Other Chicago & General Sports Thread LXIV: Cactus League
- Thread starter DisgruntledHawkFan
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Malagahawks
We tanked hard and got Bedard!! Happy Days!!
Back to the Bulls, what a mess of dysfunction it has been! I absolutely love the acquisition of Porter and think he is the perfect compliment to Markkanen & LaVine. I think what the Bulls truly lack now is a playmaking PG who can create, distribute, & shoot. Someone like Malcolm Brogxon has crossed my mind although his assist per game is only 3.5.
Thoughts?
Thoughts?
The Bulls are missing a star, probably 2. A PG that can distribute and shoot does nothing for them except make them cannon fodder for good teams in the playoffs.
Malagahawks
We tanked hard and got Bedard!! Happy Days!!
They will have a really good core with Markkanen, Porter, LaVine, & Carter next year. Plus a high draft pick in the top 5. Ja Morant is a PG whose upside will round out the starters and in 1 or 2 seasons they should be ready to compete. The EC is inherently weaker than the WC and making the playoffs should be a goal for 2020/21. Malcolm Brogdon gives them a great 3 & D PG should they elect to go that route. We don't know what the future holds and anything is possible.
Without a star we know exactly whats possible. This is the NBA. Teams with good cores and no stars get 4-7 seeds and get crushed in the playoffs. In fact the Bulls were exactly that pre-Rose and even with Rose they were a team that had no shot against the elite teams of the NBA in the playoffs.
Malagahawks
We tanked hard and got Bedard!! Happy Days!!
We also know that the Bulls are not going to attract any tier I FA's like KD or Kyrie so they have to rely on good drafting and getting that right. Picking up talent vía trades or tier II free agents is possible. The Spurs and Mavericks proved that while it is not the norm you can win the Finals with one NBA top 10 player and round out the roster with good to very good complimentary players. Markkanen has incredible upside, is only 21 and the sky is the limit. De may luck into Zion as well.
Tim Duncan wasn't just a NBA top 10 player. He's a top 10 all time NBA player. Also calling Tony Parker a very good complimentary player is a disservice to him. He's a borderline Hall of Fame player. Then as Duncan slowed down they happened into Kawhi Leonard who is one of the best players in the game.
Malagahawks
We tanked hard and got Bedard!! Happy Days!!
My point is those 2 teams didn't have a big III or IV or whatever you want to term. Look it's obvious you have your own opinion and that's fine. I look at it differently and think the Bulls with good drafting and maybe one good FA acquisition could be ready after next season to compete for deep playoff runs.
The Bulls have been using Lavine at the 1 recently, so I'd be fine with getting a combo guard instead of a pure PG and letting them split PG time. In addition, the system that Boylen has been using has allowed multiple positions to push the ball up the court (Lauri has been leading breakouts and things like that) so I think having 2 guards that can handle the ball well is good, instead of just always playing through one of them.
With that in mind, I would like, in order from greatest to least: Malcom Brogdan, Eric Bledsoe, Ricky Rubio, Terry Rozier. Then get a Danny Green, Jeff Teague, or another cheaper guard to help out with the bench.
I don't see us getting Brogdan, the Bucks will retain him and he's a RFA. So Let's say we get a vet Bledsoe/Rubio type. Also assuming we draft someone who has to start on the bench (anyone but Zion and Ja):
Bledsoe/Rubio-LaVine-Porter Jr-Lauri-Carter Jr
Dunn-Danny Green-Denzel Valentine-Hutchinson-cheap C
So I would say that at PG we have a solid player, at SG we have a all-star, at SF we have a very good player, at PF we have an all-star (if he plays like he has been recently, which I think is fair to assume), and at C we have a good to very good C (depending how he develops over the summer). Our bench would be good, and we'd be 2 deep at every position. Everyone except for the 2 FA guards are also young to very young (Zach is only 23, Porter is 25 lol). There is alot of room for all these players to develop.
That being said, it's true there are no super stars. I could see Zach and Lauri being stars, but unless Lauri really gets going he probably won't get to superstar level. We would need a true superstar on this team for it to be a legit contender.
That said, the team really reminds me of pre-Kyrie Celtics. They had good to very good players at every position, and had 1 star in Isiah Thomas. They stockpiled draft picks, made some good trades, and were able to buy low on a disgruntled star. Now they're riding high. The Bulls need to take the same approach. Draft well, stockpile young assets, let the team grow, and hope that you can either lure a superstar FA who wants to play in a big city and with a young, talented team, or wait until a superstar is demanding to be traded and buy low on them. I'd say we already have a good core to support a true superstar, so as long as we just keep stockpiling assets via drafting well, I think we're doing well.
Sure, it sucks we don't have a superstar, but I think the Bulls are doing the best that they can, and I think the Bulls will be fun to watch/follow for the next few years, at least. That's really all you can ask for. The FO hasn't made any major blunders or anything recently IMO, they've made a bunch of solid moves (ASIDE FROM BOYLEN).
With that in mind, I would like, in order from greatest to least: Malcom Brogdan, Eric Bledsoe, Ricky Rubio, Terry Rozier. Then get a Danny Green, Jeff Teague, or another cheaper guard to help out with the bench.
I don't see us getting Brogdan, the Bucks will retain him and he's a RFA. So Let's say we get a vet Bledsoe/Rubio type. Also assuming we draft someone who has to start on the bench (anyone but Zion and Ja):
Bledsoe/Rubio-LaVine-Porter Jr-Lauri-Carter Jr
Dunn-Danny Green-Denzel Valentine-Hutchinson-cheap C
So I would say that at PG we have a solid player, at SG we have a all-star, at SF we have a very good player, at PF we have an all-star (if he plays like he has been recently, which I think is fair to assume), and at C we have a good to very good C (depending how he develops over the summer). Our bench would be good, and we'd be 2 deep at every position. Everyone except for the 2 FA guards are also young to very young (Zach is only 23, Porter is 25 lol). There is alot of room for all these players to develop.
That being said, it's true there are no super stars. I could see Zach and Lauri being stars, but unless Lauri really gets going he probably won't get to superstar level. We would need a true superstar on this team for it to be a legit contender.
That said, the team really reminds me of pre-Kyrie Celtics. They had good to very good players at every position, and had 1 star in Isiah Thomas. They stockpiled draft picks, made some good trades, and were able to buy low on a disgruntled star. Now they're riding high. The Bulls need to take the same approach. Draft well, stockpile young assets, let the team grow, and hope that you can either lure a superstar FA who wants to play in a big city and with a young, talented team, or wait until a superstar is demanding to be traded and buy low on them. I'd say we already have a good core to support a true superstar, so as long as we just keep stockpiling assets via drafting well, I think we're doing well.
Sure, it sucks we don't have a superstar, but I think the Bulls are doing the best that they can, and I think the Bulls will be fun to watch/follow for the next few years, at least. That's really all you can ask for. The FO hasn't made any major blunders or anything recently IMO, they've made a bunch of solid moves (ASIDE FROM BOYLEN).
Malcolm Brogdon is a great kid from an incredible family. Super smart, community oriented, and leader. There's a reason he's nicknamed The President ... not just because of how he looks.
That said, Malcolm is the type of player to push a winning team over. He's a perfect the complement to Giannis. I'm not quite sure if he fits with Markkanen and Lavine. However, Porter and Brogdon would make the Bulls basketball IQ significantly higher. Malcolm is a great passer. Don't let the assists numbers fool you. He was taught by Tony Bennett.
Malcolm is going to cost close to $60mn. He's still at 50 / 40 / 90 this year. Only Curry and Durant have done it once in recent memory.
I watched some Ja Morant last night. He's good. I can see why he'll be a top 5 pick. He kind of reminds me of Mike Conley with more aerial potential. That said, I still need to see him against tougher competition.
The Spurs had 4 HOFers on their roster in their 5 Championship 15+ year run. Robinson, Duncan, Parker, and Ginoboli. I wouldn't be surprised if Kawhi joins them at some point.
I'm not a fan of Bledsoe. Without a strong coach, he can be selfish on the court.
Both Brogdon and Green are winners. Green is a bit old ... but he could teach the young Bulls to play the right way. Malcolm is a Swiss army knife. He pushes a winning team over. I'm sure Malcolm would make the Bulls better, but I doubt he makes them legitimate contenders.
While I like Rubio, he can't shoot. I'm tired of PGs who can't shoot.
It might be best the Bulls save that cap space for 2020. Felicio will have only 1 year left ... and could be traded. Without Robin, Denzel, Felicio, and Dunn's contract, the Bulls will have room for a max contract + something leftover.
All of them have warts. You're right about Bledsoe though, the last thing I'd want is a shitty vet to teach the kids. People think the Bulls might sign Rose, although I'm not a fan given he's a rapist.
I'm fine with Rubio being unable to shoot, we have 3 guys who can shoot very well. Also Rubio has like a .32 3pt% which isn't bad. Brogdan would be the only guy I'm excited about, the rest are stopgaps.
While I agree it's good to save cap space, I think we need a legit PG for a couple years. If there's one position I'd rather not have suck for this, it's a PG because it can limit how much guys like Lauri and Wendell can develop if they don't have someone who can get them the ball. If we had a shit C, whatever, but I think we atleast need a serviceable PG. There's a few out there that I didn't name who would also be ok to have (Rozier for example). Some more names should pop up on the trade market for cheap too.
Scary Terry would be awesome. However, the Celtics aren't giving him up. I'm thinking Kyrie leaves via free agency this year.
Too bad both Conley and Teague have player options this year. They would be the perfect / cheaper vet PG solutions for the Bulls next year. They wouldn't be expensive and long term guarantees would not be needed. Both Conley and Teague are from Indiana. They'd probably love to come back home. Conley's dad is from Chicago.
I'm thinking the Bulls should take a shot at Patrick Beverley in free agency. Chicago kid with an edge ... borderline psycho on the court. He wouldn't be expensive and will play really hard. The guy is crazier than Bobby Portis.
I'd only want Pat Bev off the bench if he isn't super expensive for a 2 year contract I'd be happy. Guards decline pretty quickly and he's 30 and plays a really hard style.
I think there are a bunch of options out there at guard. We just gotta see who's available. Basically I'd be happy with any solid to serviceable starting PG who isn't going to break the bank. I think there's a fair amount of those out there right now, so we'll see who actually hits the market. This should be priority #1 this offseason.
Malagahawks
We tanked hard and got Bedard!! Happy Days!!
Those numbers are exactly why I think Brogdan would be a great fit in Boylen's more recnt of the offense. I think as you say to poach Brogdan the Bulls will have to offer at least 4/60M with the 4th year being a player option. I couldn't stand Boylen as much as the next guy when he was gifted the job (especially in lieu of the "player revolt" in December. But he did have them playing some semblance of D the first few games until that no longer became a priority and he has also abandoned the slow as hell half court offense.
Now as you say the focus is on someone other than Dunn bringing the ball upcourt with more tempo. There is some debate on whether the primary ball-handling duties should be given to Zach but I am not sure he is particularly suited for that other than bringing the ball up and working a pick & roll/pop with Markkanen or other bigs. I now agree Dunn is not a future core piece going forward but could lead the bench on a nice discounted contract after his RFA statusnis resolved. Brogdon and Dunn could be a good PG combo if they could co-exist but something tell Dunn is not going to accept a bench role.
Trust me ... I love Brogdon. His number is retired at UVA. The only reason he wasn't a first rounder was due to his feet (missed a season in college).
Brogdon is more a combo guard than PG. He can bring the ball up ... but Lavine would have to play the 1 which isn't a bad idea. Malcolm is 6'5" with a massive wingspan. Strong and fast enough to guard the 1, 2, and 3. On offense, he's more effective off the ball though he'll make the right passes with the ball. He's not going to break anyone off the dribble consistently ... though he can drive and finish. He's a good cutter and spot up shooter.
People thought 4 years at $46mn was a good deal for Malcolm before the season. Because of his stellar season, I'm thinking it's 4 years $60mn now. I think the Bucks have prioritized: Middleton, Brogdon, and then Bledsoe.
The Bulls will have to be aggressive to steal Brogdon from the Bucks. That's why I think Beverley might be the more financially responsible option.
MurrayBannerman
I post about baseball on a hockey forum
Read snippets of the Addison Russell interview. I certainly understand why people wanted this kid off the team. He admitted it.
I'm a person for giving others second chances as long as they admit guilt, ask for forgiveness, and pays the consequences.
That said, there's no argument from me if people want Russell off the Cubs. If Russell does stay, he better go out of his way to give back to the community and take care of his current gf, ex wife, and children. He's on negative zero tolerance.
I'm a person for giving others second chances as long as they admit guilt, ask for forgiveness, and pays the consequences.
That said, there's no argument from me if people want Russell off the Cubs. If Russell does stay, he better go out of his way to give back to the community and take care of his current gf, ex wife, and children. He's on negative zero tolerance.
Looks interesting. How often does he post articles and stuff? Looks kinda sparse, like once per week.
MurrayBannerman
I post about baseball on a hockey forum
This guy Ben Falk worked for Sam Hinkie. He's going to know his numbers.
Sounds like the Bulls should hire him ... but they don't take analytics seriously.
I wish Daryl Morey came back home to Chicago.
MurrayBannerman
I post about baseball on a hockey forum
They're the only team in the NBA that doesn't pay for SportVU. It's embarrassing.
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