Keepers

[sco]

I find it funny that Zach is simultaneously going to get several bidders offering max deal for him and yet not worth a top 5 pick.

[bledredwine]

I'd get rid of Zach for a top five pick in a heartbeat. He's never going to be a team player and reinjury will always be a possibility with his style. Basically, Lauri and maybe Dunn is realistic. And to the people answering 4 or 5 I have three pertinent questions - ------> 1. Wtf and 2. What kind of computers do they use at the sane asylum? and 3. Are straight jackets kind of comfortable?

Unfortunately, Zach isn't worth any where close to a top 5 pick.

Zach was just packaged with a top 10 pick and a former lottery pick for Jimmy Butler who couldn't even garner a top 3 pick.

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I like how he just proclaimed Zach will never be a team player based on what 15 games here. He was team player in Minny. Going iso does make you a selfish player either. If it does then Butler is very selfish then.

Zach was the most ISO player on Minny. I saw Zach play us last year on the Wolves, and this year against the wolves. Both times, he isolated himself from the team nearly every possession. And I commented both times. My friends agreed.

[TheHrvReport]

Lauri
Lavine
Dunn
MAYBES
Blakeney
Valentine

[WindyCityBorn]

Unfortunately, Zach isn't worth any where close to a top 5 pick.

Zach was just packaged with a top 10 pick and a former lottery pick for Jimmy Butler who couldn't even garner a top 3 pick.

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I like how he just proclaimed Zach will never be a team player based on what 15 games here. He was team player in Minny. Going iso does make you a selfish player either. If it does then Butler is very selfish then.

Zach was the most ISO player on Minny. I saw Zach play us last year on the Wolves, and this year against the wolves. Both times, he isolated himself from the team nearly every possession. And I commented both times. My friends agreed.

It had already been discussed that LaVine was assisted a huge amount of his shots in Minny so whatever to saw he was scoring a lot off of plays by his teammates.

[erlim]

Yeah, as I have expressed this many times, I'm really happy with our core of Lauri, Dunn, and Lavine. Lauri is legit, and Dunn really did play his way into being a two way starter level player. Out of those three, Lavine is the only one I have some skepticism towards. I dunno if his defense will ever improve, and he needs to dribble the ball a little, so he can't just be a high octane scorer in the vein of Ben Gordon. I'm not sure, I'm willing to give him some time. He's so young, and it's not that simple to just pick up another player with his youth, offensive talents, coordination, and athleticism.

Of the reserves, I really like Nwaba as a defensive specialist; he is fast enough for speedy pgs and strong enough to body up against small forwards. He also rebounds at a good rate and is pretty explosive around the rim. Don't think he'll ever be a starter level player, but I hope we can keep him on a reasonable contract.

I'm ok with Portis, and wouldn't mind him prominently featured in our second unit. But that dude is such a thirsty scorer. Like, he is gonna dominate shot attempts, and I'm sure he'd be looking for it just as much if he sees the floor in crunch time.

I've been really impressed with Valentine's improvement. He looked like a g-league level guy all of last year, and the first part of this year. But he's more or less dependable. Maybe, by some grace, he can become like a Ben Gordon if he really finds confidence in his shots. Otherwise he kind of just waddles up and down the floor. I was really surprised he could dunk even though he's like 6'5" or whatever, he seems like 6'3" with a large mellon.

Felicio, I don't get. He'd be fine if he could just be that low ceiling but consistent second unit center like last year, but he's regressed horribly.

[TimRobbins]

Lauri - you obvioulsy keep till the end of his rookie contract and evaluate then

Dunn - same.,

Keeping LAvine on a big contract would be a mistake.

Grant - absolutely not.

Valentine - Probably not.

Everybody else- no.

[Rerisen]

Just Lauri.

Though I suspect its pretty unlikely Lavine and Dunn won't end up here for a while too, but its certainly possible to see other scenarios, say if Zach demanded a max or the Bulls drafted a PG that upstaged Dunn.

[Pipp33]

What is the right price for Lauri in your opinion? Something that could realistically happen? Not something crazy like Simmons or Anthony Davis.

Not saying any of the players in this draft are worth it (I haven't analyzed it enough) but if for some reason someone was willing to give up a top 3 pick and maybe a future protected first. Itd be something like that.

But if we were being realistic about players...CJ...which obviously Portland wouldn't do and the Bulls prob wouldn't either...but that's prob type of talent level.

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No way in Hell would I trade Lauri for McCollum. I also would not trade him for a draft pick. You obviously don't think as highly of potential as some of us do.

At this early stage and with what he's shown, there is no way we should trade Lauri for anyone, unless it's in a package for one the top 5 players in the league. I have no idea how good he'll be in 3-4 years time, but there's as much chance of him being a fantastic player as there is of him just being okay. I'd hate to lose a player with his potential that is superbly suited to the current NBA.

[TankForAyton]

Lauri & LaVine.

I must say, I am a bit surprised so many here are sold/higher on Dunn than LaVine. LaVine to me is exceeding expectations.. showing his athleticism is still there and his shot is pure.. he’s still getting his legs underneath him, the team around him is pretty bad. Not exactly an ideal situation to walk into.

A year from now we will see LaVine at his peak. Full offseason of training and not rehabbing.. he’s what? 22? Patience..

I have pretty much no doubt LaVine will be a 50/40/90 % shooter in the future. As a 20/21 year old he was shooting 46%. Decent sample size as well. He’s just beginning to scratch the surface. He’s shooting almost better from 3PT than from the floor so far. He can shoot ridiculously well. The FG% will jump up the more aggressive he gets which comes with health. I’m excited to see how improved he comes in next season.

[Sebastian]

Lauri -- no brainer. Potential to be a 25 and 10 first option on a winning team.
Lavine -- another potential first option. At his worst, he's a 20-4-3 guy that's moderately efficient. At his best, he could be another efficient 25+ PPG scorer next to Lauri.
Dunn -- I think he's forever destined to be a 12-5-5 kind of player, which is fine because he could become an all-nba defender, and I still see him putting up those kind of numbers even if his usg goes down as another player becomes the primary playmaker on the team. I fully expect his shooting numbers to improve as he gains more experience.

Pretty good balance there with a guard, a wing, and a big to build around with another potentially mega-talented player joining them after the draft.

Other than that...I'd like to keep Nwaba. He's a really nice bench guy. If Denzel was a bit more consistent I'd say the same about him, but Bad Denzel shows up as often as Good Denzel, and man oh man is Bad Denzel BAD.

[WillPower]

i hope we can find a way to keep Dunn, Lavine, Lauri, Valentine, Nwaba, Blakeney(optional), Bobby(Maybe), Vonleh (hopefully he pans out). Adding a good draft pick (luka hopefully) and maybe a free agent superstar(AD?) will complete a 10 man rotation. And with these players, we will have a good mix of offence and defence.

[Stratmaster]

Lauri, Lavine, Dunn.

Maybe Valentine as a bench piece.

That is it in my mind.

[dougthonus]

You're going to have max cap room in 2019 if you get rid of everyone except:
Dunn, LaVine, Lauri, Valentine, the two 2018 draft picks, and the 2019 draft pick.

Maybe you can squeeze Portis's cap hold in there as well without renouncing him or maybe not depending on LaVine's contract and where those draft picks land.

For that reason, everyone else on the roster is likely "not a keeper", since if the Bulls make a good playoff run, then they might be the best destination in the NBA with cap room with Leonard and Thompson up for new max deals.

[E-DC]

As a Starter
1. Markkanen - 100% Yes
I think everyone agrees with this.
2. Dunn - 85% Yes
I absolutely love his defensive tenacity and he shown great improvement in his sophomore season.
3. Lavine - 75% Yes
Amazing athlete and his basketball skill level is terrific, but after four seasons his numbers are still not translating to team success.
4. Nwaba - 25% Yes
He has to develop an ability to at least shoot adequately.
5. Valentine - 15% Yes
He has shown huge improvements this year, and gives three point shooting, playmaking, and tenacity, but we do have two first round picks in a deep draft.

As a Reserve
1. Nwaba - 90% Yes
For a young team, we need players who not only excel defensively, but enjoy playing defense.
2. Valentine - 75% Yes
His strengths play up as a potential sixth man, but he's still not there yet and he'll be 25 next season. If he continues to improve, then the Bulls have another piece in place.

Though I do like Portis, I'm expecting him to be used as a trade chip to move up in this upcoming draft.

[Ctownbulls]

You're going to have max cap room in 2019 if you get rid of everyone except:
Dunn, LaVine, Lauri, Valentine, the two 2018 draft picks, and the 2019 draft pick.

Maybe you can squeeze Portis's cap hold in there as well without renouncing him or maybe not depending on LaVine's contract and where those draft picks land.

For that reason, everyone else on the roster is likely "not a keeper", since if the Bulls make a good playoff run, then they might be the best destination in the NBA with cap room with Leonard and Thompson up for new max deals.

Aren't there going to be teams that have cap space for 2 max players? Or at least have the room for 1 and then the contracts to execute a sign and trade for the other.

My fear is that no max-worthy free agent is going to want to sign on with that group unless another max player joins them. In the new NBA, I am not sure any max free agent would go somewhere on their own if they had the opportunity to team up (or if they we're joining someone like Phili who has undeniable young talent).

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[dougthonus]

My fear is that no max-worthy free agent is going to want to sign on with that group unless another max player joins them. In the new NBA, I am not sure any max free agent would go somewhere on their own if they had the opportunity to team up (or if they we're joining someone like Phili who has undeniable young talent).

That might be the case, but it could also easily be the case that the Bulls have undeniable young talent at the end of next season as well.

Who knows what happens in the next 16 months though, Philly looks like perhaps the most promising destination right now, but Chicago sure looks like a close second and in 16 months has potential to become #1. If the Bulls are able to knock this draft out of the park with two picks and see good development of the current young guys then this team has a lot more potential than people think next year.

I know it feels pie in the sky and not the likely scenario, but it is definitely within the realm of reasonability that this squad adds two strong players next off-season and ends up with around 50 wins and a 3-4 seed. If I was betting on the Bulls for next season, I would say they have about a 60%-70% chance of at least finishing .500.

You are right in that you have to be the best situation to attract the best FAs though and not just a good situation. A lot depends on GS's willingness to keep Thompson as well. They can almost certainly win without him, and his contract might cost them about 150 million a year depending how everything plays out for them with other deals.

Also, 2019 is really only compelling if Thompson and Leonard both are legitimately willing to switch teams. There are reasons why both would stay and reasons why both would leave.

[bulls_4_life]

Lauri, Lavine, Dunn, Portis and Valentine. Maybe Grant, who to me is a decent backup, although i know that's not the popular opinion on this board. With the 2 first rounders they will be 8 deep. Should be a nice start if that's what happens.

[Rerisen]

My optimism is trending down for our situation. At this point its looking clear that Zach Lavine won't be a noticeably different player than he's been by the end of the year (was always a long shot he would be), and thus is headed for a huge overpay going forward. Right now it looks like were about to do a Harrison Barnes with him.

Now that Mirotic has been disentangled from the team's success streak, Kris Dunn's progress is looking much more modest than once thought when you examine both individual and team numbers.

And even Lauri has stumbled into a bit of a funk after blasting out the gate, though he still remains the most obvious bright spot.

Biggest of all of course a top pick in the draft is rapidly looking out of reach other than getting lucky with the ping pong balls.

Long term reality check, the Bulls need to find 2 or 3 elite talents to become a contender some day and at the end of year 1, I see only one 50/50 shot at one with Lauri, and a team picking at a spot where the odds to get one are very long.

If the team correctly understands we should continue to rebuild and keeps its powder dry in FA and tanks again next year, then its still a work in progress, but if they stupidly think the pieces are in place after one more mid lotto pick and start adding win now FA contracts, then mostly likely get ready for years of NBA treadmill hell.