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Watch us trade Taj for Ricky Rubio. I do think if Taj goes, it will be to add picks or do something that allows Bulls to make a run at a young PG.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 23, 2016 -> 09:44 AM) Do the Bulls have the cap room to take on almost $10 million? They have quite a bit of space. Remember, cap alone shot up a lot. If you remove Gasol and Noah from the equation, plus consider moving MJD or Taj or Niko and you can really clear a ton of space. If Bulls wanted to, they could make some moves to have just massive amounts of cap space this year, but I don't know the rationale for it, unless of course it is to get Durant plus. Nothing else in this market is worth taking up so much space that you can't make at least one max offer a year from now (when the FA class is much stronger and far more likely, imo, to actually relocate).

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jun 23, 2016 -> 09:41 AM) So Woj is reporting that the Hornets will trade #22 if someone takes Jeremy Lamb's contract 3/21. Is this something the Bulls should consider in order to get another 1st rounder? I think the Bulls should consider buying draft picks, however, I think if they do, it should be because they can leverage the multiple picks to move up and get a more talented asset. Quality over quantity right now, imo. I don't think Lamb is that bad of a role player, either, but again, you don't want to tie up all your longer term cap space on "role" players. Is Lamb's contract expiring at the end of this year, so Charlotte's move is to clear cap space immediately? If so, I definitely could see the Bulls being able to leverage that strategy if their plan is to make a major push at a big time FA in 2017.

Jimmy Buckets will be playing in the olympics. Could be a good opportunity for him to start recruiting other potential FA's / showcasing the type of teammate he can be (so hopefully he is on his best behavior). I hate the extra minutes he's going to play, but I also view it as a really good learning experience for him to be around some of the best in the NBA.

QUOTE (Brian @ Jun 23, 2016 -> 09:15 AM) Rondo was pretty awesome again last year. I don't know if I'd go as far as saying awesome, but he was a much better player and looked a lot healthier than he had previously. You know his limitations (offensively) but he is an excellent passer and I thought his defense improved again this pats year (I might be wrong and clearly he had a stretch where he was a pretty good defender and than post injury he had some issues but he is getting healthier). I really don't think Rondo would be that bad of a fit (especially if you could get him shorter term). You do wonder the chemistry side of the equation but Sacramento was so dysfunctional.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jun 23, 2016 -> 07:21 AM) I know. Taj is up at season's end and they talked about getting more athletic players that fit Hoiberg yesterday. I think they might take a one year plan and go a lot of one year guys and thus have a ton of flexibility a year from now (outside of Lopez who they added). Might be wrong, but I also don't think the Bulls have fully defined that plan.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Jun 23, 2016 -> 07:14 AM) Players that could be traded today: Tony Snell, Mike Dunleavy Jr, and Taj Gibson. I think you have to include Niko on that list.

I think we are going to see them go after a Rondo or Conley type player and look more for longer term, but to be frank, I think they are still figuring that out. Noah is probably on the way out, although it is definitely plausible that Pau and a Rondo are both brought in on 1 year deals (which wouldn't be awful as the team would theoretically be better, while still be in a position that a year from now they have cap space). I'm guessing the PG position plus having Robin Lopez instead of Noah will be the primary moves (don't know if Pau would actually come back for that) but having his buddy as a backup PG might help. Conley would be really nice, but I don't know if it makes sense to go longer term and that is what I think it will take to get Conley (who is a big upgrade over Rose, but, at the same time, is coming off some injuries himself and is getting older.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jun 23, 2016 -> 06:48 AM) For sure. Regardless, their next moves should be dumping Dunleavy and Taj though. I'm not a huge Jimmy Butler guy but he is a top 20 player in the league. Maybe even better. The Bulls need a ton to move him. If Boston gave me #3, and another 1st this year with Brooklyn's 2017 pick and Jae Crowder + filler I'd do that. The Bulls can't move him for #3, Crowder and Bradley or a TWolves package without Wiggins though. It's just not enough value. Honestly, I don't know hat they are going to move Dunleavy & Taj though.

Woj's take below (summarized): Woj saying he can't believe how much the Bulls got for Rose. Also thinks Rose will stunt KP's development. Both he and Shams aren't sure Rose understands how much scrutiny he'll get in NYC. Shams also says the tension between Rose and Butler was real and that the FO had to get rid of Rose so Butler can be the leader of the team.

The next thing I expect to hear about is how the Bulls tried to trade Niko and others (along with our pick / other picks) to move up to get Dunn. I don't think anyone will bite, but I certainly think we are going to try and get in some 3 team deal with someone picking in the top 6 spots to try and land our longer term PG. That said, I think the Bulls are more Bullish on Grant than others. Grant did play pretty good when he finally got some action very late in the season for the Knicks.

Buckets averaged 27/7/7 in games that Rose didn't play in last year. Some of that is inflated by that huge game in Toronto, IIRC.

QUOTE (buhbuhburrrrlz @ Jun 22, 2016 -> 04:10 PM) K.C. Johnson ‏@KCJHoop 2h2 hours ago Gar: "We value Jimmy. He fits in the direction we're headed." Interesting that Melo's people reached out to Rose and Rose wouldn't talk to him either. Ignored the Bulls during the off-season, ignored Butler's attempts to have him train with him and Taj (evidently Rose ended up no showing)....yeah, not exactly enduring things for a guy who hasn't lived up to expectations after his injury. Reports are that the Bulls have spent a lot of time engaging in discussions with Butler around the future of the franchise, etc. I think it is pretty evident (even the league chatter is the Bulls continue to say no and that includes turning down some solid proposals) they think pretty highly of Jimmy.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Jun 22, 2016 -> 04:03 PM) Just be glad you didn't grow up admiring Kirk Hinrich. I'm going to buy me a Hinrich jersey. I'd always be able to wear it with a sense of pride. I have nothing but good memories of captain Kirk. Than again, I was the resident Hinrich homer.

Thought the below nugget was interesting. I will caveat this by saying I don't know much about "win shares" and what defines them, but I do know under a lot of advanced stats Rose graded out really really poorly: Of the five players involved in the trade, Rose had the fewest win shares last season. The Bulls' three acquisitions (10.6 win shares) were worth 9.4 more wins than the Knicks' two acquisitions (1.2 win shares).

QUOTE (bmags @ Jun 22, 2016 -> 03:15 PM) Jason I have to believe you had the luxury of not watching the Bulls last year to find Butler ball entertaining. Would much rather have suffered another year of hell and faced 2018 fresh than with this news that we are trying to "retool" (worked great with Sox, Jerry) with Pau Gasol Jimmy Butler and Robin Lopez as our core. Kill me now. LOL at resigning Gasol. For the next four years we are basically the Brandon Jennings Milwaukee Bucks without fat OJ Mayo to gawk at. Maybe we'll get lucky and McDermott will put his baby fat back on. I watched almost every Bulls game. Butler was not what was wrong with the Bulls, but the dynamic with him and Rose was one of the things that was wrong. Derrick Rose was awful, the team had a lot of injuries, including Jimmy Butler, and well Hoiberg was terrible and part of that might have been due to Butler pushing him wrong and everything else, but we need a real PG. Just look at the overall team and how much better they were when Rose was out vs. in (both offensively and defensively). On the flipside, the opposite happened when Buckets was out. The two players were just awful fits alongside each other.

QUOTE (Tony @ Jun 22, 2016 -> 02:35 PM) God I hope Pau isn't back. WHAT'S THE POINT?Only makes sense if they have some hidden acquisition up their sleeve and I don't possibly know how they could acquire it via trade (they could make a big signing)...I just don't know how they make a big signing while keeping Pau (although I suppose they could trade Niko/Taj or others and than make a big signing and keep Pau).

I should point out, the team with the most downside from this deal is the Bulls because if they legitimately were planning on aligning for 2018, they should have just kept Rose and seen if he was super explosive during the first half of the season as they could have gotten more value at a later date. I say this because Rose clearly has the athleticism to still be a very good player...he just hasn't had the mental capacity / confidence to do so. So from an upside perspective, NY has more potential upside and I think it was a very good deal for the Knicks (gives them more payroll flexibility a year from now too).

QUOTE (shipps @ Jun 22, 2016 -> 02:30 PM) Yeah I listened too and he sure didn't go full blown "we are committed to Jimmy" by any stretch of the imagination. My bet is that Jimmy is gone too and I am not sure it will be for the haul that Bulls fans want. It may be for a high first and a throw in and they take their lumps. I think it is more that they know it is a dynamic and fluid situation and they are aware that they need to be able to adjust on the fly and be a little more creative / think out of the box than they have done in the past. I still expect Jimmy to be here unless we see just an absurd offer come across Gar / Pax's desk.

QUOTE (Tony @ Jun 22, 2016 -> 02:10 PM) Per KC Gar said he didn't talk to Rose, only agent BJ Armstrong. Said he got Rose's voice mail. I'm told Bulls had trouble reaching Rose all summer Everyone complains about Rose, but it is Butler who last off-season and this off-season had actually taken the time to train and spend time with other players on the Bulls. Rose made a brief appearance with Butler, but it was Butler who organized everything and set things up with Snell and Taj (plus all the time he spent with Dougie). Rose lives in the world of isolation yet it is Butler that is the cancer. You know what, Kobe wasn't always the easiest guy to work with but he put in tons of work and expected it out of everyone else and ultimately he was a good leader. He needed a guy like Derrick Fisher around him who could play the nice guy to his bad guy, but the end of the day, I think Butler has a lot of Kobe in him (not talent wise...please don't let anyone think I'm saying he has that talent...but he does have that attitude and will to just outwork everyone and he tries to push and lead by example with others and that is okay). He also was new to this role so you could presume there would be bumps and whenever you have a "changing" over the guard, you know the older guard is going to be the one who has the most difficult time adjusting (doesn't mean I'm blaming Rose or Noah either...just that it is natural).

QUOTE (JenksIsMyHero @ Jun 22, 2016 -> 01:45 PM) K.C. Johnson ‏@KCJHoop 9m9 minutes ago Bulls knew they had to address Rose-Butler dynamic. They also knew Rose was walking in 17. Hmm, didn't know it was a foregone conclusion that Rose was going to walk after next year. If that was the case, at least Bulls got something for him. Rose is going to want a mega deal and he isn't a very good fit for this team. Maybe he turns back into a star, but I don't believe it was happening in Chicago and I think he's too risky an investment to tie the type of money he will likely get a year from now. The Bulls absolutely had to move Rose.

QUOTE (ZoomSlowik @ Jun 22, 2016 -> 01:14 PM) You're being silly. The Bulls aren't THAT awful unless the next step is moving Butler. Butler alone puts them ahead of a third of the league or more. You seem surprised that the Bulls got crap for a injury-prone net-minus player that's making over 20 mil. Spanish Kirk Hinrich is only here for one year and while Lopez's contract isn't ideal, it's tolerable with the new cap. They would have to sign similar or worse contracts next year anyway to get to the new salary floor after they whiff on the decent FA. It's not really going to set them back. At least now we don't have to worry about them stupidly resigning Rose, and they picked up a semi-competent big and a young PG that should be better outside of the Triangle offense. Good post. PS, I don't buy any of the Butler rumors unless we get totally blown away. I.e., Wiggins plus the pick for Butler + our 1st or Boston gives us this years top pick plus other top picks.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 22, 2016 -> 01:11 PM) Oh and taking on Lopez's contract while trading Butler would also be very confusing to me. Given Lopez would get as much, if not more on the FA market today, I presume that would mean if we wanted to, we could move him. Presume...I'm obviously not a GM so I technically don't know the market. I view this as the team is in a position where it could pivot a multitude of directions. They could make a push at a top player now (to surround with a more solid core plus Butler...would they be favorites if they signed KD, no, but they'd be pretty damn legit contenders) or they could wait a year, where there is a more realistic chance you could actually land another top FA (not saying they'd get them, but more potential options). Again, instant contender, no, but very good team that could possibly contend, certainly. They could also get a blown away offer for Butler, but without that, there is no need. He's a top 15 player in the league signed long-term to a fair deal in what is a star league. We won't win with him as a #1 (at least not based upon his current talent level) but we absolutely could with him as the #2.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jun 22, 2016 -> 12:58 PM) Can't decide who will be the more miserable team to watch next year, the chicago bulls or the brooklyn nets. Yes, because the Nets have a player like Butler. Oh and the Nets literally don't have their 1st round pick in the next two years either (technically next year they'll swap with the Celtics so they'll end up with the Celtics pick). Come on...this is absurd overreaction. I'm not saying we are going to be a championship team, but we aren't talking about being god awful. I realize people have this theory that we should either be a championship favorite or the worse team on the planet trying to stockpile assets, but the reality is there is a fine line there. If we saw that approach, the Heat probably would have been blown up prior to acquiring Lebron, the Mavericks wouldn't have won a title, the Lakers 2nd run would have been blown up (Kobe would have been moved and thus they never would have been in a spot to land Pau to push them over the top after Bynum suddenly emerged as a quality pick) and to be frank Golden State would have been blown up (as Steph had never proven to be awesome). It is okay to be a pretty good team and being in that constant spot where a good pick here (or the right trade opportunity there) and you are a potential contender. You never know about injuries, etc, oh and well it is more entertaining to watch anyway.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Jun 22, 2016 -> 12:53 PM) Eh, to me it feels like Butler forced out Noah and Derrick, who both destroyed their bodies for this team. I don't really know how Rose destroyed his body for the team. He did a lot of sitting and was the opposite of a team first player. I don't disagree on Noah, but we don't know all of what happened with Noah and Butler.