Position battle: PWill, Terry, Phillips, Noa

[Infinity2152]

Billy played Smith at PF some in the preseason. Seems like a logical thing to try, especially against big teams. I think the Bulls starting lineup will change constantly, except Giddey, Matas, and Vucevic. Coby's on a minute limit, so who knows? Really hope Smith gets some minutes at PF. He's better than Patrick Williams, Phillips and Noa right now and he's being wasted.

Not sure Okoro, Huerter or Ayo would be better starters than Smith, because we haven't seen enough of him at PF. We know Vucevic is starting, so while Coby is down:

Giddey/Jones/Ayo
Okoro/White/Ayo
Matas/Huerter
Smith/Williams
Vucevic/Collins

And the other guys fight for scraps or beat Smith out for a starting spot. Start Ayo in games in against two great guards, move Smith to backup PF and screw Williams.

With the Collins injury to start the season, Smith is probably getting 20mpg at C out the gate. Not sure how much we'll be able to play him at PF as we're shorthanded in the middle.

Good catch! With Zach and Coby already injured, minutes are going to be all over the place. Both played starter minutes most of last season.

[meekrab]

How good would Phillips and/or Terry have to be this season in order for you guys to want to try to re-sign them to a multi year contract?

For a contending team neither one has shown they can be anything more than a minimum contract end of the roster guy. Just like you'd I'd need to see massive improvement this year to even think about multiple years.

That said, I fear AKME will offer them both something in the 5-7 million range for 2 or 3 years, since they're seemingly allergic to good decisions.

[DuckIII]

It’s just unthinkable to me that AK would actually re-sign Terry. I cannot imagine a landing spot anywhere in the NBA for him.

Maybe I’m too hard on him. I don’t see even the shadow of a NBA player there. I don’t think he’s even close to NBA quality.

Phillips has high plus value run/jump athleticism even at the NBA level. It’s possible, if he can develop a steady shot, he can find a role somewhere as a good guy for practice mocks who can add a Javonte element who has zero skills with the ball but can still be disruptive and hit an open jumper.

But he’s fringe at best. He needs to get better to stick. Terry’s just hopeless.

[League Circles]

It’s just unthinkable to me that AK would actually re-sign Terry. I cannot imagine a landing spot anywhere in the NBA for him.

Maybe I’m too hard on him. I don’t see even the shadow of a NBA player there. I don’t think he’s even close to NBA quality.

Phillips has high plus value run/jump athleticism even at the NBA level. It’s possible, if he can develop a steady shot, he can find a role somewhere as a good guy for practice mocks who can add a Javonte element who has zero skills with the ball but can still be disruptive and hit an open jumper.

But he’s fringe at best. He needs to get better to stick. Terry’s just hopeless.

IMO they're both really good defenders. I consider Terry arguably the best defender on our entire roster. Phillips has a bit more potential offensively, and Terry doesn't provide any plus offensive skill, but he did hit his threes at a decent rate next year. I truly wouldn't be surprised to see Terry either out of the league next year or in it for another 8-10 years as a high end defensive wing specialist.

[Jvaughn]

To begin the season, no contest for Williams, by the end of the season...hopefully it is Noa

Yeah this is my ideal outcome. If we're rooting for team success this year, Pat has a bounce back year and becomes a productive off the bench big. But simultaneously we finish off the year with Noa getting minutes and he starts to show the same flashes Matas did last year.

[Andi Obst]

It’s just unthinkable to me that AK would actually re-sign Terry. I cannot imagine a landing spot anywhere in the NBA for him.

Maybe I’m too hard on him. I don’t see even the shadow of a NBA player there. I don’t think he’s even close to NBA quality.

Terry came into the league as a skinny guy who tried very had but also had zero handles, couldn't get to the rim (or finish there) while also being a complete non-shooter.

Entering year 4 (HOW?), he's a skinny guy with zero handles who can't get to the rim (or finish there) while also being a complete non-shooter. I don't think the defense is that good either. He's really active and can annoy smaller guards, but his frame limits him a lot against NBA-level wings or even stronger guards. At least he still tries really hard.

[HomoSapien]

I dunno, I sort of think all Terry needs to do is develop a good shot and the rest kind of works out fine for him. He's already a solid to good defender, a solid to good passer, a solid to good rebounder. People here keep complaining about his ball handling... I didn't watch most of the preseason (I was in Rome, bitches!) but historically I have felt that he was ok in transition with the ball in his hands. Definitely not a primary ball-handler or anything though.

[Ice Man]

I dunno, I sort of think all Terry needs to do is develop a good shot

Side note, but talk about an analytics-style player! For his career, Dalen has take 97% of his shots either from inside 10 feet or from past the 3 point line. And those figures aren't changing; he shot just as little from the midrange last season as he did the previous two seasons.

[sco]

I dunno, I sort of think all Terry needs to do is develop a good shot and the rest kind of works out fine for him. He's already a solid to good defender, a solid to good passer, a solid to good rebounder. People here keep complaining about his ball handling... I didn't watch most of the preseason (I was in Rome, bitches!) but historically I have felt that he was ok in transition with the ball in his hands. Definitely not a primary ball-handler or anything though.

I think he really upped his ball handling last offseason after working with dribbles-too-much.