Atlanta - Chicago - New York - Washington

[cgf]

ATL: Bogdanovic + Dosunmu + '24 NYK FRP (#22) + POR FRP (1-14 through '28)
CHI: Murray + Kuzma + McBride
NYK: White + Caruso
WSH: Ball + '24 DAL FRP (#19)

- Hawks get a good return for Murray & regroup around Trae
- Bulls lock their spot in the '25 play-in up & sell DDR on coming back
- Knicks get the perfect Quickley replacement and Grimes upgrade
- Wiz pick up another non-Lotto FRP while they bottom out...maybe send them a SRP or two, as well? Giving them their pick back + a pick this year feels too steep.


ATL
Young | Dosunmu
Bogdanovic | Bufkin
Hunter | Bey
Johnson | Bogdanovic
Okongwu | Capela
+ #10 + #22

CHI
Murray | McBride | Carter
Lavine | Terry
DeRozan | Williams | Phillips
Kuzma |
Vucevic | Drummond
+ #12

NYK
Brunson | Caruso
DiVincenzo | White
Anunoby | Hart
Randle | Achiuewa
Robinson | Hartenstein | Sims
+ #39

[ChettheJet]

Worse than running back continuity for the Bulls. They have Lavine locked in long term then add Murray and Kuzma the same, resign DeRozan long term, Vucevic 2 more years. They basically bet the franchise on those guys winning next year, hey better be better than play in if you're investing that much in your starters and not just one championship. Because if they don't win a couple those guys will not disappear quickly and there will be a total teardown by Karnisovas' replacement and it will be 2030 before they are out of the lottery.

The Bulls right now made 2 great moves, they resigned White and Dosunmu to their 2nd contracts and they are still getting better. Patrick Williams is a RFA and can certainly get a decent offer with a chance to start.They would be fools to resign him for what he could ask to come off the bench. Posters here yap a lot but I don't see Drummond resigning to backup Vucevic again and if you've seen him play this year, he deserves 24 minutes a game at least and would help a team. So you've moved on from Williams, Caruso and Dosunmu, name the best 2 defensive players among the top 8 on that Bulls depth chart. Are there 2 worth a hoot?

[Godaddycurse]

Seems too good for NYK. Not sure those 2 late 1sts could fetch White alone, let alone Caruso on top

[penbeast0]

For the Wiz, the odds are reasonable that their 1st will indeed convert to 2nds. Maybe a later year pick in addition rather than this year to balance it out if you add the Wiz pick returned. Adds to the variability and the Wiz can afford to wait for, say, a 2026 pick.

[Dan Z]

Worse than running back continuity for the Bulls. They have Lavine locked in long term then add Murray and Kuzma the same, resign DeRozan long term, Vucevic 2 more years. They basically bet the franchise on those guys winning next year, hey better be better than play in if you're investing that much in your starters and not just one championship. Because if they don't win a couple those guys will not disappear quickly and there will be a total teardown by Karnisovas' replacement and it will be 2030 before they are out of the lottery.

The Bulls right now made 2 great moves, they resigned White and Dosunmu to their 2nd contracts and they are still getting better. Patrick Williams is a RFA and can certainly get a decent offer with a chance to start.They would be fools to resign him for what he could ask to come off the bench. Posters here yap a lot but I don't see Drummond resigning to backup Vucevic again and if you've seen him play this year, he deserves 24 minutes a game at least and would help a team. So you've moved on from Williams, Caruso and Dosunmu, name the best 2 defensive players among the top 8 on that Bulls depth chart. Are there 2 worth a hoot?

I agree. It's a big no from the Bulls.

White, Ayo and probably Caruso are the back court for next year. They'll showcase Zach and then try to trade him (if they can't trade him this off season).

It would be a bad move to commit to DM, ZL, Kuzma, Vucevic and DDR long term.

[cgf]

Seems too good for NYK. Not sure those 2 late 1sts could fetch White alone, let alone Caruso on top

I've been hyping Coby since he turned into a good two-way player last year, so I won't push back on that, but I like McBride a lot too. So my thinking was Deuce + #19 for Coby wasn't miles apart, and Bogey + #22 for Caruso was pretty close. With us adding whatever extra incentives Washington & Atlanta needed...SRPs / a 3rd FRP / etc...to bridge those gaps.

But I wasn't sure what those extra incentives should be. Giving the Wizards back their pick back + a guaranteed pick feels too much for Kuzma even with his team-friendly deal. penbeast0's suggestion seems reasonable...something like POR FRP + WSH FRP to the Wizards, with us sending the Hawks 19 + 22 alongside Bojan for Murray?


I'm also not very high on Dosunmu, which I know some Bulls fans disagree with me on. So from the Chicago perspective I think swapping Ayo for Deuce is an upgrade, though I'm sure not everyone will. Similarly I suspect Dejounte will be better than Coby for as long as DeMar is still DeMar, although I'm not a Murray fan at all and would rather just keep Coby. And Kuzma would be a good fit.

[cgf]

Worse than running back continuity for the Bulls. They have Lavine locked in long term then add Murray and Kuzma the same, resign DeRozan long term, Vucevic 2 more years. They basically bet the franchise on those guys winning next year, hey better be better than play in if you're investing that much in your starters and not just one championship. Because if they don't win a couple those guys will not disappear quickly and there will be a total teardown by Karnisovas' replacement and it will be 2030 before they are out of the lottery.

The Bulls right now made 2 great moves, they resigned White and Dosunmu to their 2nd contracts and they are still getting better. Patrick Williams is a RFA and can certainly get a decent offer with a chance to start.They would be fools to resign him for what he could ask to come off the bench. Posters here yap a lot but I don't see Drummond resigning to backup Vucevic again and if you've seen him play this year, he deserves 24 minutes a game at least and would help a team. So you've moved on from Williams, Caruso and Dosunmu, name the best 2 defensive players among the top 8 on that Bulls depth chart. Are there 2 worth a hoot?

I agree. It's a big no from the Bulls.

White, Ayo and probably Caruso are the back court for next year. They'll showcase Zach and then try to trade him (if they can't trade him this off season).

It would be a bad move to commit to DM, ZL, Kuzma, Vucevic and DDR long term.

I don't love it for you...though I like Deuce more than Ayo & think Kuzma's under-rated, I like Coby more than Murray and would rather overpay Caruso to stay...but I tried to think of your FO's priorities; avoiding the tax + at least getting to the play-in + convincing DeMar to re-sign, and this seemed like a way to upgrade the team with those goals in mind.

Would I rather have Dejounte than Coby? No, but do I think there's a good chance he's a more productive PG for however much longer DDR is still a stud for you? Yeah, probably.

Similarly would I rather add Caruso or Kuzma to my Knicks? Obviously AC, but with how long you've lacked a real PF, Kuzma's team-friendly contract, and under-rated game, I think there's an argument he'd help you win more in that short term that your FO seems to be focused on.

Granted I also don't see who's going to be throwing huge contracts & starting spots at Pat & Drummond. So I don't think you'd have too much trouble bringing them back to fill the bench out around McBride, Terry, & your FRP this year.

And even though I don't like the direction...especially having seen how successful a Rebuild 2.0 can be for my Avs in the NHL world...I do think that roster in the OP would be more fun to watch when I go to the UC than if you just ran it back until you found someone to make a face-saving offer for Lavine.

[penbeast0]

I've been hyping Coby since he turned into a good two-way player last year, so I won't push back on that, but I like McBride a lot too. So my thinking was Deuce + #19 for Coby wasn't miles apart, and Bogey + #22 for Caruso was pretty close. With us adding whatever extra incentives Washington & Atlanta needed...SRPs / a 3rd FRP / etc...to bridge those gaps.

But I wasn't sure what those extra incentives should be. Giving the Wizards back their pick back + a guaranteed pick feels too much for Kuzma even with his team-friendly deal. penbeast0's suggestion seems reasonable...something like POR FRP + WSH FRP to the Wizards, with us sending the Hawks 19 + 22 alongside Bojan for Murray?


I'm also not very high on Dosunmu, which I know some Bulls fans disagree with me on. So from the Chicago perspective I think swapping Ayo for Deuce is an upgrade, though I'm sure not everyone will. Similarly I suspect Dejounte will be better than Coby for as long as DeMar is still DeMar, although I'm not a Murray fan at all and would rather just keep Coby. And Kuzma would be a good fit.

Wow, reasonable! I don't think I've ever been called reasonable on the trade board before.

[Dan Z]

Worse than running back continuity for the Bulls. They have Lavine locked in long term then add Murray and Kuzma the same, resign DeRozan long term, Vucevic 2 more years. They basically bet the franchise on those guys winning next year, hey better be better than play in if you're investing that much in your starters and not just one championship. Because if they don't win a couple those guys will not disappear quickly and there will be a total teardown by Karnisovas' replacement and it will be 2030 before they are out of the lottery.

The Bulls right now made 2 great moves, they resigned White and Dosunmu to their 2nd contracts and they are still getting better. Patrick Williams is a RFA and can certainly get a decent offer with a chance to start.They would be fools to resign him for what he could ask to come off the bench. Posters here yap a lot but I don't see Drummond resigning to backup Vucevic again and if you've seen him play this year, he deserves 24 minutes a game at least and would help a team. So you've moved on from Williams, Caruso and Dosunmu, name the best 2 defensive players among the top 8 on that Bulls depth chart. Are there 2 worth a hoot?

I agree. It's a big no from the Bulls.

White, Ayo and probably Caruso are the back court for next year. They'll showcase Zach and then try to trade him (if they can't trade him this off season).

It would be a bad move to commit to DM, ZL, Kuzma, Vucevic and DDR long term.

I don't love it for you...though I like Deuce more than Ayo & think Kuzma's under-rated, I like Coby more than Murray and would rather overpay Caruso to stay...but I tried to think of your FO's priorities; avoiding the tax + at least getting to the play-in + convincing DeMar to re-sign, and this seemed like a way to upgrade the team with those goals in mind.

Would I rather have Dejounte than Coby? No, but do I think there's a good chance he's a more productive PG for however much longer DDR is still a stud for you? Yeah, probably.

Similarly would I rather add Caruso or Kuzma to my Knicks? Obviously AC, but with how long you've lacked a real PF, Kuzma's team-friendly contract, and under-rated game, I think there's an argument he'd help you win more in that short term that your FO seems to be focused on.

Granted I also don't see who's going to be throwing huge contracts & starting spots at Pat & Drummond. So I don't think you'd have too much trouble bringing them back to fill the bench out around McBride, Terry, & your FRP this year.

And even though I don't like the direction...especially having seen how successful a Rebuild 2.0 can be for my Avs in the NHL world...I do think that roster in the OP would be more fun to watch when I go to the UC than if you just ran it back until you found someone to make a face-saving offer for Lavine.

Who is Deuce? Do you mean McBride?

McBride seems like a decent player, but Ayo has been improving all year and is on a good contract.

Read on Twitter

The Bulls won't have a problem convincing DDR to stay, the issue is how many years and how much money (especially at his age). If the two sides are far apart on that, and he walks, then so be it (I'm also in favor of a rebuild).

Kuzma puts up decent numbers, but I'm not sure if he's a winning player. Yes, he won a championship with the Lakers, but he played poorly in the playoffs and has typically been on losing teams. I'd rather look elsewhere for a PF.

I agree that Dejounte is a good player and has better point guard skills than Coby White right now. However, Coby is four years younger and is paid 12 and 14 million less than DJ, which is important for a team that doesn't pay the luxury tax and has to figure out what to do with 40+ million per year Zach LaVine.

As for Zach LaVine who knows. My guess is they talk to teams this off season, but nothing happens and then he showcases what he can do in the early part of the season. If he's good maybe a team convinces themselves that he's someone they could use. He's not a terrible player, but I know he has his flaws and his contract is big.

I don't like what AK has done overall since he came to Chicago, but if he locked into that roster (the one in your original post) then that would be terrible. They''re already a play-in/low playoff seed team and would be so for even longer.

[jordanwilliams6]

That’s terrible for the Bulls. They trade 3 of their 4 best players for a solid starter and a guy I wouldn’t want on my team at all.

[cgf]

I agree. It's a big no from the Bulls.

White, Ayo and probably Caruso are the back court for next year. They'll showcase Zach and then try to trade him (if they can't trade him this off season).

It would be a bad move to commit to DM, ZL, Kuzma, Vucevic and DDR long term.

I don't love it for you...though I like Deuce more than Ayo & think Kuzma's under-rated, I like Coby more than Murray and would rather overpay Caruso to stay...but I tried to think of your FO's priorities; avoiding the tax + at least getting to the play-in + convincing DeMar to re-sign, and this seemed like a way to upgrade the team with those goals in mind.

Would I rather have Dejounte than Coby? No, but do I think there's a good chance he's a more productive PG for however much longer DDR is still a stud for you? Yeah, probably.

Similarly would I rather add Caruso or Kuzma to my Knicks? Obviously AC, but with how long you've lacked a real PF, Kuzma's team-friendly contract, and under-rated game, I think there's an argument he'd help you win more in that short term that your FO seems to be focused on.

Granted I also don't see who's going to be throwing huge contracts & starting spots at Pat & Drummond. So I don't think you'd have too much trouble bringing them back to fill the bench out around McBride, Terry, & your FRP this year.

And even though I don't like the direction...especially having seen how successful a Rebuild 2.0 can be for my Avs in the NHL world...I do think that roster in the OP would be more fun to watch when I go to the UC than if you just ran it back until you found someone to make a face-saving offer for Lavine.

Who is Deuce? Do you mean McBride?

McBride seems like a decent player, but Ayo has been improving all year and is on a good contract.

Read on Twitter

The Bulls won't have a problem convincing DDR to stay, the issue is how many years and how much money (especially at his age). If the two sides are far apart on that, and he walks, then so be it (I'm also in favor of a rebuild).

Kuzma puts up decent numbers, but I'm not sure if he's a winning player. Yes, he won a championship with the Lakers, but he played poorly in the playoffs and has typically been on losing teams. I'd rather look elsewhere for a PF.

I agree that Dejounte is a good player and has better point guard skills than Coby White right now. However, Coby is four years younger and is paid 12 and 14 million less than DJ, which is important for a team that doesn't pay the luxury tax and has to figure out what to do with 40+ million per year Zach LaVine.

As for Zach LaVine who knows. My guess is they talk to teams this off season, but nothing happens and then he showcases what he can do in the early part of the season. If he's good maybe a team convinces themselves that he's someone they could use. He's not a terrible player, but I know he has his flaws and his contract is big.

I don't like what AK has done overall since he came to Chicago, but if he locked into that roster (the one in your original post) then that would be terrible. They''re already a play-in/low playoff seed team and would be so for even longer.

My gut says that DDR stays too, but I can't say that I'm not a little scared about what your FO would do if a team like the 6ers convinced him to come play with Embiid & Maxey. I'm one of the few people in Chicago who thinks that your FO actually has a very good eye for talent, even if they haven't had many chances to acquire talent since their big moves, and their initial plan wasn't terrible...until Lonzo broke & ownership didn't give them permission to tear it down again.

I may be wrong to assume it's ownership forcing them to continue gunning for the play-in without paying the tax, and it's actually AK's refusal to accept that he needs to pivot from his initial plan. But watching what your FO has been able to do with its limited resources and knowing ownership, I don't think it's a stretch to assume ownership is the real villain of this story.



Yeah McBride. I know Ayo's been on a heater, but I'm not as excited by it as I was by the improvement Coby showed last season. I don't think Dosunmu has the skillset yet to sustainably be productive the way I thought Coby did when watching him a year ago. Whereas for McBride, now that his shooting has translated from the GL, he's already a very nifty backup PG with what a bulldog he is defensively.

With Dejounte coming in to take over as the lead guard...and I think if you went after Murray it would be imperative that you made him your lead guard instead of repeating the mistake that Atlanta made...there would be a clearer role for McBride with his shooting + defensive advantage as a bench guard who can play with either Murray or Lavine; than there would be for Ayo & his slashing advantage / better ability to get to the rim.

As someone who has watched at least half of your games and a good 90%+ of ours, if the Coby-Murray part of this got dropped and we were just adding Caruso...I would hate to give up McBride for Ayo...if that helps clarify where I'm coming from.



I get the questions about Kuzma, but I think he's become quite under-rated. He's shown before that he can defend, he can pull his guy out to the perimeter, and this season he's been showing that he can create for his team-mates as well. With a very reasonable contract that goes down each season, I think he'd be a very good pickup assuming ownership doesn't let you rebuild again.



Again I don't like the direction either, but I haven't liked the direction you've been going in since Lonzo broke and your FO didn't respond by trying to sell high on all of the vets.

So given the seeming goal of trying to build a tax-free playoff team, I think this would help...as you should still be able to dodge the tax perfectly fine given that you wouldn't be adding any money to your cap-sheet and could still dump Carter + Craig if you needed more space to re-sign Pat & Dre after giving DeMar his bag.

So it feels like something your FO might go for to bolster your playoff push next season...DeJounte & Kuzma just feel guys they'd target to try and squeeze a few more wins out of this squad.

[Rockazoids]

cgf back with a Bulls to the Knicks trade. At least it's not a LaVine to NY trade. Sir you love you some Bulls players.
Deuce already has great defense and his FG% & his 3P% is going up. White is have a good year but how will he play back
on the bench?

[Dan Z]

I don't love it for you...though I like Deuce more than Ayo & think Kuzma's under-rated, I like Coby more than Murray and would rather overpay Caruso to stay...but I tried to think of your FO's priorities; avoiding the tax + at least getting to the play-in + convincing DeMar to re-sign, and this seemed like a way to upgrade the team with those goals in mind.

Would I rather have Dejounte than Coby? No, but do I think there's a good chance he's a more productive PG for however much longer DDR is still a stud for you? Yeah, probably.

Similarly would I rather add Caruso or Kuzma to my Knicks? Obviously AC, but with how long you've lacked a real PF, Kuzma's team-friendly contract, and under-rated game, I think there's an argument he'd help you win more in that short term that your FO seems to be focused on.

Granted I also don't see who's going to be throwing huge contracts & starting spots at Pat & Drummond. So I don't think you'd have too much trouble bringing them back to fill the bench out around McBride, Terry, & your FRP this year.

And even though I don't like the direction...especially having seen how successful a Rebuild 2.0 can be for my Avs in the NHL world...I do think that roster in the OP would be more fun to watch when I go to the UC than if you just ran it back until you found someone to make a face-saving offer for Lavine.

Who is Deuce? Do you mean McBride?

McBride seems like a decent player, but Ayo has been improving all year and is on a good contract.

Read on Twitter

The Bulls won't have a problem convincing DDR to stay, the issue is how many years and how much money (especially at his age). If the two sides are far apart on that, and he walks, then so be it (I'm also in favor of a rebuild).

Kuzma puts up decent numbers, but I'm not sure if he's a winning player. Yes, he won a championship with the Lakers, but he played poorly in the playoffs and has typically been on losing teams. I'd rather look elsewhere for a PF.

I agree that Dejounte is a good player and has better point guard skills than Coby White right now. However, Coby is four years younger and is paid 12 and 14 million less than DJ, which is important for a team that doesn't pay the luxury tax and has to figure out what to do with 40+ million per year Zach LaVine.

As for Zach LaVine who knows. My guess is they talk to teams this off season, but nothing happens and then he showcases what he can do in the early part of the season. If he's good maybe a team convinces themselves that he's someone they could use. He's not a terrible player, but I know he has his flaws and his contract is big.

I don't like what AK has done overall since he came to Chicago, but if he locked into that roster (the one in your original post) then that would be terrible. They''re already a play-in/low playoff seed team and would be so for even longer.

My gut says that DDR stays too, but I can't say that I'm not a little scared about what your FO would do if a team like the 6ers convinced him to come play with Embiid & Maxey. I'm one of the few people in Chicago who thinks that your FO actually has a very good eye for talent, even if they haven't had many chances to acquire talent since their big moves, and their initial plan wasn't terrible...until Lonzo broke & ownership didn't give them permission to tear it down again.

I may be wrong to assume it's ownership forcing them to continue gunning for the play-in without paying the tax, and it's actually AK's refusal to accept that he needs to pivot from his initial plan. But watching what your FO has been able to do with its limited resources and knowing ownership, I don't think it's a stretch to assume ownership is the real villain of this story.



Yeah McBride. I know Ayo's been on a heater, but I'm not as excited by it as I was by the improvement Coby showed last season. I don't think Dosunmu has the skillset yet to sustainably be productive the way I thought Coby did when watching him a year ago. Whereas for McBride, now that his shooting has translated from the GL, he's already a very nifty backup PG with what a bulldog he is defensively.

With Dejounte coming in to take over as the lead guard...and I think if you went after Murray it would be imperative that you made him your lead guard instead of repeating the mistake that Atlanta made...there would be a clearer role for McBride with his shooting + defensive advantage as a bench guard who can play with either Murray or Lavine; than there would be for Ayo & his slashing advantage / better ability to get to the rim.

As someone who has watched at least half of your games and a good 90%+ of ours, if the Coby-Murray part of this got dropped and we were just adding Caruso...I would hate to give up McBride for Ayo...if that helps clarify where I'm coming from.



I get the questions about Kuzma, but I think he's become quite under-rated. He's shown before that he can defend, he can pull his guy out to the perimeter, and this season he's been showing that he can create for his team-mates as well. With a very reasonable contract that goes down each season, I think he'd be a very good pickup assuming ownership doesn't let you rebuild again.



Again I don't like the direction either, but I haven't liked the direction you've been going in since Lonzo broke and your FO didn't respond by trying to sell high on all of the vets.

So given the seeming goal of trying to build a tax-free playoff team, I think this would help...as you should still be able to dodge the tax perfectly fine given that you wouldn't be adding any money to your cap-sheet and could still dump Carter + Craig if you needed more space to re-sign Pat & Dre after giving DeMar his bag.

So it feels like something your FO might go for to bolster your playoff push next season...DeJounte & Kuzma just feel guys they'd target to try and squeeze a few more wins out of this squad.

If the Sixers offer DDR a contract that's bigger than what the Bulls are willing to pay then he can leave. I'm okay with that. It's better that he leave than be tied to a big contract.

As for AK my guess is he interviewed for the job with his "win now" plan and that's what the front office wanted. That means it's probably both AK and the FO that keep gunning for the play-in. Not good IMO because they should've pivoted to a new direction over a year ago.

As for AK's eye for talent it's difficult to say because he hasn't drafted that often since he got here. PW has been so-so (not great for a #4 pick, but that draft wasn't great overall), Ayo has been good for a 2nd round pick, Dalen Terry hasn't done much, Jullian Phillips might be okay...etc. His smaller signing have been fine (Drummond and Craig...Carter hasn't worked out), but I'm not sure how much I'd put that under his talent evaluation. He did go after DDR who has been good, but traded for Vucevic which hasn't worked out.

Hopefully he hits a home run with the 2024 pick.

[cgf]

cgf back with a Bulls to the Knicks trade. At least it's not a LaVine to NY trade. Sir you love you some Bulls players.
Deuce already has great defense and his FG% & his 3P% is going up. White is have a good year but how will he play back
on the bench?

I'm going to will Caruso to the Knicks, one way or another. I will get my Brunson - Caruso - Anunoby - Randle - big closing lineup damn it

[spree8]

Rather keep Deuce… dude is a steal on his contract and keeps improving by the day

[cgf]

Rather keep Deuce… dude is a steal on his contract and keeps improving by the day

Love Deuce, but rather have Coby...dude is a steal on his contract and keeps improving by the day

[cgf]

Who is Deuce? Do you mean McBride?

McBride seems like a decent player, but Ayo has been improving all year and is on a good contract.

Read on Twitter

The Bulls won't have a problem convincing DDR to stay, the issue is how many years and how much money (especially at his age). If the two sides are far apart on that, and he walks, then so be it (I'm also in favor of a rebuild).

Kuzma puts up decent numbers, but I'm not sure if he's a winning player. Yes, he won a championship with the Lakers, but he played poorly in the playoffs and has typically been on losing teams. I'd rather look elsewhere for a PF.

I agree that Dejounte is a good player and has better point guard skills than Coby White right now. However, Coby is four years younger and is paid 12 and 14 million less than DJ, which is important for a team that doesn't pay the luxury tax and has to figure out what to do with 40+ million per year Zach LaVine.

As for Zach LaVine who knows. My guess is they talk to teams this off season, but nothing happens and then he showcases what he can do in the early part of the season. If he's good maybe a team convinces themselves that he's someone they could use. He's not a terrible player, but I know he has his flaws and his contract is big.

I don't like what AK has done overall since he came to Chicago, but if he locked into that roster (the one in your original post) then that would be terrible. They''re already a play-in/low playoff seed team and would be so for even longer.

My gut says that DDR stays too, but I can't say that I'm not a little scared about what your FO would do if a team like the 6ers convinced him to come play with Embiid & Maxey. I'm one of the few people in Chicago who thinks that your FO actually has a very good eye for talent, even if they haven't had many chances to acquire talent since their big moves, and their initial plan wasn't terrible...until Lonzo broke & ownership didn't give them permission to tear it down again.

I may be wrong to assume it's ownership forcing them to continue gunning for the play-in without paying the tax, and it's actually AK's refusal to accept that he needs to pivot from his initial plan. But watching what your FO has been able to do with its limited resources and knowing ownership, I don't think it's a stretch to assume ownership is the real villain of this story.



Yeah McBride. I know Ayo's been on a heater, but I'm not as excited by it as I was by the improvement Coby showed last season. I don't think Dosunmu has the skillset yet to sustainably be productive the way I thought Coby did when watching him a year ago. Whereas for McBride, now that his shooting has translated from the GL, he's already a very nifty backup PG with what a bulldog he is defensively.

With Dejounte coming in to take over as the lead guard...and I think if you went after Murray it would be imperative that you made him your lead guard instead of repeating the mistake that Atlanta made...there would be a clearer role for McBride with his shooting + defensive advantage as a bench guard who can play with either Murray or Lavine; than there would be for Ayo & his slashing advantage / better ability to get to the rim.

As someone who has watched at least half of your games and a good 90%+ of ours, if the Coby-Murray part of this got dropped and we were just adding Caruso...I would hate to give up McBride for Ayo...if that helps clarify where I'm coming from.



I get the questions about Kuzma, but I think he's become quite under-rated. He's shown before that he can defend, he can pull his guy out to the perimeter, and this season he's been showing that he can create for his team-mates as well. With a very reasonable contract that goes down each season, I think he'd be a very good pickup assuming ownership doesn't let you rebuild again.



Again I don't like the direction either, but I haven't liked the direction you've been going in since Lonzo broke and your FO didn't respond by trying to sell high on all of the vets.

So given the seeming goal of trying to build a tax-free playoff team, I think this would help...as you should still be able to dodge the tax perfectly fine given that you wouldn't be adding any money to your cap-sheet and could still dump Carter + Craig if you needed more space to re-sign Pat & Dre after giving DeMar his bag.

So it feels like something your FO might go for to bolster your playoff push next season...DeJounte & Kuzma just feel guys they'd target to try and squeeze a few more wins out of this squad.

If the Sixers offer DDR a contract that's bigger than what the Bulls are willing to pay then he can leave. I'm okay with that. It's better that he leave than be tied to a big contract.

As for AK my guess is he interviewed for the job with his "win now" plan and that's what the front office wanted. That means it's probably both AK and the FO that keep gunning for the play-in. Not good IMO because they should've pivoted to a new direction over a year ago.

As for AK's eye for talent it's difficult to say because he hasn't drafted that often since he got here. PW has been so-so (not great for a #4 pick, but that draft wasn't great overall), Ayo has been good for a 2nd round pick, Dalen Terry hasn't done much, Jullian Phillips might be okay...etc. His smaller signing have been fine (Drummond and Craig...Carter hasn't worked out), but I'm not sure how much I'd put that under his talent evaluation. He did go after DDR who has been good, but traded for Vucevic which hasn't worked out.

Hopefully he hits a home run with the 2024 pick.

Why it scares me is because I don't know what the FO would do to try and stay competitive, if DeMar walked. You'd hope that would be enough for them to sell ownership on a Rebuild 2.0, but if ownership tells the FO they're expecting a play-in appearance or they'll find someone that can promise them that even without DDR, AK could be forced to make some very desperate moves...

[Dan Z]

My gut says that DDR stays too, but I can't say that I'm not a little scared about what your FO would do if a team like the 6ers convinced him to come play with Embiid & Maxey. I'm one of the few people in Chicago who thinks that your FO actually has a very good eye for talent, even if they haven't had many chances to acquire talent since their big moves, and their initial plan wasn't terrible...until Lonzo broke & ownership didn't give them permission to tear it down again.

I may be wrong to assume it's ownership forcing them to continue gunning for the play-in without paying the tax, and it's actually AK's refusal to accept that he needs to pivot from his initial plan. But watching what your FO has been able to do with its limited resources and knowing ownership, I don't think it's a stretch to assume ownership is the real villain of this story.



Yeah McBride. I know Ayo's been on a heater, but I'm not as excited by it as I was by the improvement Coby showed last season. I don't think Dosunmu has the skillset yet to sustainably be productive the way I thought Coby did when watching him a year ago. Whereas for McBride, now that his shooting has translated from the GL, he's already a very nifty backup PG with what a bulldog he is defensively.

With Dejounte coming in to take over as the lead guard...and I think if you went after Murray it would be imperative that you made him your lead guard instead of repeating the mistake that Atlanta made...there would be a clearer role for McBride with his shooting + defensive advantage as a bench guard who can play with either Murray or Lavine; than there would be for Ayo & his slashing advantage / better ability to get to the rim.

As someone who has watched at least half of your games and a good 90%+ of ours, if the Coby-Murray part of this got dropped and we were just adding Caruso...I would hate to give up McBride for Ayo...if that helps clarify where I'm coming from.



I get the questions about Kuzma, but I think he's become quite under-rated. He's shown before that he can defend, he can pull his guy out to the perimeter, and this season he's been showing that he can create for his team-mates as well. With a very reasonable contract that goes down each season, I think he'd be a very good pickup assuming ownership doesn't let you rebuild again.



Again I don't like the direction either, but I haven't liked the direction you've been going in since Lonzo broke and your FO didn't respond by trying to sell high on all of the vets.

So given the seeming goal of trying to build a tax-free playoff team, I think this would help...as you should still be able to dodge the tax perfectly fine given that you wouldn't be adding any money to your cap-sheet and could still dump Carter + Craig if you needed more space to re-sign Pat & Dre after giving DeMar his bag.

So it feels like something your FO might go for to bolster your playoff push next season...DeJounte & Kuzma just feel guys they'd target to try and squeeze a few more wins out of this squad.

If the Sixers offer DDR a contract that's bigger than what the Bulls are willing to pay then he can leave. I'm okay with that. It's better that he leave than be tied to a big contract.

As for AK my guess is he interviewed for the job with his "win now" plan and that's what the front office wanted. That means it's probably both AK and the FO that keep gunning for the play-in. Not good IMO because they should've pivoted to a new direction over a year ago.

As for AK's eye for talent it's difficult to say because he hasn't drafted that often since he got here. PW has been so-so (not great for a #4 pick, but that draft wasn't great overall), Ayo has been good for a 2nd round pick, Dalen Terry hasn't done much, Jullian Phillips might be okay...etc. His smaller signing have been fine (Drummond and Craig...Carter hasn't worked out), but I'm not sure how much I'd put that under his talent evaluation. He did go after DDR who has been good, but traded for Vucevic which hasn't worked out.

Hopefully he hits a home run with the 2024 pick.

Why it scares me is because I don't know what the FO would do to try and stay competitive, if DeMar walked. You'd hope that would be enough for them to sell ownership on a Rebuild 2.0, but if ownership tells the FO they're expecting a play-in appearance or they'll find someone that can promise them that even without DDR, AK could be forced to make some very desperate moves...

What kind desperate move would he do? They won't have cap space and owe one pick to the Spurs (2025). His options are limited.

[cgf]

If the Sixers offer DDR a contract that's bigger than what the Bulls are willing to pay then he can leave. I'm okay with that. It's better that he leave than be tied to a big contract.

As for AK my guess is he interviewed for the job with his "win now" plan and that's what the front office wanted. That means it's probably both AK and the FO that keep gunning for the play-in. Not good IMO because they should've pivoted to a new direction over a year ago.

As for AK's eye for talent it's difficult to say because he hasn't drafted that often since he got here. PW has been so-so (not great for a #4 pick, but that draft wasn't great overall), Ayo has been good for a 2nd round pick, Dalen Terry hasn't done much, Jullian Phillips might be okay...etc. His smaller signing have been fine (Drummond and Craig...Carter hasn't worked out), but I'm not sure how much I'd put that under his talent evaluation. He did go after DDR who has been good, but traded for Vucevic which hasn't worked out.

Hopefully he hits a home run with the 2024 pick.

Why it scares me is because I don't know what the FO would do to try and stay competitive, if DeMar walked. You'd hope that would be enough for them to sell ownership on a Rebuild 2.0, but if ownership tells the FO they're expecting a play-in appearance or they'll find someone that can promise them that even without DDR, AK could be forced to make some very desperate moves...

What kind desperate move would he do? They won't have cap space and owe one pick to the Spurs (2025). His options are limited.

He'd still have 3 future FRPs to dangle + your kids.

[Dan Z]

Why it scares me is because I don't know what the FO would do to try and stay competitive, if DeMar walked. You'd hope that would be enough for them to sell ownership on a Rebuild 2.0, but if ownership tells the FO they're expecting a play-in appearance or they'll find someone that can promise them that even without DDR, AK could be forced to make some very desperate moves...

What kind desperate move would he do? They won't have cap space and owe one pick to the Spurs (2025). His options are limited.

He'd still have 3 future FRPs to dangle + your kids.

Kids? You mean Coby and Ayo. If DDR walks, and he wants to stay competitive, it makes no sense to trade them.

DDR walks and PW moves to the SF position. Then they'd need a PF. Maybe it's a rookie (2024 pick) or a small signing or a player they get in a LaVine trade...?

He could try to overpay for someone like Jerami Grant, but what would that trade even look like? He'd have to match salary somehow.