LaVine traded to the Kings as part of 3 team deal (Huerter, Tre Jones to Bulls)

[PaKii94]

Rewatched the Kings game and this play from Zach stood out. Zach passes up on a wide open 3 to take a stepback. This still infuriates me and he's not even on the team. Zach has all the physical talent but can't the mental aspect of the game.

Eh, a wide open three where his feet weren't set, he looked off-balance, and he was 3 feet behind the line vs a very mild stepback (really more of a walk back than the aggressive leap back to generate space) and had a corner shot. In my own game, I would have found the shot he took to be an easier shot than the one he passed up. It's probably about 5 feet closer, and he didn't have a hard aggressive momentum backwards to disrupt his rhythm.

Granted, not disagreeing with your overall point that Zach makes odd choices sometimes.

Yeah, Zach's biggest problem is that his first inclination when he gets the ball is to start to dribble, which is ironic because he is so good on catch-and-shoot basketball.

Which was pointed out to him by his 2nd year coach and he's in year 10 now. He is who he is. Fools gold

[Jvaughn]

Zach continues to be a guy who can get tough iso buckets but provide nothing else. I still am adamant he's a 6th man type player. Put him in to get a few buckets when he's hot and then get him off the floor. Kings are now realizing that now

I can't believe we held onto him for so long and featured him for so long. It was obvious from the beginning he is a dead end and just ain't it but we continued to beat around a dead horse

lol Thanks i needed a laugh. One of the top 10 scorers in the NBA is a 6th man. GTFO with that nonsense. Kings are losing for the same reason the Bulls never won him and DeMar aren't a good fit & also Sabonis isn't playing.

If you say so. Unfortunately it's been the same his entire career And he still had the fundamentals flaws from his early career. How do you cope with the fact that the bulls are now playing much better without him? Let me guess, KH and ZC? Isn't it damning that role players fill his spot better than the "top 10 scorer"?

The subtraction of Zach has forced more ball movement, which in turn has put other players in position to excel. We basically have one player on the roster who can consistently create their own shots. Also, may be a coincidence but Vuc missed time shortly after Zach left which ended up being the same period where we started turning things around.

This team was always horribly out together and didn't have complimentary players. Zach has his faults, but it would be foolish to blame the entire team's problems on him.

[DuckIII]

lol Thanks i needed a laugh. One of the top 10 scorers in the NBA is a 6th man. GTFO with that nonsense. Kings are losing for the same reason the Bulls never won him and DeMar aren't a good fit & also Sabonis isn't playing.

If you say so. Unfortunately it's been the same his entire career And he still had the fundamentals flaws from his early career. How do you cope with the fact that the bulls are now playing much better without him? Let me guess, KH and ZC? Isn't it damning that role players fill his spot better than the "top 10 scorer"?

The subtraction of Zach has forced more ball movement, which in turn has put other players in position to excel. We basically have one player on the roster who can consistently create their own shots. Also, may be a coincidence but Vuc missed time shortly after Zach left which ended up being the same period where we started turning things around.

This team was always horribly out together and didn't have complimentary players. Zach has his faults, but it would be foolish to blame the entire team's problems on him.

Not to mention that “playing much better without him” means the Bulls are 9-11 with 6 of those “wins” coming against teams trying to tank so hard it’s almost comedy.

Anyway, glad we traded him. It was critically important. One has nothing to do with the other.

[GoBlue72391]

Congratulations to Lavine, Western Conference Player of the Week.
Gets out of Chicago and picks up an award immediately.

I'm still waiting for him and Lauri to get in a situation where they're the 2nd option next to a true superstar on a contending team. I'm not sure it'll happen, but they both seem so obviously perfect for a role like that.

[Dez]

Congratulations to Lavine, Western Conference Player of the Week.
Gets out of Chicago and picks up an award immediately.

I'm still waiting for him and Lauri to get in a situation where they're the 2nd option next to a true superstar on a contending team. I'm not sure it'll happen, but they both seem so obviously perfect for a role like that.

You will be waiting a long time because Lauri especially isn't a number 2 on a contender.

[GoBlue72391]

Congratulations to Lavine, Western Conference Player of the Week.
Gets out of Chicago and picks up an award immediately.

I'm still waiting for him and Lauri to get in a situation where they're the 2nd option next to a true superstar on a contending team. I'm not sure it'll happen, but they both seem so obviously perfect for a role like that.

You will be waiting a long time because Lauri especially isn't a number 2 on a contender.

25 and 8 with a 64 TS% as the #1 option on a bad team where he's the sole focus of the defense seems like a practically ideal 2nd option, especially since he's such a strong off-ball player and doesn't need the ball in his hands to produce. There's a reason the Warriors were interested in him.

[NZB2323]

Chicago Bulls in the last 15 games: 10-5

Sacramento Kings in the last 15 games: 4-11.

[ChettheJet]

Even with Jones injured Collins provides a little bit more than Smith in terms of controlling the lane on defense. On offense Smith is more eager to shoot the three while Collins rebounds better and is more able to roll to the rim. Lavine with DeRozan gone was the one one to dominate the ball and it's not that the Bulls don't have role players, it's that they knew once Demar then Lavine got the ball in a given area it was going to the rim and they were just spectators. Huerter looks much more like he did in ATL when he was a key piece, he's sure better on defense than Lavine could ever hope to be and he gets what offense comes to him with mostly wide open shots or a clear path to the lane.

Now Coby and Giddey drive to the rim but the rest of the time everybody knows that if they all keep the ball moving somebody is going to end up open. Nobody is left out watching somebody pound the ball for 12 seconds. They did appear to player fast and loose when Vuc was out which makes me want to see if they could continue that next year without him.

The Bulls virtually revamped their style of play with the incredible added bonus of getting back into this draft at the perfect time when they can add a contributing top 10 rookie

[dice]

The Bulls virtually revamped their style of play with the incredible added bonus of getting back into this draft at the perfect time when they can add a contributing top 10 rookie

top 15

[Betta Bulleavit]

The Bulls virtually revamped their style of play with the incredible added bonus of getting back into this draft at the perfect time when they can add a contributing top 10 rookie

top 15

By draft position perhaps. But we could easily get a top 10 rookie at pick 14-15.

[dice]

The Bulls virtually revamped their style of play with the incredible added bonus of getting back into this draft at the perfect time when they can add a contributing top 10 rookie

top 15

By draft position perhaps. But we could easily get a top 10 rookie at pick 14-15.

sure. you could also easily get a total bust

[MGB8]

Chicago Bulls in the last 15 games: 10-5

Sacramento Kings in the last 15 games: 4-11.

That may have a little something to do with the Kings playing without a PG, with Fox going out when LaVine was coming in, forcing DeRozan’s into the role, in another one of these failed “positionless basketball” experiments. Then they had the Sabonis injury, on top.

They are 12-16 since moving Fox for LaVine - which was stupid, not because of acquiring LaVine, but because they need a PG.

[HomoSapien]

I'm getting a bad feeling that Tre Jones will be out for the rest of the season/play in. We have played well without him, but we are better with him. He and Ball, if they come back, won't have much time to find their rhythm.

[WindyCityBorn]

top 15

By draft position perhaps. But we could easily get a top 10 rookie at pick 14-15.

sure. you could also easily get a total bust

We got possible for the best talent at 11 in this past draft.

[WindyCityBorn]

I'm getting a bad feeling that Tre Jones will be out for the rest of the season/play in. We have played well without him, but we are better with him. He and Ball, if they come back, won't have much time to find their rhythm.

I’ve written Ball off for the season. We should get an update on Jones this week.

[WesPeace]

Chicago Bulls in the last 15 games: 10-5

Sacramento Kings in the last 15 games: 4-11.

That may have a little something to do with the Kings playing without a PG, with Fox going out when LaVine was coming in, forcing DeRozan’s into the role, in another one of these failed “positionless basketball” experiments. Then they had the Sabonis injury, on top.

They are 12-16 since moving Fox for LaVine - which was stupid, not because of acquiring LaVine, but because they need a PG.

Kings GM is out there for worst in NBA.. getting rid of Hali then Fox and compile a roster that doesnt fit together at all.. he saw the Bulls crap and thought,eeeh it might be just bad luck, lets try it here lol..

[dice]

By draft position perhaps. But we could easily get a top 10 rookie at pick 14-15.

sure. you could also easily get a total bust

We got possible for the best talent at 11 in this past draft.

way early to say that. artie's other 1st rounders are pat williams (who he also gave a nice extension to despite barely looking like an nba player for 4 years) and dalen terry, who has struggled to even see the court on a bad team

[WindyCityBorn]

sure. you could also easily get a total bust

We got possible for the best talent at 11 in this past draft.

way early to say that. artie's other 1st rounders are pat williams (who he also gave a nice extension to despite barely looking like an nba player for 4 years) and dalen terry, who has struggled to even see the court on a bad team

I know he has a bad history with using and trading picks, but looks like we hit on Buzelis. He’s the complete opposite of Patrick Williams mentally. Dalen Terry is starting to look like a decent role player off the bench. What more can you realistically expect with the 18th pick? He also drafted Ayo in the second round who has obviously outplayed his draft spot tremendously.

Drafting Williams and giving up two lottery picks for Vuc which helped rebuild the Magic quickly really hurt us.

As long as he does not try to go for another quick fix by trading for a fake, chronically injured and/or aging star I like what we are doing.

[PlayerUp]

Kings GM is out there for worst in NBA.. getting rid of Hali then Fox and compile a roster that doesnt fit together at all.. he saw the Bulls crap and thought,eeeh it might be just bad luck, lets try it here lol..

\

Kings have always been a terrible franchise. 1 playoff appearance in 20 years. The perfect team to trade with.

[Stratmaster]

Chicago Bulls in the last 15 games: 10-5

Sacramento Kings in the last 15 games: 4-11.

Kings when Zach Lavine scores 20+: 10-6 with 2 of the losses being in overtime.
When he scores under 20: 2-10

Kings when Lavine takes at least 14 shots: 9-8
Kings when he takes less than 14 shots: 3-8

Since Lavine joined the Kings:
Kings when DDR scores 20+ points: 9-13
When he scores under 20: 3-3

When DDR takes at least 14+ shots: 8-11
When he takes less than 14: 4-5

Now there are a lot of factors so I am not drawing any direct causation here. Just interesting numbers that at first glance might indicate the Kings need more of Lavine, and less of Derozan?

As far as the Bulls, Giddey's emergence and Coby's hot streak are the main reasons for the wins. It might indicate that Lavine was indeed holding back a couple of players from showing their full game. Of course, that would be like saying MJ held back Pippen. Was it true? Absolutely. So what? In Coby's case, he has had hot streaks before. I am hoping the confidence he gets from this end of season run carries over to where he actually plays a full season at a high level. He has had a magnificent 18 game run, with the exception of 1 game. His usage rate has been just under 30%. That's Zach Lavine before he had Vuc or DDR on the floor with him level.

During that time Giddey's usage has been just under 26%, he has averaged (rounded) 20/10/9 . He has had 5 triple-doubles and 4 double-doubles in 13 games played during that same 18 game stretch. Chicken or egg? Either way, Giddey seems to be the guy you could make a case for being held back by Lavine...which makes...absolutely no sense in a vacuum. Another head scratching "where was the head coach" situation.

The real Bulls question: Is winning with Coby and Giddey accounting for 55% of your offense sustainable against quality teams during tough stretches of schedule?