End of Season Press Conference

[Indomitable]

Next will be another 35 to 40 win team. Then another embarrassing play in lost.

Rinse and repeat

[MGB8]

The point of getting a high draft pick is to have the widest set of players to choose from in the hopes of getting a franchise or all star caliber player.

The fact that a guy goes high, once selected, has zero bearing on their actual value. Anthony Bennett gong #1 does not make Anthony Bennett a guy who you want on your team, or Jabari Parker #2, etc. Jokic going 45 doesn’t mean that there are 44+ guys with more value. Adding a a bunch of former high picks is meaningless if they are busts. Any argument hat AK has replaced actual shots at franchise players by trading for guys who were formerly high picks simply doesn’t hold many water - Giddey’s value wasn’t that he was a high picks simply doesn’t, it was that he had already flashed a lot as a very young player. Lonzo’s value wasn’t that he was picked big, it was his defense, bball IQ, and the development of his 3, versus his injury risk and lack of high end penetration skills in the half court.

Now, you can argue that since someone saw enough in the, to gamble on them high, they may be undervalued later and be worth of a “reclamation project” swing. But that has nothing to do with why folks seek high picks - it’s to maximize the chances of hitting on the guy who isn’t a reclamation project, he changes the direction of your franchise.

[SfBull]

"Patience" = run it back.

I'm more or less okay with that. I'd in fact be pleasantly surprised if he does that and only that. Because despite our finish to the season I believe a team that purely runs this back plus a rookie is a bottom 10 team and we could use another year in the lottery at least.

I can't be okay with running it back if it means playing another season starting Vuc.

[DropStep]

Read on Twitter

TBH, he doesn't even look like he believes the words coming out of his own mouth.

We've had reports that ownership would fully support a tank & rebuild, I'm wondering how true that is because that's never been the case about our ownership since the Krause tank disaster.

I think this "shrink the timeline" phrase is the new "compete." They both reflect the franchise's true apparent priority, and it's an uninspiring one: to avoid sucking, with the greatest certainty possible, as soon as possible.

The reason everybody doesn't choose to shrink the timeline, is presumably because it reduces your ceiling.

Contending is hard, and success isn't guaranteed for anybody. Nobody talks about shrinking the timeline to go from losing, to a championship. "2029 isn't soon enough for the Wizards, it has to happen in 2027" sounds goofy. You're lucky if you ever get one in your career. You talk about maximizing your chances of getting one at all, but trying to take shortcuts to get there when you're an under-.500 team is naive and presumptuous.

Unless that's not really the directive. If your goal is to be presentable, to not be embarrassing, to "compete" instead of "contending," it's entirely reasonable to talk about how long it would take to get there. You can even shrink the timeline on that, by paying decent young talent market rates, and becoming "Team X" in the play-in. But then you're not on the "lose-suffer-get great players-build winner around them" train that seems more proven. You're just market rate Team X. To paraphrase AK, "That's the way we chose to go."

Once you've "shrunk the timeline," AK rarely talks about connecting the dots between competing, and seriously contending. The one time he tried, he got mocked for the 9 good players quote. Understandably, I think. The link isn't clear to me. If Bulls management truly believes that is possible, that we are really on a path toward trying to contend by way of a shrunken timeline toward competing, then as an owner, I would make it a priority for AK to persuasively communicate that vision to the fanbase. It hasn't been - at least I'm not convinced. Either they need an evangelist - or, there's nothing to evangelize, which is a real fear around here. Maybe multiple All-NBA/All-Star lightning actually strikes middle of the road teams as often as it does tear-it-downers. I'm receptive to the case, I suppose, but it hasn't been made by the architects of the team. They've barely implied that it's even the goal.

[Red8911]

Nothing much to take from the press conference that we didn’t already know . AK mentioned summer of 26 again that they’ll have more space, he likes his core( Coby,Giddey, Matas) and kept praising them, Giddey isn’t going anywhere, emphasized improving on defense which could be a hint at a Vuc trade, and for once he actually told the truth about PWill that he’s had a disappointing season.

[Hangtime84]

I don't mind what AK said. I LIKE what he said about internal development being a focus.

I understand how they feel about a hub center but this won't work if the center cannot defend.

The last attempt was adding bunch of point of attack defenders which was working but our best one that could made it work was Zo.

I hope they move away from that. If Josh and Coby are going to be your starting guards going forward you will need bigger lineup that can defend the rim.

We really do better job at grabbing G-leaguers and turning them into valuable cheap contracts.

What did he say about a hub C? Was it in relation just to the past, or some sign that despite Giddey, he is still looking for one (which would make no real sense, IMO)?

Nothing about the hub C that was relation to past comment. Billy also likes hub Cs as Steven Adams assists grew in OKC. Personally going to next season i would rather go for a jumbo front court for starters and then bring the speed "guards" off the bench. Bench scoring seems to be the problem .

Either or find a guy who plays bigger than their size at the wing/forward position that's good at rim protect and positional defense. Every time time i hear another annoucers broadcast it's chicago bulls are number one in points in the paint. Just attack the basket.

Chicago needs to improve their points in the paint defensive side as well as increase the number of deflections they have per game.

[Rose2Boozer]

AK created a rough spot for himself. The Bulls have fifteen roster spots occupied if you include their first and second round picks. There's not a lot of good that can be done, and a lot of bad deals that could be available. It's looking like we're running it back next season, and hoping for the best in the 2026 draft and free agency. It is what it is.

[dougthonus]

In fairness, everyone including Helen Keller could accurately predict our summer. All you have to do is look at the contract status of everybody on the roster.

Maybe, we have a ton of expiring salary, so possible we could do something to facilitate trades and acquire assets at the cost of 2026 cap space.

But why do that? No one is giving us lottery pick to take a bad contract. I’d rather use that money on actual good players in 2026 whether through free agency or trades.

Your assumption is that you make a bad trade and a good signing. You could just as easily assume a good trade and a bad signing. There are times either of these strategies would work.

It is worth noting a crap ton of teams have cap room in 2026 which usually means bad deals are handed out and not good ones.

[sco]

Maybe, we have a ton of expiring salary, so possible we could do something to facilitate trades and acquire assets at the cost of 2026 cap space.

But why do that? No one is giving us lottery pick to take a bad contract. I’d rather use that money on actual good players in 2026 whether through free agency or trades.

Your assumption is that you make a bad trade and a good signing. You could just as easily assume a good trade and a bad signing. There are times either of these strategies would work.

It is worth noting a crap ton of teams have cap room in 2026 which usually means bad deals are handed out and not good ones.

100%. In the current NBA, most good players are acquired via trade and not FA. Our best opportunity might be going for a guy who is going to be a RFA on a team that is up against the 2nd apron - next season's version of Kuminga and GSW is the deal I'd look to.

[kodo]

100%. In the current NBA, most good players are acquired via trade and not FA. Our best opportunity might be going for a guy who is going to be a RFA on a team that is up against the 2nd apron - next season's version of Kuminga and GSW is the deal I'd look to.

FA is also tough because the player has to pick us vs everyone else. Let's pretend last year we had cap space to address our biggest problem, the C position. We offer Hartenstein $30M. In what world does he pick Chicago over OKC? And even though it ended up being a disaster, Paul George picked Philly.

FA without a trade, when it does happen, favors teams already competing (OKC) or expected to compete at the time (PHI), not perennial bottom dwellers like us. Or if a team isn't great, it's always LA or NY. I go back to why the Brunson thing could never work for Chicago, he actually refused to meet any other team other than the Knicks. He was going to either A) resign with Dallas at any amount B) play in the Garden. He didn't even take the meetings for other teams.

[drosestruts]

Not all lottery picks are equal. A team of top 10 picks sounds great, when 5 are 6th or later sounds less great. The highest pick in Ball is never going to play more then 60 games a season. Williams at #4 currently isn't an NBA level player.

So you like picks up until they become actual players?

I actually think the picking up devalued former high pick players is an underrated strategy. I was thrilled with both the Lonzo and Giddey acquisitions. And TBH, they've been probably the two most impactful players we've gotten vs our own draft picks like PWill & Terry. We'll see about Matas...although he really should have been #5.

At the Giddey trade I said it's like we traded an expiring Caruso for a #6 pick, you could normally get nothing close to that. The best offer for a pick we know 100% was offered was 24, that's nowhere close to Giddey. The downside is you have to pay that #6 pick sooner, but it's still a huge win overall.

While Giddey isn't on this level, trading for top picks still in their rookie contracts like SGA, Haliburton has been as good as lucking into the top 5. It's just really rare for teams to be that dumb.

I tend to agree and it looks like two such players will be available this summer in Zion and Kuminga.

[WindyCityBorn]

Maybe, we have a ton of expiring salary, so possible we could do something to facilitate trades and acquire assets at the cost of 2026 cap space.

But why do that? No one is giving us lottery pick to take a bad contract. I’d rather use that money on actual good players in 2026 whether through free agency or trades.

Your assumption is that you make a bad trade and a good signing. You could just as easily assume a good trade and a bad signing. There are times either of these strategies would work.

It is worth noting a crap ton of teams have cap room in 2026 which usually means bad deals are handed out and not good ones.

I also said use the cap space in trades for players. I meany good players on good deals. As in we don’t need to match salaries. I just don’t way to take on bad contracts for some meager assets.

[dougthonus]

I also said use the cap space in trades for players. I meany good players on good deals. As in we don’t need to match salaries. I just don’t way to take on bad contracts for some meager assets.

Again, you are just assuming you will be able to make a really good trade for a player then, and a bad trade for an asset. Maybe that's true, maybe it isn't true. The present best team in the league most used strategy was to use cap room to trade for picks when they started their rebuilding process.

To use your cap room to trade for a player or sign a player, you're first have to start with the assumption the guy you want to get also wants to be here. Then, any player like this is going to be on a monster deal to which also limits your option. In a trade, beyond cap space, you will also have to give up more assets to make the trade happen, and given we are super far away from being anything, that means you have also reduced your odds significantly of doing anything afterwards.

This isn't to say you are wrong to make that attempt, it is to say that all options, no matter what you choose, have thin odds. The trade option is more appealing if you believe in the core of Coby, Josh, Matas, and the Reinsdorf's willingness to pay the luxury tax. I'm not sure I believe that much in any of those three players and I sure as hell don't believe in the last piece of that equation.

That said, I totally get why no one wants to build through the draft of watching three straight years of sub mediocre play where we should have been rebuilding but instead were lousy while trying to be good. It's hard to go through more years of lousy when the "good" years were lousy.

At any rate, I'm not necessarily advocating for one path or another, I think we've positioned ourselves where there is no good path. All paths are likely to fail or return similar results (the worst of the teams that is actually trying).

[jnrjr79]

In fairness, everyone including Helen Keller could accurately predict our summer. All you have to do is look at the contract status of everybody on the roster.

Maybe, we have a ton of expiring salary, so possible we could do something to facilitate trades and acquire assets at the cost of 2026 cap space.

Yeah, it would seem that if they are intending to keep Coby, they might keep their powder dry this offseason to maintain the space necessary to do that. But if they aren’t, then you could very easily see trades this offseason using those expirings.

[greenl]

He gave the same generic answers he always gives and said nothing whatsoever of substance and tried to take another victory lap for another 39 win season and play-in loss. There's nothing else that I'd prefer he'd say based on his direction, because his direction and strategy still sucks IMO, but I don't expect him to come out and say, looking back at the last four years, I really screwed this up and am still on a path to mediocrity because I think it's the best way to save my job.

Nothing about what he's doing gives me even the remotest confidence that he will ever build a good team, but he backed himself into such a lousy corner that the alternative to what he did was to enter a 4+ year long rebuild, and after living through the last three years of absolute garbage without getting any assets to jump start anything doesn't excite me to live through another 4+ long years of garbage.

He's just driven this team into straight apathy where I can't really be happy or sad about almost anything because he's put us in such a lousy spot that mediocrity with no upside might actually be preferable to trying to rebuild via the draft with no assets.

Agree with every bit of this..and yet AK's runway seems interminable. They seem content with a 37 to 44 win team that maybe gets an 8th seed or a play in game. The organization is content with mediocrity- and I'm content to stop caring until that changes.

[sco]

I would be great with AK moving on...Loved the question that came across as hopefull that Denver contacted him about the opening.

We all know his blunders:
- Trading 2 1sts for Vuc (although WCJ really isn't good)
- Resigning Vuc
- Drafting PWill
- Resigning PWill
- Trading Lauri

That said, AK's moves haven't been all bad.
- Drafting Matas
- Getting Ball (I'm not blaming him for the injury...although debatable)
- Getting Derozan
- Trading Lavine (debatable return, but the 3 guys we got back all seem ok...we'll see how it all plays out with them and the pick)
- Resigning Coby
- Resigning Ayo

He is an unlikeable personality. I sure don't like listening to his pressers full of lies and grammar errors.

[cocktailswith_2short]

Giddey trade and matas falling in the draft saved this dudes job .

[dougthonus]

I would be great with AK moving on...Loved the question that came across as hopefull that Denver contacted him about the opening.

We all know his blunders:
- Trading 2 1sts for Vuc (although WCJ really isn't good)
- Resigning Vuc
- Drafting PWill
- Resigning PWill
- Trading Lauri

That said, AK's moves haven't been all bad.
- Drafting Matas
- Getting Ball (I'm not blaming him for the injury...although debatable)
- Getting Derozan
- Trading Lavine (debatable return, but the 3 guys we got back all seem ok...we'll see how it all plays out with them and the pick)
- Resigning Coby
- Resigning Ayo

He is an unlikeable personality. I sure don't like listening to his pressers full of lies and grammar errors.

All GMs have some moves that work out and some that don't. What is concerning is that he used bad process even in the moves that worked out. Can toss signing Caruso in moves that worked out, and potentially trading Caruso for Giddey as well (though still a bit up in the air there, I heard from someone else we had an offer of two 1sts for Caruso at the previous deadline, one ended up in the top half of the lottery, though terrible draft so not as great as it sounds).

[CROBulls]

They asked for patience after 6 years as GM's, 3 years in row of fake play-ins. And some users here are clowning "tank guys" because we just want good for franchise. If they started tank literally 3 years ago, now rebuild would be over.

It's being over 10 years since Bulls won playoff series.

It's being 27 years since last ring. So patience is something I dont have. I know some of Bulls fans are vampires and 6-10 years of bad GMing is like 5 days in your lifespan. But dont put rest of us in basket (literally) with you.

This is my press conference to all of you.

[WestsideResider]

AK is such a bland gray cloud of nothingness. The most uninspiring guy I’ve ever seen lead a team in this city