WCJ or Lauri

[LateNight]

I see a lot of people suggesting we trade one of these two people to build around/with the other.

So - Which one would you rather keep: WCJ or Lauri?

[DuckIII]

In September this would have been a ridiculous question. Now, er, not so much. I abstain until May.

Edit: Gun to head, forced to chose today, I take WCJ pretty easily. He’ll never have the ceiling of which Lauri is capable offensively, but he’s a solid two way starting quality big who fits the modern NBA. And he’s never shown a lengthy and inexplicable stretch of passive awfulness that Lauri showed this season.

[erlim]

This may have been a tough question before, but I’ll happily get rid of any player on this sickly roster if we get any sort of value in return.

[GimmeDat]

Not sure why you'd want to trade either.

Obviously Lauri is in worse form, but he's getting better again. They're both good players that compliment each other.

[coldfish]

I'm not sure why its an either or. Within their skill sets, they compliment each other well. Sure, both would do better next to AD than their current partner but outside of getting a superduperstar, you aren't going to trade for a player who has all the skills needed to compliment the other guy. I frequently see Lauri supporters saying that Lauri needs a center next to him to:
- Space the floor
- Rebound
- Do all the help defense
- Pass the ball to set him up
If you step back and look at the list, its actually pretty insulting to Lauri. Basically his supporters say he needs an all time great center next to him to make him effective.

The real big question is with Lauri given that he is going to be due an extension soon. He is going to get big money. Is he going to be worth it? However, that question has nothing to do with Wendell.

[Senor Chang]

If Wendell can continue to work on his jumper to where his 3 point shot is respectable then he is the perfect compliment to Lauri. There really is no reason to choose between the two unless we are assuming Lauri's first half of the season is the real Lauri in which case blow it all up. The only way i trade either is if we win the jackpot in the lottery and select Wiseman. In such a scenario im not sure i trade anyone right away since we would need a season or two first to establish who works better together among the three.

[Pax for Prez]

Here are some contracts that could be used to help gauge Lauri's asking price:

Kristaps Porzingis, PF
Signed a 5 year $158.25 million maximum contract with Dallas (DAL)

Julius Randle, PF
Signed a 3 year $62.1 million contract with New York (NYK)

Pascal Siakam, PF
Signed a 4 year $130 million rookie contract extension with Toronto (TOR)

Jaylen Brown, SG
Signed a 4 year $107 million rookie contract extension with Boston (BOS)

Domantas Sabonis, C
Signed a 4 year $77 million contract extension with Indiana (IND)

Al Horford, C
Signed a 4 year $109 million contract with Philadelphia (PHI)

D'Angelo Russell, PG
Signed a 4 year $117 million maximum contract with Brooklyn (BKN) as part of a Sign-and-Trade with Golden State (GSW)

Bojan Bogdanovic, SF
Signed a 4 year $73.1 million contract with Utah (UTH)

Nikola Vucevic, C
Signed a 4 year $100 million contract with Orlando (ORL)

Draymond Green, PF
Signed a 4 year $99.67 million contract extension with Golden State (GSW)

Pax

[PaKii94]

Lol Lauri is 23... Wendell is 20! We don't have to choose.

[DuckIII]

Lol Lauri is 23... Wendell is 20! We don't have to chose.

Definitely agree that it’s a false premise to say it’s either or. I’m convinced that if Lauri plays like he can play, they are excellent compliments.

I’m assuming it’s just a “fun” hypothetical exercise in valuation.

[PaKii94]

Lol Lauri is 23... Wendell is 20! We don't have to chose.

Definitely agree that it’s a false premise to say it’s either or. I’m convinced that if Lauri plays like he can play, they are excellent compliments.

I’m assuming it’s just a “fun” hypothetical exercise in valuation.

Yeah I think if they both reach their potentials they can be great compliments to each other.

If we HAD to choose one, I guess it is WCJ. He could theoretically provide 80% of Lauri's offense + game changing defense... But Lauri is my guy still

[NWIBullsFan]

Lol Lauri is 23... Wendell is 20! We don't have to chose.

Definitely agree that it’s a false premise to say it’s either or. I’m convinced that if Lauri plays like he can play, they are excellent compliments.

I’m assuming it’s just a “fun” hypothetical exercise in valuation.

It has to be a fun hypothetical, if not it's a really silly question.

But don't worry, whoever wins the poll (or loses, whichever), if one of them plays great the next 2 games and the other plays like garbage, the results will reverse themselves.

[drosereturn]

Lol Lauri is 23... Wendell is 20! We don't have to choose.

Rn, Carters value is pretty high while Lauris value has taken a dip although he was around Doncic's value 2 yrs ago.
Also, one thing I noticed abt Carter is he is very timid like Ben Simmons. Never even looks at the rim when the game is close but against todays blowout makes 2 threes. That alone indicates he is afraid to attempt a shot.
I dont expect him to develop a jumper while he is in his prime which makes him very expendable.
All star calibers like Drummond are literally available for literally nothing.

But to find someone close to Lauri is next to impossible.
KP comes to mind but he was maxed immediately and hes having a very bad yr. Lauri can easily have a better career.
Also, Lauris defense has made a significant leap already at average. Positive DBPM and actually producing more DWS.

[Stratmaster]

If I had to trade one today it would be Carter. I'm not sold on him and I am pretty hyped on Gafford.

But since we don't have to I too would like to wait and see the season unfold more.

Sent from my SM-G965U using RealGM mobile app

[ZOMG]

Lol Lauri is 23... Wendell is 20! We don't have to choose.

Lauri is 22.

Doesn't turn 23 until May.

[pipfan]

I think we keep both, long term and Gafford. Eventually, maybe carter and gafford play together a few minutes

[kingkirk]

[looks at the advanced numbers]

Carter, with ease.

[NWIBullsFan]

Zach - Sato - Dunn - Lauri - WCJ -- 96.5 Def Rtg... In December: 94.8
Zach - Sato - Dunn - Lauri - Gaff -- 80.5 Def Rtg... In December: 77.4

The obvious problem (outside of small sample size, which is the case with any numbers for this season) is that Gafford is a crap rebounder so far.

The WCJ lineup outrebounds opponents, with a TReb% of 51.1%
The Gaff lineup doesn't, and it's not close, they are at 38.6%. They only grab 61.9% of opponents misses, I can't see how you can have a DefRtg of 80.5 when the other team is getting an offensive rebound off of 38% of their missed shots.

[ZOMG]

[looks at the advanced numbers]

Carter, with ease.

[Looks at actual games]

Lauri, with ease.

Wendell Carter jr is a low usage guy who looks efficient because the Bulls haven't been willing to expose their #7 pick by making him play a modern center's game. He's a dude straight out of 1998. To some nostalgic fans, that's actually a good thing, but the rest of the league sees him as utterly replacable. If he were traded now, he wouldn't bring back anything resembling a 1st round pick.

Undersized, stone hands, can't finish anything but lobs, can't shoot, hopeless foul magnet. Most teams have these guys on their bench as insurance policies, but on the Bulls, Carter is starting. That tells you more about this team than you need to know.

I just don't know what people are seeing - or rather, thinking they're seeing. Carter's hard ceiling is an NBA starter and he's really not even there yet.

[kingkirk]

[looks at the advanced numbers]

Carter, with ease.

[Looks at actual games]

Lauri, with ease.

Wendell Carter jr is a low usage guy who looks efficient because the Bulls haven't been willing to expose their #7 pick by making him play a modern center's game. He's a dude straight out of 1998. To some nostalgic fans, that's actually a good thing, but the rest of the league sees him as utterly replacable. If he were traded now, he wouldn't bring back anything resembling a 1st round pick.

Undersized, stone hands, can't finish anything but lobs, can't shoot, hopeless foul magnet. Most teams have these guys on their bench as insurance policies, but on the Bulls, Carter is starting. That tells you more about this team than you need to know.

I just don't know what people are seeing - or rather, thinking they're seeing. Carter's hard ceiling is an NBA starter and he's really not even there yet.

The rest of the league views him as replaceable? You know this how exactly?

(You don’t)

If you’re watching the actual games then I don’t understand how anyone can come to this conclusion but I guess that fine.

[League Circles]

[looks at the advanced numbers]

Carter, with ease.

[Looks at actual games]

Lauri, with ease.

Wendell Carter jr is a low usage guy who looks efficient because the Bulls haven't been willing to expose their #7 pick by making him play a modern center's game. He's a dude straight out of 1998. To some nostalgic fans, that's actually a good thing, but the rest of the league sees him as utterly replacable. If he were traded now, he wouldn't bring back anything resembling a 1st round pick.

Undersized, stone hands, can't finish anything but lobs, can't shoot, hopeless foul magnet. Most teams have these guys on their bench as insurance policies, but on the Bulls, Carter is starting. That tells you more about this team than you need to know.

I just don't know what people are seeing - or rather, thinking they're seeing. Carter's hard ceiling is an NBA starter and he's really not even there yet.

This is a preposterous post. It's patently absurd to suggest that he wouldn't fetch a first round pick in return or that he can never be better than what he essentially already is at age 20.