Around The NBA : 2024-25 Season

[kyrv]

You got a favorite moment from the last decade of Chicago Bulls basketball that I'm missing? Hey, maybe the next decade will be better!

Let's stop acting like it we kept Thibs and ignored all the significantly glaring faults of his coaching style, that the last 10 years of Bulls basketball would be meaningfully better.

He's a good coach; nobody's saying otherwise. However, every team that's fired him was justified in doing so, regardless of the decisions they made after he was gone. He's not Phil Jackson or Jerry Sloan. Nobody's building an organization around him for a decade and ignoring that players dislike playing for him.

You are correct sir. My pick for his next job would be Orlando for one, maybe two years.

I think Thibs has the best regular season winning pct. without a finals appearance, which really, is so on brand.

[kyrv]

Why does the media always brings up the nba low final ratings . The nhl is averaging under 3 million viewers . Why do they get a pass for poor ratings ? Pretty soon the wnba will pass the nhl in ratings . How come no ever talks about their poor ratings

Well you're not wrong, but also, in 'real life' I've never met a bball fan that gave a rat's arse about the finals ratings. I mean the broadcaster cares, the league cares, but the media kind of nudging me to want a 'preferred matchup' instead of the two teams that earn it is pretty silly.

I do think soccer has passed the NHL.

[kyrv]

Why does the media always brings up the nba low final ratings . The nhl is averaging under 3 million viewers . Why do they get a pass for poor ratings ? Pretty soon the wnba will pass the nhl in ratings . How come no ever talks about their poor ratings

Its all about the money.

Naturally if an event is low ratings, its not good for business. Not good for advertisers either.

The NHL wont be in the same boat. They didn't just get a 77 Billion dollar deal.

So things like ratings are going to be a big deal now and in the future.

I agree the ratings are a big deal, but not really to you or I. I guess my main beef is I listen to sports radio and in all bball/football/baseball they quite frequently try to convince the listeners that they should NOT watch that finals because of 'the matchup'.

[MrSparkle]

I just find it incredible that Youtube/ABC/NBA/whoever don't throw a bone and make a deal to just show the finals free on streaming. As if there aren't enough ads? Majority of the sub-40 population doesn't have regular TV, and that's gotta be a big chunk of b-ball demographic.

[Hangtime84]

I just find it incredible that Youtube/ABC/NBA/whoever don't throw a bone and make a deal to just show the finals free on streaming. As if there aren't enough ads? Majority of the sub-40 population doesn't have regular TV, and that's gotta be a big chunk of b-ball demographic.

YES

[jc23]

Why does the media always brings up the nba low final ratings . The nhl is averaging under 3 million viewers . Why do they get a pass for poor ratings ? Pretty soon the wnba will pass the nhl in ratings . How come no ever talks about their poor ratings

Well you're not wrong, but also, in 'real life' I've never met a bball fan that gave a rat's arse about the finals ratings. I mean the broadcaster cares, the league cares, but the media kind of nudging me to want a 'preferred matchup' instead of the two teams that earn it is pretty silly.

I do think soccer has passed the NHL.

its more so to do with the amount nba players make and these big nba tv deals. if NHL players made 50 million a year with the same ratings it would get talked about more. So no different then when a film costs 400 million to make and has a poor box office return.

[jc23]

as much as OKC domianted that game it wasnt to the extent i thought they would. I expect a very good game 3. Still cant believe OKC got a crunch game closer in Caruso for no lost draft picks. maybe they dont need him to win a title but im sure they would give up a first if they had to to keep him.

[nomorezorro]

how the hell did the thunder sign aaron wiggins to a 5 year/$45 million *descending* deal last summer? that's gotta be a contender for best contract in the league

[MrSparkle]

how the hell did the thunder sign aaron wiggins to a 5 year/$45 million *descending* deal last summer? that's gotta be a contender for best contract in the league

Fella averaged 6/2/1 and 15 mpg. But deep stats suggested he’s a strong two-way player.

AKME have had their Ayo, Gafford 2nd round luck… but uh, i guess short deals or trades for them. Unless you’re Marko, then you get the 4y guarantee.

[kodo]

Remember when we couldn't believe teams were skipping Matas in the draft? Well accountability hits at least one team.
Zach Lowe:

According to Zach Lowe, the Utah Jazz let go of two of their lead scouts a few weeks before the Austin Ainge hire. It’s a surprise that obviously wasn’t broadcast by the team. They talked about the failure of the Cody Williams pick that has been really bad. Maybe Cody Williams figures it out, and we all hope he does, but that was a rough miss. Ainge is clearly being brought in to lead the team into the future, but I’m sure the hope is that he can help the Jazz improve their drafting .

Wonder what Utah would have done with someone who drafted Patrick Williams #4.

[pipfan]

Remember when we couldn't believe teams were skipping Matas in the draft? Well accountability hits at least one team.
Zach Lowe:

According to Zach Lowe, the Utah Jazz let go of two of their lead scouts a few weeks before the Austin Ainge hire. It’s a surprise that obviously wasn’t broadcast by the team. They talked about the failure of the Cody Williams pick that has been really bad. Maybe Cody Williams figures it out, and we all hope he does, but that was a rough miss. Ainge is clearly being brought in to lead the team into the future, but I’m sure the hope is that he can help the Jazz improve their drafting .

Wonder what Utah would have done with someone who drafted Patrick Williams #4.

I always wondered why SA and Utah passed on Matas. Utah would be in a MUCH better place with a Matas/Lauri/Kessler front line
SA had a perfect 3 man to build around and got a 2031 pick instead

[sco]

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/article/spurs-rumors-bill-simmons-drops-153437533.html

Strongish rumor of Durant to SA (not including #2).

[Ice Man]

maybe they dont need him to win a title but im sure they would give up a first if they had to to keep him.

Can we stop with the idea that the Bulls did not get a first round pick for Caruso? Giddey was a mid lottery pick when selected in 2021, and would be a mid lottery pick in a redraft. The Bulls weren't ever, ever, ever going to get a higher pick than that. Nobody was giving up a Top 5 guy for Alex Caruso.

[Wingy]

You got a favorite moment from the last decade of Chicago Bulls basketball that I'm missing? Hey, maybe the next decade will be better!

Let's stop acting like it we kept Thibs and ignored all the significantly glaring faults of his coaching style, that the last 10 years of Bulls basketball would be meaningfully better.

He's a good coach; nobody's saying otherwise. However, every team that's fired him was justified in doing so, regardless of the decisions they made after he was gone. He's not Phil Jackson or Jerry Sloan. Nobody's building an organization around him for a decade and ignoring that players dislike playing for him.

You are correct sir. My pick for his next job would be Orlando for one, maybe two years.

I think Thibs has the best regular season winning pct. without a finals appearance, which really, is so on brand.

On brand? How many Finals caliber teams has he had?

The Rose Bulls, and they ran into the Heatles and Rose’s cursed knees.

This year’s Knicks? They were outclassed personnel wise.

Players matter way, way, way more than coaches.

[Dan Z]

maybe they dont need him to win a title but im sure they would give up a first if they had to to keep him.

Can we stop with the idea that the Bulls did not get a first round pick for Caruso? Giddey was a mid lottery pick when selected in 2021, and would be a mid lottery pick in a redraft. The Bulls weren't ever, ever, ever going to get a higher pick than that. Nobody was giving up a Top 5 guy for Alex Caruso.

I'm not saying the Bulls could get a pick for Caruso along with Giddey, but Giddey was a lottery pick that had lost his shine. He was benched in the playoffs because of his flaws and was coming off a season with off court controversy.

I'm not sure how high his value was at that time.

[jc23]

maybe they dont need him to win a title but im sure they would give up a first if they had to to keep him.

Can we stop with the idea that the Bulls did not get a first round pick for Caruso? Giddey was a mid lottery pick when selected in 2021, and would be a mid lottery pick in a redraft. The Bulls weren't ever, ever, ever going to get a higher pick than that. Nobody was giving up a Top 5 guy for Alex Caruso.

nope.

[Wingy]

maybe they dont need him to win a title but im sure they would give up a first if they had to to keep him.

Can we stop with the idea that the Bulls did not get a first round pick for Caruso? Giddey was a mid lottery pick when selected in 2021, and would be a mid lottery pick in a redraft. The Bulls weren't ever, ever, ever going to get a higher pick than that. Nobody was giving up a Top 5 guy for Alex Caruso.

I'm not saying the Bulls could get a pick for Caruso along with Giddey, but Giddey was a lottery pick that had lost his shine. He was benched in the playoffs because of his flaws and was coming off a season with off court controversy.

I'm not sure how high his value was at that time.

- and due to be paid which massively shrinks value compared to a rookie deal.

[Dan Z]

Let's stop acting like it we kept Thibs and ignored all the significantly glaring faults of his coaching style, that the last 10 years of Bulls basketball would be meaningfully better.

He's a good coach; nobody's saying otherwise. However, every team that's fired him was justified in doing so, regardless of the decisions they made after he was gone. He's not Phil Jackson or Jerry Sloan. Nobody's building an organization around him for a decade and ignoring that players dislike playing for him.

You are correct sir. My pick for his next job would be Orlando for one, maybe two years.

I think Thibs has the best regular season winning pct. without a finals appearance, which really, is so on brand.

On brand? How many Finals caliber teams has he had?

The Rose Bulls, and they ran into the Heatles and Rose’s cursed knees.

This year’s Knicks? They were outclassed personnel wise.

Players matter way, way, way more than coaches.

My thoughts on Thibs are mixed. I think it's overblown that he over stays his welcome (even though I think that has happened).

Phil Jackson said something about how a coach typically loses the attention of his players after X amount of years. I bet there's some truth to that.

It's rare that a coach becomes an "institution" and it works (Pop and Sloan come to mind).

[sco]

You are correct sir. My pick for his next job would be Orlando for one, maybe two years.

I think Thibs has the best regular season winning pct. without a finals appearance, which really, is so on brand.

On brand? How many Finals caliber teams has he had?

The Rose Bulls, and they ran into the Heatles and Rose’s cursed knees.

This year’s Knicks? They were outclassed personnel wise.

Players matter way, way, way more than coaches.

My thoughts on Thibs are mixed. I think it's overblown that he over stays his welcome (even though I think that has happened).

Phil Jackson said something about how a coach typically loses the attention of his players after X amount of years. I bet there's some truth to that.

It's rare that a coach becomes an "institution" and it works (Pop and Sloan come to mind).

Yeah, I'm also mixed on the Knicks. I watch the Knicks as my second team. He hasn't really changed (although he did seem a little less intense this season) but he continues to overplay his starters and, IMO, it catches up to him in the playoffs. It's easy to say Indy was better, but they came into the series more rested and, if not for that crazy Indy comeback, the series may have gone the other way. That said, it was kinda crazy that the Knicks made it through the season with all of it's starters relatively healthy...especially Brunson and KAT, the way those guys play, I can't believe they stayed upright.

Barring a deal for Giannis, I'm running back that squad and try to shift KAT to PF (and Hart to the bench) next season.

[Ice Man]

and due to be paid which massively shrinks value compared to a rookie deal.

Giddey will be paid more than his rookie deal because he's way better than almost all players on rookie deals. Here were the number of players by draft year who were better than Giddey was last year, by the VORP measure -

2024 - 0
2023 - 2
2022 - 1
2021 - 3

Only 6 players drafted of the 120 first-round selections over the past 4 years outperformed Giddey. Four of them were top 4 picks (Wemby, Cade, Mobley, and Amen), meaning that only 2 players at the draft level that the Bulls could have gotten for Caruso were better than Giddey.

The Bulls made a GREAT trade.