Pelicans Called Bulls

[boozapalooza]

If we are a team in transition and the goal is 2026, why not take the deal? We could have 2 lotto picks in a loaded 2026 draft at our disposal to use or trade for a superstar.

Its up to Noa to validate the front office here, but I’m disgusted

[League Circles]

I'm OK with not doing that trade. A bird in the hand beats two in the bush. Talent wise, IMO Essengue is a top 5-8 prospect at worst in this draft, and I'm about quality, not quantity. Plus there is some value in getting him a year earlier.

[League Circles]

If we are a team in transition and the goal is 2026, why not take the deal? We could have 2 lotto picks in a loaded 2026 draft at our disposal to use or trade for a superstar.

Its up to Noa to validate the front office here, but I’m disgusted

What do you mean by "the goal is 2026"?

[Guru]

It was reported that we tried to trade up for CMB and then had Noa in our top 9 or so. If you thought there was a huge drop off to 23 I get not trading down. They really wanted defense. Who fit that bill from 12 to 23?

This makes the most sense to me of how it turned out. ME said the Bulls were trying to trade down, so why didn't they?
The most obvious reason was that they had Noa ~9 on their board and he was #9 on most mocks and assumed to go to Toronto. Then it becomes a trade for the #9 best guy (in their eyes) and they opted not to.

Bulls weren't the only team to pass this trade up, Raps Rockets Blazers all passed on this trade so it's not like they did something no other team did.
Again I think the oddest thing was that Eversley said they were trying to trade down...so "something" happened. The most likely is that they didn't expect Noa to be there. Kind of a Matas-y situation.

Im not sure he said they were trying to trade down but rather said they had talks about trading down. I think there is a little difference in there.

Somehow they knew Noa was going to be there at 12 so they decided to stand pat.

[HomoSapien]

It was reported that we tried to trade up for CMB and then had Noa in our top 9 or so. If you thought there was a huge drop off to 23 I get not trading down. They really wanted defense. Who fit that bill from 12 to 23?

This makes the most sense to me of how it turned out. ME said the Bulls were trying to trade down, so why didn't they?
The most obvious reason was that they had Noa ~9 on their board and he was #9 on most mocks and assumed to go to Toronto. Then it becomes a trade for the #9 best guy (in their eyes) and they opted not to.

Bulls weren't the only team to pass this trade up, Raps Rockets Blazers all passed on this trade so it's not like they did something no other team did.
Again I think the oddest thing was that Eversley said they were trying to trade down...so "something" happened. The most likely is that they didn't expect Noa to be there. Kind of a Matas-y situation.

Im not sure he said they were trying to trade down but rather said they had talks about trading down. I think there is a little difference in there.

Somehow they knew Noa was going to be there at 12 so they decided to stand pat.

They probably didn't specifically know that Essengue would be there just that they knew there definitely would be a guy they would be happy to draft (IE Noa, KJ, Berringer)

[The Force.]

I hate AK as much as anyone but any opinion on this is moot until we know how good (or bad) Essengue is relative to whoever Atlanta drafts next summer.

This isn’t nearly as egregious as refusing to move current players for future draft capital.

[kodo]

To get that plus Newell or Clifford... that would have been a really nice return.

I think that's too specific, Newell was mocked to go in our range there is no reasonable way to expect him to be there at 23 and the trade was triggered as soon as a team picked Queen which happened at 13. If someone from the future told the Bulls "Newell will last til 23" who knows maybe they take the trade.

If the Bulls FO was really unimpressed with the guys mocked in the late lottery, it's just their #12 for a mid to good pick next year. It's not really a 2 for 1. Near top 10 to bottom 1st round is a huge drop.

Overall I would have taken the deal but I don't think it's crazy to pass on it...3 other teams did as well.

[MrSparkle]

Asa looks to me like an undersized RoLo. Kind of slow feet TBH, and definitively a big man… 99% of his offensive takes were post-ups (when not garbage buckets). Solid energy prospect… but I can’t seriously compare him to Noa, who projects as a way more versatile player (both in defending the perimeter and handling the ball).

It’ll suck if Asa ends up better than Noa, and NOP bombs and gives up a top-10 pick to ATL… but imo, this bet sounds more salivating than it’ll taste.

Mind you, NOP has no reason to tank next year, so that’s a different factor. If they’re bottom-5 in February, they have no reason to throw in the towel. They’ll keep clawing for every win, and even make a deadline deal to improve…Cause they don’t benefit from tanking!

For things to be that bad, they’d also have to have a 2nd straight year wave of major injuries. Their entire starting lineup was decimated (Murphy and Herb with shoulder surgeries, Zion’s usual tweaks with precautions, Murray’s heel). That’s a lot of talent.

Assuming a long recovery period, these guys should all be good to go by October (besides Murray). They also have a whole off-season to improve the roster; free agency hasn’t even begun.

They can use the MLE on a stop-gap PG, like Brogdon or Schroder. And of course a trade can be made.

It’s preposterous to just presume NOP is coughing up a top-4 pick next year. It could happen, and Dumars is crazy for taking that risk (agreeing to zero protection), but on top of betting they’ll have a sub-35 win record (less than 50%??), they then have to win the lotto odds (1-14%??) for the worst-case scenario to happen.

For the Bulls, they’d be taking a meaty risk of ending up with 2 bench role-players instead of a core starter. Atlanta has the luxury- they’re loaded with starting F/C prospects, and Noa/Queen/Carter would be log-jammed and no more talented than their existing frontcourt (Risacher, Dyson, Jalen, Nance, Okongwu).

Also, ATL owes SAS its 26 pick/swap, so they also have zero interest in getting younger. They really didn’t need another lotto prospect riding the bench.

I don’t get the hysteria here.

[boozapalooza]

If we are a team in transition and the goal is 2026, why not take the deal? We could have 2 lotto picks in a loaded 2026 draft at our disposal to use or trade for a superstar.

Its up to Noa to validate the front office here, but I’m disgusted

What do you mean by "the goal is 2026"?

Eversley said in his presser that we are a team in transition and they have an eye towards having cap space/flexibility in 2026 FA. Which makes me think this year is another year of development before we may push our chips in during the 2026 summer with a big move.

Now, if NO/MIL are decent this year and has a pick outside of the top 10 next year, I don’t really care about this. But if that pick is top 5-10, with that draft class, big yikes. That could have been our chance to land a superstar through the draft.

[Guru]

If we are a team in transition and the goal is 2026, why not take the deal? We could have 2 lotto picks in a loaded 2026 draft at our disposal to use or trade for a superstar.

Its up to Noa to validate the front office here, but I’m disgusted

What do you mean by "the goal is 2026"?

Eversley said in his presser that we are a team in transition and they have an eye towards having cap space/flexibility in 2026 FA. Which makes me think this year is another year of development before we may push our chips in during the 2026 summer with a big move.

Now, if NO/MIL are decent this year and has a pick outside of the top 10 next year, I don’t really care about this. But if that pick is top 5-10, with that draft class, big yikes. That could have been our chance to land a superstar through the draft.

It feels a bit like they are following a playbook in the NBA that doesn't exist anymore.....who are those FAs in 2026 that you made cap room for?

I am excited to see what Buz-Noa-Giddey-White-Ball can do this year. I wish they would clear up the mess around them a bit

[pipfan]

If it's true, that's epic malpractice. Newell was my 1st choice at #12 (like Noa too)

But to add a potential top 10 pick in a loaded draft to move down (Newell or Fleming would have been good fits), that's criminal by AKME

Huge bummer

[League Circles]

If we are a team in transition and the goal is 2026, why not take the deal? We could have 2 lotto picks in a loaded 2026 draft at our disposal to use or trade for a superstar.

Its up to Noa to validate the front office here, but I’m disgusted

What do you mean by "the goal is 2026"?

Eversley said in his presser that we are a team in transition and they have an eye towards having cap space/flexibility in 2026 FA. Which makes me think this year is another year of development before we may push our chips in during the 2026 summer with a big move.

Now, if NO/MIL are decent this year and has a pick outside of the top 10 next year, I don’t really care about this. But if that pick is top 5-10, with that draft class, big yikes. That could have been our chance to land a superstar through the draft.

Ahh, thanks. While it could give us another asset, it would decrease cap flexibility by 6-8 million dollars, and is extremely unlikely to be a great player let alone a superstar, but point taken. I didn't know ME had alluded to that summer for potential changes, but it makes sense.

[Senor Chang]

Are we sure the NO pick will be good? If zion is back and healthy then NO will be fighting for a playoff spot.


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No but you get the better of Milwaukee or NOP picks and who knows with either team. Both could possibly make the playoffs but both could easily be lottery picks too. Might get lucky in the lottery. Regardless it is still a tradable asset to attach to any trade in this season.

I think after Essengue i agree it would be worth the gamble. However i think id rather take a chance on Noa’s potential over a New Orleans pick if Zion is healthy. A healthy NO team is at least pushing for the play-in. If the Chicago media is hammering the organization for drafting Noa now imagine what they’d be saying if they traded the pick for a chance at a pick next year.


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[Dan Z]

Are we sure the NO pick will be good? If zion is back and healthy then NO will be fighting for a playoff spot.


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No but you get the better of Milwaukee or NOP picks and who knows with either team. Both could possibly make the playoffs but both could easily be lottery picks too. Might get lucky in the lottery. Regardless it is still a tradable asset to attach to any trade in this season.

Even if Zion is healthy they're a team that will rely on two rookies (Fears/Queen). That usual takes some time to develop.

[Mr. Tibbs]

It's generally hard to be surprised by AKME at this point...but this is just shockingly, painfully dumb if they passed on this. These dudes are trying to break my brain.

[sco]

Do we know if it was the same exact deal offered to teams. I could see a scenario where the offering price got better (i.e. dropped restrictions) as they get rejected early.

[ThisGuyFawkes]

If we are a team in transition and the goal is 2026, why not take the deal? We could have 2 lotto picks in a loaded 2026 draft at our disposal to use or trade for a superstar.

Its up to Noa to validate the front office here, but I’m disgusted

What do you mean by "the goal is 2026"?

Eversley said in his presser that we are a team in transition and they have an eye towards having cap space/flexibility in 2026 FA. Which makes me think this year is another year of development before we may push our chips in during the 2026 summer with a big move.

Now, if NO/MIL are decent this year and has a pick outside of the top 10 next year, I don’t really care about this. But if that pick is top 5-10, with that draft class, big yikes. That could have been our chance to land a superstar through the draft.

We just landed a superstar in the draft.

In all seriousness, I also don't get the frustration. As other posters have mentioned, there's no way AKME could assume that Newell will be there at #23. At that point, you have to assume you're drafting a backup role-player. You get a pick next year, but have no idea where it's going to land. Is it worth it to trade #12 this year for #23 this year and #20 next year? Another role-player?

Just seems like a lot of "if's". On the other hand, you take Essengue and his sky high potential and fit right now. I could be convinced of either scenario, but it's more of a toss-up than a strong take.

[HomoSapien]

i obviously think we should have taken the deal if it was explicitly on the table, but it's important to note that dumars said the pelicans also called toronto/phoenix/portland and none of them made the trade either. this is despite the fact that

-toronto was rumored to be very open to trades headed into the draft + reportedly interested in swinging an immediate roster upgrade, and that pelicans pick would be a valuable bullet in their chamber
-phoenix badly needs future assets and could have gotten away with passing on maluach considering they simultaneously traded for a starting C
-portland did trade down, with memphis, to secure a less desirable future first round pick than the pelicans pick. also, after trading down, they picked a player who was widely projected to go in the second round, so there's a good chance they would not have objected to the deal because they didn't want to drop all the way to 23

given the circumstances, it seems like there's a reasonable chance dumars may not have been calling teams up saying "hey we'll give you an unprotected first." maybe atlanta was the only team savvy enough to realize just how desperate the pelicans were and exploit it to their advantage, maybe dumars got more desperate the further queen slid, maybe the 5 minute on-the-clock window wasn't enough for the bulls to get into substantive negotiations. or maybe the bulls did just mess up, but i don't think you can take that as a given

my feeling is, there's so much stuff this front office definitively does wrong. i don't see any value in getting worked up about something that we don't even know they actually did

We'll never truly know, but given the number of times this regime has undervalued picks or opted to reroute them to a third team I am not willing to give them that benefit of the doubt.

[biggestbullsfan]

The only saving grace they have is if Dumars didn’t offer an1st. Maybe he offered multiple seconds and players. Akme better come and clear it up.

[cocktailswith_2short]

Bulls wanted their guy in their own right. If Noa turns out to be a stud and I think he will this isn't so egregious .and 10 spots is a bigger deal than people are accounting for it's a drop . We took a project but who cares we have time .