has been extremely encouraging, including how well he's shot the ball. his ability to drive and score is impressive...passing clearly needs some work (and I don't know that he'll ever be a great passer) but given how much his 3 ball has improved (still small sample size), I look forward to his continued development. A decent mid-range game and he's going to be pretty tough to defend (and we all know he can play defense).