34 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

Unless the injuries get excessively bad (meaning all of Lauri, Jabari, and Zach miss signifiant time, the Bulls have enough talent to be not nearly the WORST team.

I think if injuries go through our guards, it will be so bad it will be hard to win. Very thin there. They have a lot of players, but few decent ones.

8 minutes ago, bmags said:

I think if injuries go through our guards, it will be so bad it will be hard to win. Very thin there. They have a lot of players, but few decent ones.

Dunn and Zack would be a big step down if he goes out, the rest are fungible.

i think Lavine is gonna be a whipping boy on this thread.   Nothing he has done has shown me that he is anything more than a chucker

2 hours ago, Kyyle23 said:

i think Lavine is gonna be a whipping boy on this thread.   Nothing he has done has shown me that he is anything more than a chucker

Little bit scared that he starts season without lauri, rather he be forced from gate to play with him. If he gets success early (offensively), will he feed Lauri when he comes back?

Yeah losing a dozen games of Lauri doesn't suddenly make us a threat for a top pick IMO. This team is better than people think, and if they were trying at the end of games last year they would've won closer to 35ish games. Tanking sucks also because it really fucks with projections. Everyone sees the Bulls and thinks they won 27 games last year but the reality is that, in the normal pre-tanking NBA, they weren't that bad.

I also think the defensive concerns are overblown. As in, we are indeed a bad defensive team but not nearly as bad as the media is saying. LaVine is actually a good on-ball defender. It's off-ball where he struggles but he claims he worked hard on that in the summer, so we'll see. The only player who I think is actually a major defensive liability is Parker. 

 

Edited October 2, 20187 yr by Jose Abreu

12 hours ago, Kyyle23 said:

i think Lavine is gonna be a whipping boy on this thread.   Nothing he has done has shown me that he is anything more than a chucker

Watching him last season, yes. The good thing about him is that he actually has a good jump shot, so unlike the stereotypical "chucker", he should actually have decent percentages. Now that he's more acclimated I expect 18-20 PPG, 45% FG, 37% from deep, 82% from the line. I don't think it's too far-fetched because those are pretty much his exact stats from his last year in Minnesota. 

10 hours ago, Jose Abreu said:

Watching him last season, yes. The good thing about him is that he actually has a good jump shot, so unlike the stereotypical "chucker", he should actually have decent percentages. Now that he's more acclimated I expect 18-20 PPG, 45% FG, 37% from deep, 82% from the line. I don't think it's too far-fetched because those are pretty much his exact stats from his last year in Minnesota. 

I know one thing...it was preseason so I don't want to get ahead of myself (and one game) but he looked better than I saw him for any game last season in terms of his explosion (and that is counting that absurd night he had against the Twolves last season).  Can't comment on his defense and any improvements he made, but hopefully he stays healthy. If he does, I think we are going to see a significant improvement in his percentages across the board.   He will take bad shots though, I guarantee that much.  

How many years in a row have we heard this...

 

oh my god derrick rose is an 11 year vet that makes me feel unbelievably old

1 hour ago, bmags said:

oh my god derrick rose is an 11 year vet that makes me feel unbelievably old

I was 8 when he was drafted. It's crazy to me that he's so (relatively) old now. It'll be a similar feeling when the Moncada/Kopech/Eloy types are somewhere playing baseball in their mid-30s. We're so used to thinking of these prospects and young players as, well, exactly that- young, up and coming stars- that once they're no longer young, it's just a strange feeling of shock. 

Also didn’t he tear his ACL in year 4?

2008-9: Boston series

2009-10: Cleveland series

2010-11: Heat series

2011-12: Sixers series / injury

Lavine injured again.... anyone know how badly?

 

Parker was 1 for 12? I don't think that's good.

If I'm the Bulls, I'd look to deal Portis this season. He's a good role player, but the kid still wants to start someday and his hot headedness is still there with him. If the Bulls were smart, they'd start Portis right now since Lauri is out and have him up his trade value so they can flip him. I still feel a sick turn in my stomach the Bulls are gonna overpay a bench guy and Portis has already gone on record saying he wants to get paid.

 

The Bulls have 2 cornerstone pieces right now and the good news is they're both big men. Carter Jr. and Markkanen you keep and build around. Everybody else for the right offer is expendable. Now, obviously I'm not saying you look to deal the rest of the players since you still need to keep a few for a lineup (Bulls already feel what they feel with LaVine regardless of what myself and others feel about him as a player, Dunn is okay, Hutch I like as a defensive stalwart in the future on the bench, etc.) but their best players are the big guys. And I really, really hope the sooner the LaVines, Parkers, Blackeney's chuckling ass, etc. realize this, the better for the franchise.

1 hour ago, Brian said:

Parker was 1 for 12? I don't think that's good.

Odds are this will be Parker's only season with the Bulls (at least under his 1 and 1 contract).  That said, maybe he'll really take his game up a level.  

25 minutes ago, Chisoxfn said:

Odds are this will be Parker's only season with the Bulls (at least under his 1 and 1 contract).  That said, maybe he'll really take his game up a level.  

I should point out, I say that because I think his defensive limitations will crop up too much. Not because I think he will regularly shoot like he did last night. He's proven that he can score and can be an efficient scorer.  The question to me is what sort of defense can the guy play.  I think with his limitations, he probably isn't a $20M per year guy.  

1 hour ago, Brian said:

Parker was 1 for 12? I don't think that's good.

you miss 100% of the shots you don't take, though, so his 91% missed shots is still better.

1 hour ago, SoxAce said:

If I'm the Bulls, I'd look to deal Portis this season. He's a good role player, but the kid still wants to start someday and his hot headedness is still there with him. If the Bulls were smart, they'd start Portis right now since Lauri is out and have him up his trade value so they can flip him. I still feel a sick turn in my stomach the Bulls are gonna overpay a bench guy and Portis has already gone on record saying he wants to get paid.

 

The Bulls have 2 cornerstone pieces right now and the good news is they're both big men. Carter Jr. and Markkanen you keep and build around. Everybody else for the right offer is expendable. Now, obviously I'm not saying you look to deal the rest of the players since you still need to keep a few for a lineup (Bulls already feel what they feel with LaVine regardless of what myself and others feel about him as a player, Dunn is okay, Hutch I like as a defensive stalwart in the future on the bench, etc.) but their best players are the big guys. And I really, really hope the sooner the LaVines, Parkers, Blackeney's chuckling ass, etc. realize this, the better for the franchise.

I like Portis and think he's an extremely valuable bench contributor and think he can play a nice role in a contending team. However, if you are having him eat up a good chunk of your cap space...welp, you are going to have a hard time being a contender.  Love Portis attitude and energy, etc, but I'm worried that this will be one of those deals that gets in the way of us doing something special in free agency, etc. 

If we already had a championship roster and you were just going to be dealing with JR and company paying luxury tax or at risk of that, I'd have a different view because I generally like Bobby's game. He can score in so many ways and whether he can play enough D to be a starter or not, he can certainly be an extremely valuable 6th man who can spot start.  But I'm not taking up $15M of cap space for that.  

1 hour ago, SoxAce said:

If I'm the Bulls, I'd look to deal Portis this season. He's a good role player, but the kid still wants to start someday and his hot headedness is still there with him. If the Bulls were smart, they'd start Portis right now since Lauri is out and have him up his trade value so they can flip him. I still feel a sick turn in my stomach the Bulls are gonna overpay a bench guy and Portis has already gone on record saying he wants to get paid.

 

The Bulls have 2 cornerstone pieces right now and the good news is they're both big men. Carter Jr. and Markkanen you keep and build around. Everybody else for the right offer is expendable. Now, obviously I'm not saying you look to deal the rest of the players since you still need to keep a few for a lineup (Bulls already feel what they feel with LaVine regardless of what myself and others feel about him as a player, Dunn is okay, Hutch I like as a defensive stalwart in the future on the bench, etc.) but their best players are the big guys. And I really, really hope the sooner the LaVines, Parkers, Blackeney's chuckling ass, etc. realize this, the better for the franchise.

They will definitely fall in love with portis and pay him even though they could easily replicate his production with an exception contract. They fall in love with their own draft picks (unless they are actually good).

5 minutes ago, bmags said:

you miss 100% of the shots you don't take, though, so his 91% missed shots is still better.

Parker's fit on this squad is still an extremely odd one.  I view it as one of those why not lottery ticket moves that they did more than anything else.  

2 minutes ago, Chisoxfn said:

Parker's fit on this squad is still an extremely odd one.  I view it as one of those why not lottery ticket moves that they did more than anything else.  

If it comes at the cost of markannen/carters offensive development it will be a bad lottery ticket.

15 minutes ago, bmags said:

If it comes at the cost of markannen/carters offensive development it will be a bad lottery ticket.

I figure the Bulls have too many injury prone guys that very rarely will they have all of their guys on the court.  That said, I'm prioritizing Lavine, Mark, Carter, and Dunn (and obviously Hutch) over pretty much everyone else. I say Lavine because if he healthy, he has all of the athleticism and skills to be a top notch player. He may still end up being nothing but a chucker, but his basketball tools are off the chart, imo.  Basketball IQ is a separate discussion though.  

I still think this year is about development in the younger pieces and getting a roster decent enough that you can start to land some impact guys via FA or trade. One thing I think people are underestimating is how a piece like Jabari can be used to facilitate a trade for a player looking to leave.  

The Suns just fired their GM. 

He has not performed well, however, strange timing for performance firing.

Maybe their owner wants Buckets and is now going to bring someone in who helps get him Butler?