Dan Z wrote:League Circles wrote:Dan Z wrote:
Zach has been here 8 seasons and the team made the playoffs only one time (an easy loss to Milwaukee). Why do you think he'll be able to lead the team somewhere in the near future?
Zach's a talented player, but sometimes you need to move on. If his trade value is neutral now then it probably won't change much next year. By neutral I mean contracts that aren't bad and maybe a minor asset like a 2nd round pick. I can understand not trading him if the contracts offered are worse and will hinder the team going forward.
This year the team is going nowhere, so Id rather increase our chances in the lottery. Nobody will look back on this season and say it was a good, competitive one. Same with last season and the season before that.
I don't particularly think of Zach as a leader and he doesn't need to be to be a valuable player. IMO, he's the only player we have who isn't in need of an upgrade. Of we had 3 or 4 players as good as Zach we'd probably be pretty good. That's what I'm after. I just see Zach as a really good starter for the next 5 years. If we're lucky, Matas will be another. That's two. If we're very lucky we already have a third in somebody like Giddey, Coby, Ayo, Patrick, a re-signed Ball, or Smith (but I doubt it). So we probably need to trade for at least one really good player and get another maybe through the draft or FA. I think the concept of finding a pure #1 option guy to dominate everything successfully is unrealistic and will become outdated. I'm more about finding 4 complementary above average starters amd a 5th solid one.
I have no idea how the Bulls would find all those players. Most players today re-sign with their team and then ask for a trade. Plus, the Bulls don't currently have much in terms of assets.
You're also hoping that one (or more) of these players will take a leap forward: Giddey, Pat, Ayo and Coby. I think its more likely that they are who they are (because they've all been in nba for 3+ years). How many players take a big step forward after 4 years(Giddey/PW are currently in year 4)? You could say Zach did, but in his case it's because he recovered from injury. Who else? Lauri? Lauri already showed more potential then the players i mentioned above (when he was their age).
I don't think your plan is bad, but I think the players the Bulls have right now aren't working and most likely won't work in the future. I'd be ok with the Bulls if they had a deep roster of competitive players, even if that meant no superstar.
All those players?
If Matas becomes what I think he can (just like others think our nameless 2025 pick will become something good), and we keep Zach, hopefully we only need 2 more good players. IMO there is a solid chance we can trade for one. For the fourth guy is where it would get dicier, with a 2nd big trade, FA, or internal improvement (or just health+re-signing in the case of Ball) would be the options.
To be clear, I do not have a "plan", nor do I think we should. We need to be opportunists and aggressively pursue many trades.
We're giving SA a frp over the next 3 years unless we pick top 8 three years in a row. I'm not interested in that level of sustained garbage play.
