NBA Draft Lottery Tuesday May, 17 2016

[DuckIII]

I'll just leave it at this: There is no evidence to suggest that Hinkie would have been capable, even to a tiny degree, of building an actual NBA roster. And the champion of his school of thought has very clearly evidenced the exact same flaw.

I will absolutely credit that when it comes to dumping literally everything to get as many picks as you can get, Hinkie is as good at that strategy as I've seen. But I simply don't consider that to be a difficult strategy at all to execute. If you are willing to give away everything you have, all the time, until you hit lottery luck, you are going to be able to get picks from teams who are not interested in an identical strategy.

Its easy. He never showed any ability to do the hard part. And its the hard part that is now left to Colangelo to execute.

Like I said, if the Hinkie obtained players - not what Colangelo gets for them, or what he puts around them - are the guys who turn around the Sixers, then good on Hinkie. But considering that virtually none of them fit with each other, I don't see that happening. And given his school of thought, I will never accept any argument based on the premise that Hinkie "would have" built a cohesive roster eventually if he'd been given time.

[veji1]

And really the definitive argument on Hinkie is a lot simpler than all those tanking/drafting consideration :

A guy who quotes Abrahm Lincoln in the first 4 paragraphs of a letter to the shareholders like he is some sort of 9th grader doing a presentation deserves to be (figuratively Mark K) shot, hung and quartered and never ever ever to be given any job of responsability again.

[DuckIII]

And really the definitive argument on Hinkie is a lot simpler than all those tanking/drafting consideration :

A guy who quotes Abrahm Lincoln in the first 4 paragraphs of a letter to the shareholders like he is some sort of 9th grader doing a presentation deserves to be (figuratively Mark K) shot, hung and quartered and never ever ever to be given any job of responsability again.

No, no, no. The best parts are him comparing himself to "a young Warren Buffet" and titling a subsection "the importance of intellectual humility" in a letter in which he is announcing that the reason for his resignation is that he's too smart and innovative to work with Jerry Colangelo. Pretty long winded way of saying "you can't fire me, I quit!"

If you want to get a sense of the hubris that limits Hinkie and Morey, read that letter.

[johnnyvann840]

I just can't agree with anyone that says that Hinkie did a terrible job. If they landed the 1st pick last season, he's considered a genius. Regardless, they've got so many assets and talent. If they can build something, it will be because of the work and trades he's made. He robbed every GM he traded with and still has picks to come from LA and Sacramento.

I don't think he did a terrible job, I think what he did was an utter optimisation of the draft/lottery game with complete disregard for the actual playing of basketball, competing and giving the fans a valid show.

So to me, particularly because of its overall potential for success, this strategy should be penalised by the league one way or the other, or if not by the league, by Karma : May Embiid always have bad feet and Okafor have many off-court problems until he leaves the Sixers.

Amen. What a disgrace that franchise has been. a freaking DISGRACE to everything that the game should be about.

[Mech Engineer]

I just can't agree with anyone that says that Hinkie did a terrible job. If they landed the 1st pick last season, he's considered a genius. Regardless, they've got so many assets and talent. If they can build something, it will be because of the work and trades he's made. He robbed every GM he traded with and still has picks to come from LA and Sacramento.

I don't think he did a terrible job, I think what he did was an utter optimisation of the draft/lottery game with complete disregard for the actual playing of basketball, competing and giving the fans a valid show.

So to me, particularly because of its overall potential for success, this strategy should be penalised by the league one way or the other, or if not by the league, by Karma : May Embiid always have bad feet and Okafor have many off-court problems until he leaves the Sixers.

Amen. What a disgrace that franchise has been. a freaking DISGRACE to everything that the game should be about.

It is a disgrace to the league and the franchise. Even if they win a championship with some pieces Hinkie has drafted, it doesn't make up for the crap/process he used for 3/4 years. This kind of thing if it starts happening with some more franchises will eventually kill the league.

A GM is someone who should build a basketball team not collect assets. No wonder he is quoting Warren Buffett. It just defeats the purpose of the game and why you play/watch basketball.

[Ice Man]

No, no, no. The best parts are him comparing himself to "a young Warren Buffet" and titling a subsection "the importance of intellectual humility" in a letter in which he is announcing that the reason for his resignation is that he's too smart and innovative to work with Jerry Colangelo. Pretty long winded way of saying "you can't fire me, I quit!"

If you want to get a sense of the hubris that limits Hinkie and Morey, read that letter.

If Mark can read that letter from start to finish, without gagging, he's made of sterner stuff than the rest of us.

[DuckIII]

No, no, no. The best parts are him comparing himself to "a young Warren Buffet" and titling a subsection "the importance of intellectual humility" in a letter in which he is announcing that the reason for his resignation is that he's too smart and innovative to work with Jerry Colangelo. Pretty long winded way of saying "you can't fire me, I quit!"

If you want to get a sense of the hubris that limits Hinkie and Morey, read that letter.

If Mark can read that letter from start to finish, without gagging, he's made of sterner stuff than the rest of us.

Another favorite of mine is when he says that he never publicly defended his choices for fear that other competitors might realize the genius of his strategy and attempt to emulate it:

There has been much criticism of our approach. There will be more. A competitive league like the NBA necessitates a zig while our competitors comfortably zag. We often chose not to defend ourselves against much of the criticism, largely in an effort to stay true to the ideal of having the longest view in the room. To attempt to convince others that our actions are just will serve to paint us in a different light among some of our competitors as progressives worth emulating, versus adversaries worthy of their disdain. Call me old-fashioned, but sometimes the optimal place for your light is hiding directly under a bushel.

Classic.

If anyone has a half an hour to read something genuinely hilarious from an unintentional comedy standpoint, here you go:

http://www.libertyballers.com/2016/4/6/11382700/read-sam-hinkies-full-resignation-letter-to-sixers-ownership

[MrSparkle]

Hinkie's strategy had zero on-court benefit over the course of 3 years. There's no defense of such a strategy.

He might have assembled a king's ransom of picks and high-ceiling talent, but the new GM still needs to hope each player projects well, stays healthy, is worth the max contract they demand, and then some.

Not one of their players has been established as a superstar.

And even then, the process of building a team around a young super star takes years (Durant lost 3 years before he made the playoffs).

Again, that's if Simmons and/or Embiid turn out to be superstar studs.

The only fix would be if they acquired all-stars in free agency and trades... But that would hardly have anything to do with Hinkie. My 5 year old niece could have GMed the Sixers and gotten them numerous top-5 picks if that's our measure of skill.

Even if the Jrue or MCW trades hadn't happened, they'd be losing tons of games and getting their big fish picks.

[MrSparkle]

Now to add... Are the Sixers in a good spot?

Yes-- mainly because they won the #1 pick, and Embiid/Okafor/Noel are all hopefully coming into 2016 healthy.

But what a price did they pay for this core? Neither of their centers even commands a high enough trade value, due to injury or talent concerns.

But please don't try and ration that Hinkie was a genius.

[kingkirk]

Chill dude, what do you want me to tell you, may all their players be healthy and happy but the ball always rim out on important shots until their hopes of competing are shattered but yet they remain happy adults with a healthy outlook on life ?

I'd like you to tell me how you'd react if a Sixers fan came over to this board and wished ill will onto our players and roster by hoping guys stay injured. It was a dumb thing to say. I don't require you to praise the Sixers players, but hoping they stay hurt because of Hinkie? Cmon.

If Mark can read that letter from start to finish, without gagging, he's made of sterner stuff than the rest of us.

The letter has no bearing on an evaluation of his work as a GM.

But please don't try and ration that Hinkie was a genius.

No one is doing as such.

Even if the Jrue or MCW trades hadn't happened, they'd be losing tons of games and getting their big fish picks.

If he never trades Jrue Holiday, he never lands Noel and another 1st rounder. If he never trades trades MCW, he never gets the Lakers pick, which is top-3 protected in next years draft. He stole 1sts for these 2 PGs, both of whom have done nothing since being moved.

[nitetrain8603]

I don't get the Hinkie love. The guy had a legitimate idea, but executed it poorly. He was a slave to the numbers, and failed. Just like Morey.

There's a lot to like about their approaches in very general terms, but both thought they were the smartest guys in the room and it bit them in the ass.

Hinkie needed to accept the nuance of basketball. But didn't.

He had a plan so far and was executing it. In no way is that a failure. Its only a failure if he tried to tank on purpose and ended up getting the 4th pick in the process. He's still owed LAs pick and I believe Sacramento's as well.

[TyrusRose2425]

Jimmy has always been unlikely to be moved, time to move on to other trade ideas guys lol

Appears so. I agree with Homo's take that the Jen Swanson article appears to confirm that the Bulls are executing a step by step plan to firmly move into the Butler era.

But is it completely outside the realm of possibility that the Lakers try to trade for Butler? Wouldn't he be a better chip for using their free agency money successfully?

I'm not saying I think its likely. But I can see a rationale for it happening from LA's perspective. And I couldn't be more on record as seeing it from the Bulls' perspective.

I just don't think any team out there will overpay for the amount the Bulls want. I mean they want alot, even a team like Boston with a ton of assets should pass IMO.

[Dominator83]

I just can't agree with anyone that says that Hinkie did a terrible job. If they landed the 1st pick last season, he's considered a genius. Regardless, they've got so many assets and talent. If they can build something, it will be because of the work and trades he's made. He robbed every GM he traded with and still has picks to come from LA and Sacramento.

I don't think he did a terrible job, I think what he did was an utter optimisation of the draft/lottery game with complete disregard for the actual playing of basketball, competing and giving the fans a valid show.

So to me, particularly because of its overall potential for success, this strategy should be penalised by the league one way or the other, or if not by the league, by Karma : May Embiid always have bad feet and Okafor have many off-court problems until he leaves the Sixers.

Amen. What a disgrace that franchise has been. a freaking DISGRACE to everything that the game should be about.

You really can't fault them for doing that. This isn't football where any team can have a great offseason and you can get studs no matter where your drafting.

The way that Basketball/NBA is structured, it's damn near impossible to go from a mediocre team to an elite team. You have a much better chance going for the OKC model.

The Sixers were a treadmill team from 2002-2013. That's 11 years of mediocrity. Nothings worse in this league than being mediocre.

Were about to get plenty of being the 02-13 sixers and we will see how not fun that is. Our FO/ownership has too much pride to buy a tank, despite the fact that they have no resources to get to elite status without doing so. Our team needs to blow it up Hinkie style. I would much rath b the 13-current sixers and have top prospects and picks to get excited about (think 12-14 Cubs) than to be stuck in the middle with no hope of significant improvements.

As I've mentioned, it takes 2-3 superstars to make a championship team. We have 1 and no avenues to get another. No picks high enough to draft one, no assets good enough to trade for one, and damn sure not attractive enough for a superstar in free agency. The only other way is to pull a Pat Riley and find a Hassan Whiteside level impact player off the scrap heap. You really think Gar/pax is capable of finding that?

Ok, with Butler on board maybe w won't be those pre hinkie Sixer teams. Maybe, just maybe, we will b the Atlanta Hawks instead!

[Threekola]

I don't think he did a terrible job, I think what he did was an utter optimisation of the draft/lottery game with complete disregard for the actual playing of basketball, competing and giving the fans a valid show.

So to me, particularly because of its overall potential for success, this strategy should be penalised by the league one way or the other, or if not by the league, by Karma : May Embiid always have bad feet and Okafor have many off-court problems until he leaves the Sixers.

Amen. What a disgrace that franchise has been. a freaking DISGRACE to everything that the game should be about.

You really can't fault them for doing that. This isn't football where any team can have a great offseason and you can get studs no matter where your drafting.

The way that Basketball/NBA is structured, it's damn near impossible to go from a mediocre team to an elite team. You have a much better chance going for the OKC model.

The Sixers were a treadmill team from 2002-2013. That's 11 years of mediocrity. Nothings worse in this league than being mediocre.

Were about to get plenty of being the 02-13 sixers and we will see how not fun that is. Our FO/ownership has too much pride to buy a tank, despite the fact that they have no resources to get to elite status without doing so. Our team needs to blow it up Hinkie style. I would much rath b the 13-current sixers and have top prospects and picks to get excited about (think 12-14 Cubs) than to be stuck in the middle with no hope of significant improvements.

As I've mentioned, it takes 2-3 superstars to make a championship team. We have 1 and no avenues to get another. No picks high enough to draft one, no assets good enough to trade for one, and damn sure not attractive enough for a superstar in free agency. The only other way is to pull a Pat Riley and find a Hassan Whiteside level impact player off the scrap heap. You really think Gar/pax is capable of finding that?

Ok, with Butler on board maybe w won't be those pre hinkie Sixer teams. Maybe, just maybe, we will b the Atlanta Hawks instead!

To me, the no avenue to building a championship team without tanking thing is such a cop out. We have the 14th pick. Kawhi was the 15th pick. Butler was the 30th. Klay Thompson? 11. A FO that can't identify talent in the late lottery is a crap shoot to identify the right guy with a top 3 pick as well. And the one strength this FO has to me is identifying talent in the draft. The chances of #1 getting the top pick, #2 a generational obvious pick like LeBron being available are almost nil. So why burn it down and destroy your ability to aquire players by other avenues like trades/free agency?

Also, I think we do have avenues to sign free agents/make trades. Why can't we dump Rose and sign two max free agents? Why can't we come up with an attractive package to the Clippers if they want to move Blake? It's not that it's not possible, it's that we don't think our FO can pull it off.

[veji1]

Chill dude, what do you want me to tell you, may all their players be healthy and happy but the ball always rim out on important shots until their hopes of competing are shattered but yet they remain happy adults with a healthy outlook on life ?

I'd like you to tell me how you'd react if a Sixers fan came over to this board and wished ill will onto our players and roster by hoping guys stay injured. It was a dumb thing to say. I don't require you to praise the Sixers players, but hoping they stay hurt because of Hinkie? Cmon.

Come on, it's some sort of grandstanding benevolence here... "gasp, thou shall not wish ill on other people"... gee. You got my point, I want karma to not only bite the Sixers in the ass, but to devour them from the inside out like some sort of gian wasp larva (figuratively of course). Was that better ?

[Dominator83]

Amen. What a disgrace that franchise has been. a freaking DISGRACE to everything that the game should be about.

You really can't fault them for doing that. This isn't football where any team can have a great offseason and you can get studs no matter where your drafting.

The way that Basketball/NBA is structured, it's damn near impossible to go from a mediocre team to an elite team. You have a much better chance going for the OKC model.

The Sixers were a treadmill team from 2002-2013. That's 11 years of mediocrity. Nothings worse in this league than being mediocre.

Were about to get plenty of being the 02-13 sixers and we will see how not fun that is. Our FO/ownership has too much pride to buy a tank, despite the fact that they have no resources to get to elite status without doing so. Our team needs to blow it up Hinkie style. I would much rath b the 13-current sixers and have top prospects and picks to get excited about (think 12-14 Cubs) than to be stuck in the middle with no hope of significant improvements.

As I've mentioned, it takes 2-3 superstars to make a championship team. We have 1 and no avenues to get another. No picks high enough to draft one, no assets good enough to trade for one, and damn sure not attractive enough for a superstar in free agency. The only other way is to pull a Pat Riley and find a Hassan Whiteside level impact player off the scrap heap. You really think Gar/pax is capable of finding that?

Ok, with Butler on board maybe w won't be those pre hinkie Sixer teams. Maybe, just maybe, we will b the Atlanta Hawks instead!

To me, the no avenue to building a championship team without tanking thing is such a cop out. We have the 14th pick. Kawhi was the 15th pick. Butler was the 30th. Klay Thompson? 11. A FO that can't identify talent in the late lottery is a crap shoot to identify the right guy with a top 3 pick as well. And the one strength this FO has to me is identifying talent in the draft. The chances of #1 getting the top pick, #2 a generational obvious pick like LeBron being available are almost nil. So why burn it down and destroy your ability to aquire players by other avenues like trades/free agency?

Also, I think we do have avenues to sign free agents/make trades. Why can't we dump Rose and sign two max free agents? Why can't we come up with an attractive package to the Clippers if they want to move Blake? It's not that it's not possible, it's that we don't think our FO can pull it off.

What 2 Max free agents are you thinking? If you consider guys like Harrison Barnes MAX free agents then maybe. But how much better would be get by maxing out the Harrison Barnes or the Nick Batums of the world? The TRUE max guys like Durant, Westbrook, Lebron, etc won't even be looking in our direction. Why would they leave their current situations to come here when they'll have better options? No chance

Trades? Well for starters our FO lacks balls in trades even when they did have good assets. Hell they didn't even pull in an asset for Gasol at the deadline knowing that he's leaving and we had atleast 1 team that wanted him.

Even ignoring all that, let's say that a Demarcus Cousins or a Blake Griffin goes on the block. What assets do we have to offer for them that 28 other teams can't blow away easily? You think Niko, Portis, and a mid-1st or 2 is going to get it done?

Draft. Let's just pretend that they do find another Butler/Kawhi. Well it took those guys 3 years to become stars. By that point Butler will be 31. So that window would very very short. And have you seen their drafting lately? Even for good drafters, Butlers/Kawhi are the exceptions, not the rule. Most of the time when your picking mid to late your lucky to get a rotatinal player. Again this isn't football. 9 times out of 10 you need a top 10 pick to get superstar

[Threekola]

You really can't fault them for doing that. This isn't football where any team can have a great offseason and you can get studs no matter where your drafting.

The way that Basketball/NBA is structured, it's damn near impossible to go from a mediocre team to an elite team. You have a much better chance going for the OKC model.

The Sixers were a treadmill team from 2002-2013. That's 11 years of mediocrity. Nothings worse in this league than being mediocre.

Were about to get plenty of being the 02-13 sixers and we will see how not fun that is. Our FO/ownership has too much pride to buy a tank, despite the fact that they have no resources to get to elite status without doing so. Our team needs to blow it up Hinkie style. I would much rath b the 13-current sixers and have top prospects and picks to get excited about (think 12-14 Cubs) than to be stuck in the middle with no hope of significant improvements.

As I've mentioned, it takes 2-3 superstars to make a championship team. We have 1 and no avenues to get another. No picks high enough to draft one, no assets good enough to trade for one, and damn sure not attractive enough for a superstar in free agency. The only other way is to pull a Pat Riley and find a Hassan Whiteside level impact player off the scrap heap. You really think Gar/pax is capable of finding that?

Ok, with Butler on board maybe w won't be those pre hinkie Sixer teams. Maybe, just maybe, we will b the Atlanta Hawks instead!

To me, the no avenue to building a championship team without tanking thing is such a cop out. We have the 14th pick. Kawhi was the 15th pick. Butler was the 30th. Klay Thompson? 11. A FO that can't identify talent in the late lottery is a crap shoot to identify the right guy with a top 3 pick as well. And the one strength this FO has to me is identifying talent in the draft. The chances of #1 getting the top pick, #2 a generational obvious pick like LeBron being available are almost nil. So why burn it down and destroy your ability to aquire players by other avenues like trades/free agency?

Also, I think we do have avenues to sign free agents/make trades. Why can't we dump Rose and sign two max free agents? Why can't we come up with an attractive package to the Clippers if they want to move Blake? It's not that it's not possible, it's that we don't think our FO can pull it off.

What 2 Max free agents are you thinking? If you consider guys like Harrison Barnes MAX free agents then maybe. But how much better would be get by maxing out the Harrison Barnes or the Nick Batums of the world? The TRUE max guys like Durant, Westbrook, Lebron, etc won't even be looking in our direction. Why would they leave their current situations to come here when they'll have better options? No chance

Trades? Well for starters our FO lacks balls in trades even when they did have good assets. Hell they didn't even pull in an asset for Gasol at the deadline knowing that he's leaving and we had atleast 1 team that wanted him.

Even ignoring all that, let's say that a Demarcus Cousins or a Blake Griffin goes on the block. What assets do we have to offer for them that 28 other teams can't blow away easily? You think Niko, Portis, and a mid-1st or 2 is going to get it done?

Draft. Let's just pretend that they do find another Butler/Kawhi. Well it took those guys 3 years to become stars. By that point Butler will be 31. So that window would very very short. And have you seen their drafting lately? Even for good drafters, Butlers/Kawhi are the exceptions, not the rule. Most of the time when your picking mid to late your lucky to get a rotatinal player. Again this isn't football. 9 times out of 10 you need a top 10 pick to get superstar

Beal or Batum and Whiteside? If you let Jimmy be the primary ballhandler and have Beal/Batum, McDermott, and Mirotic spacing the floor you've got a dangerous team on offense. And Whiteside can clean up a lot of the mistakes on defense. Probably still a player away from being a legitimate contender, but I'd rather be one player away from an entire team away anytime.

As to Blake, you can offer a lot if you want to. Certainly there are teams that COULD top an offer of Mirotic, Gibson, Portis, 14th pick, SAC pick, and a future Bulls first, but would they? That's a huge risk obviously to give that many assets, but to say you can't put together a good offer is incorrect. Would the Celtics offer the 3rd pick, BK's pick next year, and a player for Blake with one more year on his contract? I honestly don't know the answer.

As to the draft and the window, I think a lot of the window talk is based on the false assumption that all of your pieces are the same age. Can a 29-30 year old Jimmy not win a championship with a 23-24 year old guy coming into his prime that we draft this year? You just can't afford to mess a 14th pick up if you keep it with where we are at. You also can't afford to mess a 3rd pick up, but both are obviously possible to blow.

[Dominator83]

To me, the no avenue to building a championship team without tanking thing is such a cop out. We have the 14th pick. Kawhi was the 15th pick. Butler was the 30th. Klay Thompson? 11. A FO that can't identify talent in the late lottery is a crap shoot to identify the right guy with a top 3 pick as well. And the one strength this FO has to me is identifying talent in the draft. The chances of #1 getting the top pick, #2 a generational obvious pick like LeBron being available are almost nil. So why burn it down and destroy your ability to aquire players by other avenues like trades/free agency?

Also, I think we do have avenues to sign free agents/make trades. Why can't we dump Rose and sign two max free agents? Why can't we come up with an attractive package to the Clippers if they want to move Blake? It's not that it's not possible, it's that we don't think our FO can pull it off.

What 2 Max free agents are you thinking? If you consider guys like Harrison Barnes MAX free agents then maybe. But how much better would be get by maxing out the Harrison Barnes or the Nick Batums of the world? The TRUE max guys like Durant, Westbrook, Lebron, etc won't even be looking in our direction. Why would they leave their current situations to come here when they'll have better options? No chance

Trades? Well for starters our FO lacks balls in trades even when they did have good assets. Hell they didn't even pull in an asset for Gasol at the deadline knowing that he's leaving and we had atleast 1 team that wanted him.

Even ignoring all that, let's say that a Demarcus Cousins or a Blake Griffin goes on the block. What assets do we have to offer for them that 28 other teams can't blow away easily? You think Niko, Portis, and a mid-1st or 2 is going to get it done?

Draft. Let's just pretend that they do find another Butler/Kawhi. Well it took those guys 3 years to become stars. By that point Butler will be 31. So that window would very very short. And have you seen their drafting lately? Even for good drafters, Butlers/Kawhi are the exceptions, not the rule. Most of the time when your picking mid to late your lucky to get a rotatinal player. Again this isn't football. 9 times out of 10 you need a top 10 pick to get superstar

Beal or Batum and Whiteside? If you let Jimmy be the primary ballhandler and have Beal/Batum, McDermott, and Mirotic spacing the floor you've got a dangerous team on offense. And Whiteside can clean up a lot of the mistakes on defense. Probably still a player away from being a legitimate contender, but I'd rather be one player away from an entire team away anytime.

As to Blake, you can offer a lot if you want to. Certainly there are teams that COULD top an offer of Mirotic, Gibson, Portis, 14th pick, SAC pick, and a future Bulls first, but would they? That's a huge risk obviously to give that many assets, but to say you can't put together a good offer is incorrect. Would the Celtics offer the 3rd pick, BK's pick next year, and a player for Blake with one more year on his contract? I honestly don't know the answer.

As to the draft and the window, I think a lot of the window talk is based on the false assumption that all of your pieces are the same age. Can a 29-30 year old Jimmy not win a championship with a 23-24 year old guy coming into his prime that we draft this year? You just can't afford to mess a 14th pick up if you keep it with where we are at. You also can't afford to mess a 3rd pick up, but both are obviously possible to blow.

Building around a Butler-Whiteside combo is something I can get on board with. He does have some questionable character though so I doubt Gar/pax would even roll the dice with him. Plus we would absolutely need a new coach given Fred isn't versatile enough to run a system according to his personell.

[snowyseven]

glad we didnt trade jimmy to boston.

definitely still should if can't pry 2 from lakers, think 3 +16 + other stuff from Boston is the way to go.

Not IMO, I could only see trading Jimmy for a true franchise potential rook like Simmons.

We're going to trade Butler for Dragan Bender or Kris Dunn?

No you don't trade him for less than 3 first rounders and a young player. We need to rebuild. So we need several good players, the star will come eventually. But this is the Bulls the FO will do nothing and we will continue being a fringe playoff team till Butler retires at age 39.

[Shill]

I'm not particularly a fan of Hinkie, but I don't think the ultra-tank is a patently bad idea. It's obviously a high-risk maneuver that hasn't paid off yet (and it might not), but what if Simmons turns into a superstar? What if Embiid gets healthy and starts living up to his potential?

What if he had executed the ultra-tank over a stronger three-year span and ended up with Durant/Westbrook/Harden like Seattle/OKC did?

I don't think the ultra-tank is an awful idea IF you can stomach the dreadful basketball and media backlash. Philly thought they could, but ultimately it became too untenable for their ownership.