O'Connor: Bulls interested in Gobert and Mitchell Robinson

[Dan Z]

]I think he shot 40% one year and 39% the year before that, but I could be wrong. I'm waiting in the dentist chair right now.

His last few year: (percentage / attempts per 36 / my analysis)
2021/22: 31.4% / 4.9 Low efficiency / high volume - really bad
2020/21: 40% / 6.7 high efficiency / high volume - really good
2019/20: 33.9% / 5.2 low avg efficiency / high volume - low average
2018/19: 36.4% / 3.3 high avg efficiency / medium volume - high average
2017/18: 31.4% / 4.4 low efficiency / high medium volume - bad

He didn't shoot threes until 2018, so I wouldn't expect him to be good right away.

In 2019 he showed improvement, but then in 2020 his percentage went back down again. Then 2021 was his best three point shooting season.

Overall it's up and down.

He was asked to do a lot this year (being the only big man on the team) so maybe that contributed to his percentage (from three) being down?

Hopefully we see it go up next season (if he's still on the team).

[nomorezorro]

Jake Fischer has never been someone known to have inside sources to the Bulls org, much less AK.

irrespective of who exactly his sources are, fischer is a well connected dude. iirc he nailed a ton of stuff ahead of free agency last offseason, including the precise terms of lonzo ball’s contract

[navdeep_singh]

So there’s a round table discussion on Utah-Chicago trade in the Athletic. Without citing any specific quotes, it seemed the discussion was pessimistic to optimistic. Pessimistic: Gobbert is a defensive game changer and would make the Bulls great during DDR’s 2 year reign, and the Jazz may not want to give him up. They would most certainly ask for Williams, Vooch, and multiple firsts. We’d be mortgaging our future. Someone pointed out that AKKE is too savvy to do this. The Gobbert Contract sucks but won’t really suck until 2 years from now. He’s still in his prime. However, Utah has gone five years with this formula and all first round exits. Something has to change there.

Another point of view: the Bulls do have leverage and don’t need to bet the farm to get him, because of his contract. The consensus seems to be that Gobbert would turn the Bulls into a monster team, given that we have good wing defenders and offensive firepower.

But the final piece is always going to be costly. Maybe Utah can’t get what they want, even if they want to go into a new direction. Their coach just resigned.

We shall see what transpires. There was no clear consensus, excpet that Gobbert would make the Bulls into a monster team, but we would have a 2 year window and be stripped of assets

[WindyCityBorn]

So there’s a round table discussion on Utah-Chicago trade in the Athletic. Without citing any specific quotes, it seemed the discussion was pessimistic to optimistic. Pessimistic: Gobbert is a defensive game changer and would make the Bulls great during DDR’s 2 year reign, and the Jazz may not want to give him up. They would most certainly ask for Williams, Vooch, and multiple firsts. We’d be mortgaging our future. Someone pointed out that AKKE is too savvy to do this. The Gobbert Contract sucks but won’t really suck until 2 years from now. He’s still in his prime. However, Utah has gone five years with this formula and all first round exits. Something has to change there.

Another point of view: the Bulls do have leverage and don’t need to bet the farm to get him, because of his contract. The consensus seems to be that Gobbert would turn the Bulls into a monster team, given that we have good wing defenders and offensive firepower.

But the final piece is always going to be costly. Maybe Utah can’t get what they want, even if they want to go into a new direction. Their coach just resigned.

We shall see what transpires. There was no clear consensus, excpet that Gobbert would make the Bulls into a monster team, but we would have a 2 year window and be stripped of assets

Bulls are not giving them Williams. Nor are they giving them multiple firsts unless that other first is Portland’s pick. Vuc, Coby and our pick this year. Take it or leave it.

[nomorezorro]

i think the jazz beat writer was correct in that we’re not really a good trade partner for utah, and downgrading from gobert to vuc doesn’t make a ton of sense unless we’re overwhelming them with assets

and mayberry makes a good point that it’s hard to imagine any gobert trade that’s a win for utah on paper, and any hypothetical deal is dependent on how badly they want to move him for non-basketball reasons. feels like the most likely scenario is that they begrudgingly run it back again and pray for a miracle, but who knows. here’s to hoping mitchell throws a fit

[dougthonus]

Hopefully we see it go up next season (if he's still on the team).

Given he predominantly shoots wide open threes, he probably needs to shoot about 40% before it becomes a meaningful addition to the offense. That said, 35% would at least rise him to the level where he's no longer a meaningful detriment out there.

He's going to be 32 next year, so we should expect continued degradation of the rest of his game. His shooting still definitely has potential to bounce back though.

[dougthonus]

So there’s a round table discussion on Utah-Chicago trade in the Athletic. Without citing any specific quotes, it seemed the discussion was pessimistic to optimistic. Pessimistic: Gobbert is a defensive game changer and would make the Bulls great during DDR’s 2 year reign, and the Jazz may not want to give him up. They would most certainly ask for Williams, Vooch, and multiple firsts. We’d be mortgaging our future. Someone pointed out that AKKE is too savvy to do this. The Gobbert Contract sucks but won’t really suck until 2 years from now. He’s still in his prime. However, Utah has gone five years with this formula and all first round exits. Something has to change there.

The first question is, does Utah view this as a must trade scenario or a possibility? If it is the 2nd, the almost certainly won't be moved. If it is the first, I would guess the return will be less than most are guessing.

I think the only way the Bulls get Gobert is if there is a fire sale forced by disappointment and a desire to keep Mitchell over Gobert. While Utah is posturing for a crazy return, that will depend on the market:
1: Gobert plays the least important position in basketball
2: His defense is elite, but not elite on the perimeter where it is most important and has been exploited at times because of that
3: Questionable how much he does for you on offense (great efficiency on low volume still makes a bigger than talked about impact)
4: 4/160 left on his contract is really rich noting the above and the possibility he will decline due to age
5: There are likely few teams in the market and it is hard to figure out which one gives up a ton for him

Because of this, I don't think there's going to be crazy offers for Gobert and if so, running it back may be Utah's preferred choice. That said, they are in the tax and have disappointed a couple years in a row and there have been personality conflicts. I don't know that they are in "must" trade scenario, but I would think they are at least in "desirable to trade" scenario land.

[navdeep_singh]

yeah, they also mentioned these kind of trades are not usually two-way, but three-way, to make sure Utah gets some meaningful assets in return, not just Vooch’s contract. I have no idea what third team would get involved with this.

[navdeep_singh]

So there’s a round table discussion on Utah-Chicago trade in the Athletic. Without citing any specific quotes, it seemed the discussion was pessimistic to optimistic. Pessimistic: Gobbert is a defensive game changer and would make the Bulls great during DDR’s 2 year reign, and the Jazz may not want to give him up. They would most certainly ask for Williams, Vooch, and multiple firsts. We’d be mortgaging our future. Someone pointed out that AKKE is too savvy to do this. The Gobbert Contract sucks but won’t really suck until 2 years from now. He’s still in his prime. However, Utah has gone five years with this formula and all first round exits. Something has to change there.

The first question is, does Utah view this as a must trade scenario or a possibility? If it is the 2nd, the almost certainly won't be moved. If it is the first, I would guess the return will be less than most are guessing.

I think the only way the Bulls get Gobert is if there is a fire sale forced by disappointment and a desire to keep Mitchell over Gobert. While Utah is posturing for a crazy return, that will depend on the market:
1: Gobert plays the least important position in basketball
2: His defense is elite, but not elite on the perimeter where it is most important and has been exploited at times because of that
3: Questionable how much he does for you on offense (great efficiency on low volume still makes a bigger than talked about impact)
4: 4/160 left on his contract is really rich noting the above and the possibility he will decline due to age
5: There are likely few teams in the market and it is hard to figure out which one gives up a ton for him

Because of this, I don't think there's going to be crazy offers for Gobert and if so, running it back may be Utah's preferred choice. That said, they are in the tax and have disappointed a couple years in a row and there have been personality conflicts. I don't know that they are in "must" trade scenario, but I would think they are at least in "desirable to trade" scenario land.

As to must, it may not qualify as must. They can roll with what they have, I suppose. But it’s clear they need a direction. The last 5 years of first round exits are not good enough. Superstar tandems have a distinct shelf life.

[navdeep_singh]

The important point is that Bulls have good wing defenders, which the Jazz do not. He doesn’t have to defend the wings, he has to be a defensive presence in the paint. And he is elite at that. Plus, on offense, I think he’s a good setter of screens who will give shooters good looks. Coby White makes no sense for Utah.

[dougthonus]

As to must, it may not qualify as must. They can roll with what they have, I suppose. But it’s clear they need a direction. The last 5 years of first round exits are not good enough. Superstar tandems have a distinct shelf life.

In the Mitchell era, they've lost in the 1st round 3x, and the 2nd round twice. They were in the 2nd round last playoffs and 1st round this one. It's probably fair to say they are a borderline 2nd round team as they sit today. They likely aren't going to trade Gobert and get immediately better, so figuring out what their vision is will be challenging, but that is a challenge facing most teams in their boat. It's really hard to go from that spot to champion, especially without top 5 caliber players (where a couple surprising pick ups in your depth can make a much bigger difference than in a well rounded team).

[Stratmaster]

]I think he shot 40% one year and 39% the year before that, but I could be wrong. I'm waiting in the dentist chair right now.

His last few year: (percentage / attempts per 36 / my analysis)
2021/22: 31.4% / 4.9 Low efficiency / high volume - really bad
2020/21: 40% / 6.7 high efficiency / high volume - really good
2019/20: 33.9% / 5.2 low avg efficiency / high volume - low average
2018/19: 36.4% / 3.3 high avg efficiency / medium volume - high average
2017/18: 31.4% / 4.4 low efficiency / high medium volume - bad

Thanks for checking that. The dentist was painless. She's really good.

Sent from my SM-G965U using RealGM mobile app

[Stratmaster]

The important point is that Bulls have good wing defenders, which the Jazz do not. He doesn’t have to defend the wings, he has to be a defensive presence in the paint. And he is elite at that. Plus, on offense, I think he’s a good setter of screens who will give shooters good looks. Coby White makes no sense for Utah.

*when healthy

Sent from my SM-G965U using RealGM mobile app

[MrFortune3]

Read on Twitter

Cool, give me Turner and we will be good to go.

3 way trade - Vuc to Houston, Wood to Indiana, Turner to Chi. Seeing more reports that Houston looking to move Wood, and Vuc makes sense as an elder statesman type player for the young bigs (and young team, generally). Wood might be interesting to Indiana if they are doing rebuild around Halli and such. Turner fits more of what Bulls looking for at the 5… if healthy.

I like it.

[kodo]

As to must, it may not qualify as must. They can roll with what they have, I suppose. But it’s clear they need a direction. The last 5 years of first round exits are not good enough. Superstar tandems have a distinct shelf life.

In the Mitchell era, they've lost in the 1st round 3x, and the 2nd round twice. They were in the 2nd round last playoffs and 1st round this one. It's probably fair to say they are a borderline 2nd round team as they sit today. They likely aren't going to trade Gobert and get immediately better, so figuring out what their vision is will be challenging, but that is a challenge facing most teams in their boat. It's really hard to go from that spot to champion, especially without top 5 caliber players (where a couple surprising pick ups in your depth can make a much bigger difference than in a well rounded team).

It is a tough spot, but I think they will probably go younger but still keep Donovan at 25 and preach patience & development versus trying to find some trade that propels them to the Finals in one summer.

The rest of that team is in their 30s including Gobert this month. Conley, Bogdanovic. Ingles was also a key guy before the injury. Age really did them in at the end of an 82 game season. People kept making of fun of how old LA was, but Utah had the same issue. I think Conley is more likely to go than Rudy, although both are probably gone.

Also parting ways with Snyder also indicates they're not in a "quick fix" market. Ainge has also said he's not in any hurry to hire a replacement either. Feels like a significant rebuild will happen there.

[Guy]

Read on Twitter

I guess AK sees star potential in Pat and doesn’t want to give that up

When will we Bulls fanbase and front office ever learn? We can't keep falling in love with all our picks, call it a bust, move him and improve while the contention window exists.

[MGB8]

Well, there went Wood for the 26 and salary filler…. d’oh!

[WestsideResider]

I’d like to beat Joel Embiid one day so I’d be fine with getting Gobert

[WindyCityBorn]

I guess AK sees star potential in Pat and doesn’t want to give that up

When will we Bulls fanbase and front office ever learn? We can't keep falling in love with all our picks, call it a bust, move him and improve while the contention window exists.

Call it a bust after one season and some change where he showed lots of potential because some fan on the internet disagrees?

[WestsideResider]

I guess AK sees star potential in Pat and doesn’t want to give that up

When will we Bulls fanbase and front office ever learn? We can't keep falling in love with all our picks, call it a bust, move him and improve while the contention window exists.

Call it a bust after one season and some change where he showed lots of potential because some fan on the internet disagrees?

Showed lots of potential? In that glorified summer league game at the end of the season?