Cowley: Bulls Zoned in on Demin at 12

[Axl Rose]

He will be gone before we pick .

Ironically Demin may benefit from Matas dropping last year. Teams will likely be more willing overlook flaws like poor shooting this time if other facets of his game look good.

[Hangtime84]

I mean AK likes IQ, playmaking, and high motor players.

AK also build his NBA resume by being large part of the initial basketball international push.

Demin

I dunno man he drafted Patrick Williams after all

That team and his role was to be active 6th man off the bench. When he was a rookie.

Carter Bryant Jr and Noa Essengue might be the types of players that AK was hoping Patrick Williams to be.

[Ice Man]

He will be gone before we pick .

Ironic, in that -

1) Denim is a statistically worse version of Giddey.
2) Bulls fans have complained that we should have got more for Caruso than Josh Giddey, such as a #10 pick -- which we could have used to get a player like Egor Demin!

[MGB8]

He will be gone before we pick .

Ironic, in that -

1) Denim is a statistically worse version of Giddey.
2) Bulls fans have complained that we should have got more for Caruso than Josh Giddey, such as a #10 pick -- which we could have used to get a player like Egor Demin!

Not just statistically - the strengths and play styles are similar. The in-game role would be, too.

We just had a huge thread about whether Giddey was a guy who can’t really play in the NBA because (1) needs ball in his hands but is not good enough to justify that, (2) not a good enough shooter to not have ball in his hands - makes team worse when he is off ball, and (3) the first two compounded by bad defense. It looks like Giddey fell on the good side of the line, improving on D, improving off-ball, and also improving on-ball in terms of production.

Denim literally is has those same issues, only worse. Yeah, he is a touch bigger than Giddey (though comps to Ben Simmons are ridiculous due to length and athleticism differences). But he is literally worse in every facet coming in than Giddey was - a poor man’s Giddey - except height.

That doesn’t mean Denim is going to fail - he could well end up being a better version of Giddey…. But (1) chances are still better than not that doesn’t happen, and he falls on the bad side of the “Giddey conundrum” and (2) the Bulls ALREADY HAVE GIDDEY.

Having two Giddey’s playing together doesn’t make much sense in terms of having a balanced skillset either offensively or defensively- especially when you have Matas locked in at the other (defensive) forward spot.

[Chi town]

I will gladly take Demin over Barrett!!!

[MGB8]

I will gladly take Demin over Barrett!!!

I think folks are missing some development / upside with RJ - which makes him a full tier better of a prospect (still) than Denim.

He has high level athleticism for his position. He played (and shot) well in Paris. Looked like the best player on the team behind SGA.

And I think the complete S-Show in TO is making him seem worse than he is.

If he isn't the primary ball handler, and instead has someone competent running the offense where he gets to be the main scorer, it improves his efficiency and also lets him exert more on D.

TO last year didn't necessarily/ consistently force him to be the lead ball handler, but they had zero offensive flow / Mitchell sucks as a lead guard and IQ was hurt. Add in zero consistency and quasi tank and you get what you get. He was still a positive on-off

[The Box Office]

Demin is not good. He's actually terrible.

- Non existent offensively.
- NEAR non existent on defense.

This org sure loves dudes who have ACL tears and guys who don't play defense.

[fleet]

I mean AK likes IQ, playmaking, and high motor players.

AK also build his NBA resume by being large part of the initial basketball international push.

Demin

I dunno man he drafted Patrick Williams after all

All GMs like high motor/IQ players. Who wouldn’t.

The rub is, when will they compromise.

[TheJordanRule]

How would you guys feel about trading up using Coby for an Edgecomb or Fears?

[sco]

How would you guys feel about trading up using Coby for an Edgecomb or Fears?

I would, for VJ. AK won't. He genuinely seems set with Coby heading into next season.

[Ice Man]

That doesn’t mean Denim is going to fail - he could well end up being a better version of Giddey…. But (1) chances are still better than not that doesn’t happen, and he falls on the bad side of the “Giddey conundrum” and (2) the Bulls ALREADY HAVE GIDDEY.

Having two Giddey’s playing together doesn’t make much sense in terms of having a balanced skillset either offensively or defensively- especially when you have Matas locked in at the other (defensive) forward spot.

The best case scenario is that the Bulls somehow know that Demin will become a plus version of Giddey, which of course is ridiculous since nobody knows these things in advance, but let's say that is so, meaning that Demin is in fact the BPA. If so, the Bulls would need to trade him or Giddey, becase no NBA team will play two guys like that.

Seems like a long shot to me. Then again, this thread is nothing but conjecture about Cowley gossip. Hey, it's the off season -- for us.

[Dominator83]

#1, I completely trust this info. The Bulls have a tendency to decide on a guy and then broadcast it.

#2, this guy would have a lot of work to do to be good at an NBA level but he is starting with a good base

He allows you to trade Giddey or Coby. Plus it saves on cap space.

No he doesn’t. What if he sucks which is a high probability? He isn’t as good a prospect as Giddey who is now reaching his potential at only 23 and he definitely won’t replace White’s scoring.

Yea this makes no sense here. They wanna draft a guy who's ceiling is Josh Giddey. When one, its very very highly unlikely he reaches that level considering hes way behind where Giddey was when he was drafted. And two, we already have the real deal Josh Giddey whos only 23!!!

[fleet]

That doesn’t mean Denim is going to fail - he could well end up being a better version of Giddey…. But (1) chances are still better than not that doesn’t happen, and he falls on the bad side of the “Giddey conundrum” and (2) the Bulls ALREADY HAVE GIDDEY.

Having two Giddey’s playing together doesn’t make much sense in terms of having a balanced skillset either offensively or defensively- especially when you have Matas locked in at the other (defensive) forward spot.

The best case scenario is that the Bulls somehow know that Demin will become a plus version of Giddey, which of course is ridiculous since nobody knows these things in advance, but let's say that is so, meaning that Demin is in fact the BPA. If so, the Bulls would need to trade him or Giddey, becase no NBA team will play two guys like that.

Seems like a long shot to me. Then again, this thread is nothing but conjecture about Cowley gossip. Hey, it's the off season -- for us.

If the Bulls don’t delude themselves into thinking they need to worry about fit more than adding talent, would be nice. Sort it out later.

[burlydee]

I think the hope with Denim is that he improves his shooting enough to play off ball. I see Hedo with better passing when I watch him play. Hedo was also about 6'10 with shoes. Despite his passing, I'm skeptical he ever plays point guard full time in the NBA. He looks like a good passing small forward. Perhaps a distinction without difference to some, but I think he has to play with other ball handlers. He's too susceptible to ball pressure.

[burlydee]

I don't care about fit. If Denim is better than Bryant it won't matter to ppl who fit better. Just get the best guy, whoever that is.

[Chi town]

I think the hope with Denim is that he improves his shooting enough to play off ball. I see Hedo with better passing when I watch him play. Hedo was also about 6'10 with shoes. Despite his passing, I'm skeptical he ever plays point guard full time in the NBA. He looks like a good passing small forward. Perhaps a distinction without difference to some, but I think he has to play with other ball handlers. He's too susceptible to ball pressure.

Don’t think he will be very be a lead handler.

Secondary is reasonable. Backup PG too.

I like the Hedo comp. Hedo was a fierce competitor. Loved his game. Demin is alot like Pat… content to watch. No motor.

Two Pats on one team is two too many.

[CobysHairpick]

If he's the pick, I like it. While he may have the shooting splits of a MCW or Ricky Rubio, his form is good and repeatable as evidenced by his strong shooting performance at the combine. We've seen Matas and Giddey prove that a bad 3pt% can be misleading and their form doesn't look as good as Demin's. He may very well end up as the BPA at 12 in a few years given his elite passing and good handle. His size should allow him to finish at the rim too.

I honestly think he'd be a great and fun fit in Billy's high tempo offense next to Giddey, Coby, and Matas.

[MrSparkle]

Demin is not good. He's actually terrible.

- Non existent offensively.
- NEAR non existent on defense.

This org sure loves dudes who have ACL tears and guys who don't play defense.

Are you making this up? I don’t see that Denim has had an ACL tear.

[Dez]

How would you guys feel about trading up using Coby for an Edgecomb or Fears?

I would, for VJ. AK won't. He genuinely seems set with Coby heading into next season.

No competent GM would trade down to get Coby especially on an expiring contract just primed for a stupid overpay.

Would love it though but it's living in fantasy land.

[Guru]

Emins rise is great for us. Getting Queen at 12 would be a huge surprise and win. If the combine allows a player like that to fall we are in a great place.