2018 Draft Thread #6

[WindyCityBorn]

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Well i hope the non tankers are happy.

LaVine not playing back to backs can factor into this. Especially if they cherrypick which game of the 2 that he sits.

Feb 26-27 @ Brooklyn, @Charlotte

March 23-24 Milwaukee, @Detroit

March 29-30 @Miami, @Orlando

April 6-7 @Boston, Brooklyn

Sit LaVine in the first game for the first two back to backs, then the 2nd game in the last 2 seems like the play here. But, I guess Milwaukee at home, versus at Detroit isn't huge either way.

My honest guess is 7-18 the rest of the year. With Phoenix, Orlando, Atlanta, Sacramento, and Memphis finishing with under 27 wins. Dallas, Brooklyn, and New York wind up with 28 or more.

7 wins would be crippling unless they are on the back end of the bulls ALREADY securing the worst record.
Honestly my desired outcome is 0-25. Bulls are 2 games up from the worst record.
Even one win can drastically effect their ping pong ball totals.

Well you know your desire isn't realistic at all. 7 more wins might the too optimistic for us pro-tankers. We might might win 30 games.

[WindyCityBorn]

Bulls need to swing for the fences with both picks. We need an all-star.

Are you saying that The Bulls should keep both picks rather than trade up?

For me it depends on what a trade would be and who The Bulls trade up to get.

Right now Nbadraft.net has the Bulls picking at #8 and selecting Bamba. Is that the kind of pick you think the team should be making? He seems like a player with high upside, but also one has some risk to him.

It's HIGHLY unlikely a team will let us trade up for a mid to late first. So yeah we're keeping it.

[lostikka_FIN]

Well Ben Simmons is 6’10 and plays pg. Doncic should run the offense regardless who the other guys are at the guard spots in a team. I think he is more like 6’7 220 lbs at the moment..


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[bearadonisdna]

LaVine not playing back to backs can factor into this. Especially if they cherrypick which game of the 2 that he sits.

Feb 26-27 @ Brooklyn, @Charlotte

March 23-24 Milwaukee, @Detroit

March 29-30 @Miami, @Orlando

April 6-7 @Boston, Brooklyn

Sit LaVine in the first game for the first two back to backs, then the 2nd game in the last 2 seems like the play here. But, I guess Milwaukee at home, versus at Detroit isn't huge either way.

My honest guess is 7-18 the rest of the year. With Phoenix, Orlando, Atlanta, Sacramento, and Memphis finishing with under 27 wins. Dallas, Brooklyn, and New York wind up with 28 or more.

7 wins would be crippling unless they are on the back end of the bulls ALREADY securing the worst record.
Honestly my desired outcome is 0-25. Bulls are 2 games up from the worst record.
Even one win can drastically effect their ping pong ball totals.

Well you know your desire isn't realistic at all. 7 more wins might the too optimistic for us pro-tankers. We might might win 30 games.

Lol. Yeah that would be bad. The Bulls are a .500 club since their 3-20 start (now lavine is back) theres an off chance that they can approach the realm of 40 wins.

I remember the baby bulls days and hoping they would approach 30 wins as a milestone of entering mediocrity. Seems ironic on a down year we are approaching that benchmark while still being very close to being the worst.

[thedarkstark]

In the end we wont finnish in worst 10 at all.. we will have pick like no.11 and 16..

Sweet, then we can trade both picks for #9 to grab Doug McDermott 2.0

Good thing we won all those super meaningful games in December

[Dresden]

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Well i hope the non tankers are happy.

The tankers are in a win-win situation. If the Bulls still end up with a top 4 pick, they're happy. If we end up with a pick like 7 or 8, and they aren't as good as any one of the players taken ahead of that, they get to say "I told you so" (even though there's no guarantee we would have actually taken that particular player). And because we haven't done a 100% tank job, they don't have to live with the results of that decisions- i.e., if we ended up picking 2nd, let's say, and drafted a guy who turns out to be not very good. And on top of that, all the losing destroys the morale of the rest of the team, leads to a bunch of internal bickering, maybe Fred's ouster, who knows what all.

About the only way this can not go right for the tankers is if we pick 7-8th and wind up with another Lauri type pick.

[bigworld2017]

I'm going to assume the worst and approach the draft that The Bulls are not going to get a top 5 pick, barring the second coming of a miracle ping pong ball. So the potential game changing player is going to be just out of our grasp. I have to think Ayton goes #1. The physical potential with him is just too enticing. Then I think it's either Doncic or JJJ, depending on which team is picking #2 and what their needs are. So if we're not landing one of them, or even a Bagley or Bamba, then we should concentrate on improving at the 3. I think Dunn is borderline elite, especially on D, and Grant is an adequate backup. Lavine is going to be our go to scorer and Number 1 option offensively. And with what he showed in the G league I think Blakeny is going to get a lot more minutes next year. He has the potential to be a real light it up bench scorer when we need that. The kid is tremendously athletic, and has a scorer's mentality. With a little more strength and experience, and if he gets a little better defensively, he can be a solid back up 2 until we can no longer afford him in a few more years. He dominates in G league. So he's going to be at least adequate as a back up I believe. The 4 position is solid for us. Markkanen is going to be at least a borderline all-star in a few years. Portis is a solid back up until we either trade him or lose him to salary cap issues down the road. And we may see something in Vonleh over the remaining games this year to see reasons to keep him. At the 5 we might have to keep Lopez if we're shooting for the playoffs as early as next season. Felicio was a mistake signing. I don't think he'll ever amount to much. So it's the 3 position we can help ourselves with in this draft. If we're lucky Porter might be available to us. He will have a lot to prove at the combine and in private workouts. But he has great potential if he's healthy. If he's gone we will have at least one of the trio of Mikal Bridge, Miles Bridges or Kevin Know. All are upgrades to Holiday or Zipser. Any of the 3 are starters are day 1. After seeing both Bridges I am leaning toward Mikal. He's solid in many aspects of the game, but his defense is absolutely elite. He'd solidify the position for years to come. He's the kind of glue guy that all teams need. He won"t be higher than our 3rd or 4th option on offense, but I don't think it would matter that much to him early on in his career. Backing him up I think Nwamba is someone we should keep. His defense, His motor. And when you needed crucial stops can you envision a Dunn, Bridges and Nwamba at 1-3. With our Pelican's pick we just take BPA or use the pick plus current assets to move up if we can. But we would have to get pretty lucky to find even a long term potential starter at 16. Bench help is the probably outcome of that pick. I would have preferred a full on tank with hope of a JJJ or Ayton. But we can at least solidify the "3" in this draft.

[TheHrvReport]

I would not get your hopes up about a top 5 pick. It's like the guy above me was saying, expect the worst and approach it as if we are getting the #9-#11 pick which is very realistic right now given all of our guys are healthy. It would be disappointing but we'd definitely still improve the team with Bridges/Carter and possibly get the steal of the draft with the Pelicans pick.

[23-7]

I'm going to assume the worst and approach the draft that The Bulls are not going to get a top 5 pick, barring the second coming of a miracle ping pong ball. So the potential game changing player is going to be just out of our grasp. I have to think Ayton goes #1. The physical potential with him is just too enticing. Then I think it's either Doncic or JJJ, depending on which team is picking #2 and what their needs are. So if we're not landing one of them, or even a Bagley or Bamba, then we should concentrate on improving at the 3. I think Dunn is borderline elite, especially on D, and Grant is an adequate backup. Lavine is going to be our go to scorer and Number 1 option offensively. And with what he showed in the G league I think Blakeny is going to get a lot more minutes next year. He has the potential to be a real light it up bench scorer when we need that. The kid is tremendously athletic, and has a scorer's mentality. With a little more strength and experience, and if he gets a little better defensively, he can be a solid back up 2 until we can no longer afford him in a few more years. He dominates in G league. So he's going to be at least adequate as a back up I believe. The 4 position is solid for us. Markkanen is going to be at least a borderline all-star in a few years. Portis is a solid back up until we either trade him or lose him to salary cap issues down the road. And we may see something in Vonleh over the remaining games this year to see reasons to keep him. At the 5 we might have to keep Lopez if we're shooting for the playoffs as early as next season. Felicio was a mistake signing. I don't think he'll ever amount to much. So it's the 3 position we can help ourselves with in this draft. If we're lucky Porter might be available to us. He will have a lot to prove at the combine and in private workouts. But he has great potential if he's healthy. If he's gone we will have at least one of the trio of Mikal Bridge, Miles Bridges or Kevin Know. All are upgrades to Holiday or Zipser. Any of the 3 are starters are day 1. After seeing both Bridges I am leaning toward Mikal. He's solid in many aspects of the game, but his defense is absolutely elite. He'd solidify the position for years to come. He's the kind of glue guy that all teams need. He won"t be higher than our 3rd or 4th option on offense, but I don't think it would matter that much to him early on in his career. Backing him up I think Nwamba is someone we should keep. His defense, His motor. And when you needed crucial stops can you envision a Dunn, Bridges and Nwamba at 1-3. With our Pelican's pick we just take BPA or use the pick plus current assets to move up if we can. But we would have to get pretty lucky to find even a long term potential starter at 16. Bench help is the probably outcome of that pick. I would have preferred a full on tank with hope of a JJJ or Ayton. But we can at least solidify the "3" in this draft.

Paragraphs are your friend

[WindyCityBorn]

Well Ben Simmons is 6’10 and plays pg. Doncic should run the offense regardless who the other guys are at the guard spots in a team. I think he is more like 6’7 220 lbs at the moment..


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I'm saying Dunn and LaVine are not going to the bench so Doncic will play SF defensively. LeBron basically plays PG from the SF position and did so with Irving at PG so it's not some huge leap. That is how it will start out if we are lucky enough to draft him...and it will probably take a lot of luck.

Also Ben Simmons is in a different galaxy from Doncic physically so that's not a good comparison.

[AshyLarrysDiaper]

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Well i hope the non tankers are happy.

The tankers are in a win-win situation. If the Bulls still end up with a top 4 pick, they're happy. If we end up with a pick like 7 or 8, and they aren't as good as any one of the players taken ahead of that, they get to say "I told you so" (even though there's no guarantee we would have actually taken that particular player). And because we haven't done a 100% tank job, they don't have to live with the results of that decisions- i.e., if we ended up picking 2nd, let's say, and drafted a guy who turns out to be not very good. And on top of that, all the losing destroys the morale of the rest of the team, leads to a bunch of internal bickering, maybe Fred's ouster, who knows what all.

About the only way this can not go right for the tankers is if we pick 7-8th and wind up with another Lauri type pick.

Picking a dud at 2nd or a gem at 7th doesn't mean the pro-tank crowd is wrong. This is about probability of outcomes based on the history of the draft. This year's pick is just one data point.

[GimmeDat]

I'm concerned we won't be top 7. That's the big drop off in my eyes, unless some team miraculously reaches on someone. If I was at 8, I'd probably take Carter and hope his bad defense is a product of his lack of non-zone experience and Duke's terrible defence as a whole. If he can improve on that side of the ball, he's a high level 2 way player that fits next to Markkanen at C (though he's a clear step down from the Bamba/JJJ's of the draft).

At this rate, if I was to guess one guy that might drop out of the top tier, it's Bagley, and that would be a steal for us if we were at 8. There's been a little bit of momentum recently from Carter>Bagley, but I still prefer Bagley's long term upside, though he is a higher risk.

If we're even lower than that, then one of the Bridges' or Knox is probably the way to go.

I think we can realistically hold fort @ 8, or even push up in to 6 or 7 at best, that's if we effectively manage the tank for the rest of the season. I'm going to be really disappointed if we're closer to #10 - we just be complete mismanagement of the season if that occurs. I already feel like we blew a lot of tanking potential in the season so far.

Pels pick I'm more optimistic about, AD's been playing like nuts to keep them in games, which he can't do every night, and of course there's teams on the up like UTA, DET, etc. that should overtake them.

I've got my fingers crossed Lonnie Walker or Kevin Knox is the guy for us with that pick, and if not, Robert Williams, Troy Brown, and Johntay Porter should be in the conversation. I also think there's a chance Sexton might be available in to the late lottery, so he might be worth considering as well.

Depending whose on the board at both picks I'd be tempted to trade up with the Pels pick in to the top tier as well. If it means getting someone like JJJ or Porter, it's worth it. Quality>Quantity.

[Moosegary]

I know this backfired on us when we gambled on Thomas instead of Aldridge but if we take a wing with our pick (I would love Porter, settle for Mikal Bridges). I might gamble with Robinson with the NO pick. I’m worried about his maturity but the kid was a 5 star recruit, athletic and incredibly long. Maybe a year hanging around Lopez can help him be professional and we could develop a gem.

[GimmeDat]

Robert Williams is an absolutely insane above the rim player on both ends. It's just a pity his shot has regressed from his first season, really makes you question any ability to develop his skill-set.

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[Red Larrivee]

I honestly don't care at all that Robinson was a five-star HS recruit. Is he actually good at basketball? There are a lot of athletic seven footers who can dunk. I get swinging for upside, but I'd prefer not to waste any pick on some athletic dunce.

[WindyCityBorn]

I honestly don't care at all that Robinson was a five-star HS recruit. Is he actually good at basketball? There are a lot of athletic seven footers who can dunk. I get swinging for upside, but I'd prefer not to waste any pick on some athletic dunce.

Yeah upside is nothing if you haven't shown any actual skill in college.

[Moosegary]

I honestly don't care at all that Robinson was a five-star HS recruit. Is he actually good at basketball? There are a lot of athletic seven footers who can dunk. I get swinging for upside, but I'd prefer not to waste any pick on some athletic dunce.

Not a lot of 7 footers with his athletic ability. Just looking at the draft after Carter who is left for a big? Gafford or Bruno. If they bring him in for an interview and he is an idiot I get it but this draft isn’t deep on bigs with potential. Wings I can see a lot in the teens but not many bigs

[GimmeDat]

Maybe Robinson turns in to something, but I'm not touching him in the top 15 or even 20 with the possible red flags combined with the unknown of not playing college basketball. It's a pity he didn't go play overseas or something like Ferguson did last season so we could get more of a feel on him.

But if you want a big, there's already athletic freaks like Williams or Gafford without the red flags, or more skilled options like Porter. I'd take all 3 before Robinson.

[Rose2Boozer]

It's an interesting question. Who should the Bulls select if they're not in a position to draft Ayton, JJJ, Bamba, Doncic, Bagley, Porter Jr.? I'd probably go with Young or Sexton.

[Moosegary]

Robert Williams is an absolutely insane above the rim player on both ends. It's just a pity his shot has regressed from his first season, really makes you question any ability to develop his skill-set.

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I like Williams as well, he is built like Anthony Davis (not as good) 6-9 7-4 wing. Need to look at his background a little to see about his issues at Texas AM. Would be a solid choice with the NO pick, assuming wing get a wing 1st.