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QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Feb 23, 2017 -> 10:59 AM) I have no idea how the Wizards could afford Paul George, but apparently they're the front runners. GarPax is Zzzzzzzzzzzzz Depends on what you think of Otto Porter.

Personally, I don't think the Bulls are even talking Butler with the Celtics. I presume Bulls are focused on Niko / Taj / maybe Lopez while obviously looking at Okafor and other pieces. My gut says they aren't wasting their time on moving Butler as they are intending to keep him, but at some point as we get closer to the deadline, Ainge will give Gar/Pax a call and say this is my offer...take it or leave it. I presume this will be after Ainge has a Paul George deal lined up and if the Bulls say no, he will go execute on the George transaction. I expect Boston to land Paul George...maybe that last call to GarPax will drive the Bulls to move Buckets, but right now, I would be shocked if the Bulls are spending much of their deadline attention around Butler and presume their focus is on building around Jimmy (at least at this point in time). If they move Jimmy, it will be in the off-season.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Feb 23, 2017 -> 10:19 AM) Pacers involved in talks with teams potentially to clear roster spots, sources say. Teams suspect might be related to Celtics talks -more from windhorst If Boston makes a move, I think it will be Paul George. I think Indiana is more willing to move him then the Bulls are to move Butler and I think it will also take less to get George then Butler (which Boston might look at as ultimately being the right move as they get to hold onto additional assets). Ainge should strike while the iron is hot. As I said earlier, he should have been able to land two major players with all the assets he has (especially after Cousins went for so little).

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Feb 23, 2017 -> 10:12 AM) Obviously Woj is better than all, but both Windhorst and Stein said teams are thinking it gets done. One thing we know is Woj does not get any leaks from the Bulls. Bulls absolutely hate Woj.

QUOTE (shipps @ Feb 23, 2017 -> 10:10 AM) Adrian WojnarowskiVerified account‏@WojVerticalNBA 20s21 seconds ago More Sources: Less than two hours until the NBA Trade Deadline, but no significant traction for Boston on Jimmy Butler or Paul George deals. Yet. Its not happening. I think Paul George goes. I don't think Butler does...unless of course Boston really steps up its offer. I'm more curious as to what other things the Bulls do (specifically as it relates to Niko / Lopez / Taj).

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Feb 23, 2017 -> 10:06 AM) And I guess you missed last year's playoffs when George put it on the Raptors to the tune of 27/7.6/4.3/2.0 and nearly 3 3-point makes per game. Butler's playoff stats last year? Oh that's right. He wasn't there. Butler is a stud. You don't have to minimize George to make him look better. And George is signed through next season btw. I don't know why you keep bringing up his FA as if he's a FA this summer. Because Butler is signed for longer then George. I didn't say George would walk this off-season...I said he's a free agent sooner and is going to get paid more sooner. And I'm not ripping on George. I am just stating the obvious that Jimmy Butler is better then Paul George right now. Maybe that will change...I never made a prediction on the future...just stated who is better right now (after you said that only a Bull fan would say that Butler is better then George today).

QUOTE (ozzfest @ Feb 23, 2017 -> 09:54 AM) Most definitely will. But they will probably move Taj or Niko. The protest will do nothing to the Bulls. They sell out and make money...no protest, outside of empty arenas because of consistent poor play, will truly impact/force Reinsdorf's hand. Nor should it (to be honest).

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Feb 23, 2017 -> 09:57 AM) No, if you say Butler > George. Fine. You said Butler >>> George. That's a big difference. Look, Paul George is 26 years old and took that juggernaut Heat team from a few years ago to 7 games. Do the Celtics need to pony up if they want Butler? Yes. But you're kidding yourself if you think he commands that much more than what Paul George does based off of the fact he's been better for 50 something games or whatever this year. Except for the fact that Paul George did that before his leg exploded. Should I cite Derrick Rose's pre ACL performance as to why he is better then Damian Lillard? Since that injury, Paul George has not had the same upside. He is still good, but not the same player he could have been (before that injury...yes I'd have taken PG over Jimmy Butler...at that time). Things change, Jimmy Butler has been ascending the past couple of years and was better then Paul George each of the past two years too, so no it is not based on one year. This year he has been significantly better (as Butler has taken another step forward). And like I mentioned, Paul George is due to be a FA in a rising cap and will be far pricey then Jimmy Butler who is signed to a freaking "sweetheart" deal. In fact, Butler and Isiah's deals are two of the better contracts in the association.

If I were running the Bulls...I'd pull Wade and Butler in (and would have already done it) and said that our plan is to build for next year. We want to make the playoffs this year, but the main focus is building and improving our team next year. We will have cap room, etc, and at the deadline, we are going to move pieces, pieces who will help us now, but who are not part of our long-term plans and we want you to be aware of this. Basically so you can read where they stand. From there, I would then move a ton of guys for a combination of assets/cap room. I'd imply that going forward, we will work to give other young players more minutes to see who will be part of next years plans, etc., while trying to still compete but get much more athletic in the near-to-mid term. The reason I'd include Wade is to the extent he wasn't interested, I'd move him. If Jimmy was irate at the plan, I'd then potentially pivot and move him and go full blown rebuild. I would not be soliciting their insight but I do believe that if you are going to build around Jimmy, you should at least have him somewhat informed as to what the overall strategy is (maybe that is a bad idea). If the Bulls don't make a move, I will be beyond disgusted. Between Taj & Niko, you have to get something back, given they are going to walk and we clearly aren't winning a championship.

QUOTE (shipps @ Feb 23, 2017 -> 09:51 AM) Are you reading what your typing? "But nobody outside of a Bulls fan has Butler >>> George" -J4L Yes...Jordan...that is why I responded the way I did...it was because you finished with this.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Feb 23, 2017 -> 09:48 AM) Dude, are you reading what I'm typing? I didn't say George was better. I can get with Butler being better, at least this year. But you're acting like the difference between the two is like the difference between KD and Melo. This year...the difference between the two players is pretty significant. Butler is playing fantastically efficient basketball and obviously is a strong defender. Paul George is a good/above average player...Jimmy Butler is a great player. I also think Butler is a better fit for Boston...but I think Boston needs multiple pieces if they want to have any chance at winning a championship.

QUOTE (Boogua @ Feb 23, 2017 -> 09:41 AM) I think most people would agree that Butler is better than George at this point, but Butler is a ball stopping ISO player, which doesn't fit great with Thomas being a superstar this year. There could also potentially be ego issues where Butler goes there and has problems playing alongside Thomas like he did with Rose (although rose was garbage the past few years). The contract stuff is a very valid point and should make Butler a lot more pricey than George. You can argue that you just run 1/3 pick and rolls all the time or have them take turns going ISO like Irving and Lebron did in the finals last year I guess. Let me make something clear...if Butler goes to the Celtics...he immediately becomes there best player. Immediately. Isiah has had an amazing season and is a ridiculous score but Jimmy is better and makes them a far more legitimate team. If I were Boston, I'd have added Jimmy & Cousins and to be honest...they could have done that with the assets they have. They will go nowhere with Isiah as their best player.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Feb 23, 2017 -> 09:40 AM) He asked who the better fit was. Not the better player. As Boogs said, George is much better off the ball and a better shooter. Front offices look at stuff like that. I'm pretty sure Danny Ainge isn't saying to himself "Yes, we want Butler over George because he has a higher PER!!!". They're both high-level two-way players. But nobody outside of a Bulls fan has Butler >>> George. OMG...in no world is Paul George > Jimmy Butler as a basketball player. Fit wise...the Pacers could use a guy who can score down low like Jimmy. Celtics have plenty of shooters. Every analytic out there says that Butler is superior...the eyes say is superior too.

Some reports out there that Boston's strategy / mo is to leak a ton of fake rumors about talks with teams and multiple players as a tact to potentially create controversy on the other team and potentially create a scenario where a team ends up moving on a player because the player gets upset and it ultimately drives the price down. For example, maybe Jimmy just gets sick of consistently hearing this reports and feeling like they are not all-in on them and goes to the front office and basically says I want out (even if the Bulls never had the discussions). A couple reports indicating that there is a widespread belief that the Bulls have had zero desire to move Butler but that Butler is getting annoyed. Momo Shelbourne has consistently said from her sources within the Bulls that they have had zero desire to move Jimmy and that all of the activity has been based on other teams calling and the Bulls rebuffing. She also has mentioned multiple times on the radio (out in LA) that other front office people imply that the Bulls would be nuts to trade Jimmy and that they should be building around him given the contract, etc (and that is ultimately what they believe the Bulls will do). She did say that there is no clear direction from the organization as no one in the front office has been aligned (albeit that last piece was based upon old information more dating back to the off-season).

What time is the deadline?

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Feb 23, 2017 -> 09:29 AM) George. He's a much better 3-point shooter. Get this garbage out of here. Butler is the superior player, period. Not even a discussion. Add in the fact that Jimmy is under contract for longer and on a freaking value deal and it weighs even further to why Boston would prefer Butler. Butler has a 25 PER this year (coming off a season just above 20) while George is at 18. That is a huge difference. Not even close and Butlers last couple years PER's have been better then George's. It isn't like he's an outlier. Butler also has been healthier in his career. I like Paul George and would want him on my team but right now, Jimmy Butler >>> Paul George...factor in contract and the gap widens even more.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Feb 23, 2017 -> 09:22 AM) Not according to Sam Amick and Ramona Shelbourne. Brooklyn pick is in. Butler is a superior player to George and under a superior contract. It would and should take more to get Jimmy Butler then it would to get Paul George.

Weir deal by Philly. Is Justin Anderson any good? Note, just looked up Anderson...I'm not overly familiar with him but a pretty solid PER for a young player. Philly must like his upside? Or maybe they just don't want to pay Noel what it will take as a restricted free agent.

Niko or Doug and the kings pick for okafor would be fine by me.

Stinking Lakers...things could have looked different if Jim Buss had his way. He wanted to draft Doug McDermott over Julius Randle. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2693926...d-mitch-kupchak

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Feb 22, 2017 -> 02:42 PM) Niko and Doug and Portis and whoever else you want to throw in there are still going to be bad players when/if they get out of here, I'm pretty positive on that. On Portis, I probably agree...although he has enough offensive skill that he should be a serviceable bench player. Niko and Doug I disagree with. Doug should fit in the right space / system and Niko has improved significantly on the defensive side of the ball. He takes dumb shots and is having an awful shooting year, but in this NBA, should be very effective. I actually wouldn't be opposed to giving him an extension (if he was willing to take one based upon his current play vs. the upside).

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 22, 2017 -> 02:05 PM) When is the last time the Bulls made a good trade? They haven't made a lot of them. I thought the Salmons deal was a good one (years ago). When we moved various pieces to clear cap in the original Lebron fa summer, those were largely solid moves. The Deng cap dump wasn't awful (although it looks more awful since we never moved Pau). I don't think we've made any bad deals, the real argument you have with the Bulls could be the moves we didn't make, but that is hard to say. I know I would not be happy if we pulled the trigger on any of the deals I've seen rumored / reportedly offered, especially the ones for Butler around the time of the draft. None of us know what we offered for Cousins. My biggest beef with the Bulls has been that in recent years we have stunk in player development. This could mean we have stunk drafting good players or that we stunk in player develoment or it could be a combination of the two. I personally think a bigger issue has been the player development side, but that is more because Paxson has a pretty long-term record of being a very good drafter (and a lot of various statistics back up the fact that under Paxson the Bulls have been one of the best drafting teams in the league). That said, over time Gar has taken a greater role and one of the Bulls top scouts left for Orlando and since those things occurred, we haven't really seen us draft & develop our own players very well. I still think Niko has a ton of talent (even though I can't stand him) and I can't figure out how we don't play Denzel more. He clearly has select tools that should work, albeit, I'd be the first to admit his athleticism is a bit limited. He can shoot and pass quite well and I haven't seen enough of him to say he is a defensive sieve.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 22, 2017 -> 01:18 PM) GarPax needs to s*** or get off the pot. Doing nothing is unacceptable. If they are under the illusion they are contenders, they need to strengthen their roster. If they realize they don't have enough, they need to start selling parts. If they do nothing, it is confirmation they are either all about the Benjamins, or totally inept at evaluating their players or both. Yep...I think they have to move a combination of Lopez / Taj / Niko (at a minimum) and I presume they will do everything they can to move Rondo (doesn't mean they'll get anything). In Taj's case, it comes down to whether they intend to sign him or not.

QUOTE (ZoomSlowik @ Feb 22, 2017 -> 11:25 AM) If you're waiting for MJ or Lebron, you're going to wait a long-ass time. Very few players can get you more than 40-45 wins by themselves. Assigning all of the blame for the lack of wins on Boogie is silly to me. Yes, he's a prickly personality. So is MJ by most accounts. The situation doesn't do him any favors either. He got along with Malone and they were doing okay, but then they fired him and hired George freaking Karl. I'm not going to type all of their mistakes, but avoid even a few and they can be a playoff team. Hell, they're 1.5 out right now. Now they're Sixers-bad with morons running the team. At least get a piece that is going to do something to help fix that in the long term. I have to ask the question...I realize George Karl didn't work in Sacremento, but why is George Karl a bad coach? Guy has been very successful in a couple different destinations.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Feb 22, 2017 -> 11:05 AM) Sounds like the following is a very real possibility: Indy gets: Okafor/Jaylen brown/ BKN 17/Zeller Philly gets: Avery Bradley Boston gets: PG13/seraphin I would think the Bulls would have interest in something like that for Butler (slightly different package) but something around that skeleton.