RealGM

We're mostly laser-focused on the draft, but I thought it good to have a thread to discuss some potential Free Agent targets (I apologize in advance to the Grizzlies).

Barring something unexpected, it seems to me we're going to have the non-taxpayer Mid Level Exception with which to sign guys. So that's about $9 million to play with.

Who not to target? - Put me down as completely uninterested in paying market prices for established veteran role players. Are we pleased with signing Thad Young and Sato? No, we are not. Don't do it again. If you want veterans in the locker room, then just give someone really old a minimum contract (e.g. Jared Dudley).

Who to target? - I would be after young players who can be had cheaply and on contracts with solid team-control (e.g. team options, long term at low salary, etc.)


Guards:

Frank Mason - Bucks

Summary - G-League MVP. Short guard, but he's very quick and isn't too slight. Should be near his prime. He was very productive in mop-up minutes for the Bucks despite shooting far worse from 3 than he did in the G-League (28% in those minutes vs 40%+ from 3 in G-League). If his 3-ball normalizes a bit, you could have something. He also has a far better college pedigree (won Player of the Year) than someone like Arci, so it's a bit perplexing to me that he hasn't stuck anywhere yet.

Is he attainable/cheap? - He should be cheap. Restricted Free Agent, but I'd still say he's attainable because the Bucks don't have a lot of money left to be handing out. And they probably need to save that money for bigger pieces than Frank Mason. 7/10 Attainable

De'Anthony Melton - Grizzlies

Summary - Going to be a recurring theme on this list, but the Grizzlies bench was excellent last year. That's where they were out-playing teams, not their starters. Melton is an elite point-of-attack defender who plays hard. More of a complementary piece offensively, and his 3-point shot isn't there yet. He is still very young, so you're banking on some development offensively. He's kind of like Frank Ntilikina overall.

Is he attainable/cheap? - Restricted Free Agent, probably the least attainable/most expensive player on this list. If we wanted him, I think it would take our full MLE and Grizz could still match that. 3/10 attainable

Wings

John Konchar - Grizzlies

Summary - Illinois's own! This guy put up huge numbers as a senior in college, but he played at a tiny school and went undrafted. He continued his all-around solid play in the G-League, and eventually got some minutes in the NBA where he continued to play great. He rebounds, plays hard, can pass, but can he shoot it? I think that's the big question for him. If he can become a solid spot-up shooter, then you probably have a solid rotation player and good teammate.

Is he attainable/cheap? - Restricted Free Agent, but yes I've got to think he could come cheap. 7/10 attainable

Josh Jackson - Grizzlies

Summary - Busted in Phoenix, but if we're serious about 'player development', this is the type of clay we should be seeking out. He's an athletic/mobile 6'8" and is still only 23 years old. He was horrendous in his first two years, but this past year he was quite solid this year in limited minutes. He could be a guy who flames out as a big-time prospect but comes back humbled and works hard to at least stick in the league. He could still use a shot doctor, but his %'s have been better lately.

Is he attainable/cheap? - Unrestricted Free Agent, and he should be cheap. 10/10 attainable

Bigs

Derrick Jones Jr - Heat

Summary - Freak athlete. 6'6" with a 7' wingspan. Already a useful defender. Extremely young for a UFA who has played 3000 NBA minutes. The big question for him is obviously if he can become a good enough spot-up shooter to adequately fill that 4th/5th option role on offense. He does remind me a bit of Jerami Grant who just had a great post-season. DJJ shot a very solid 77% from the line on 123 attempts which was a major improvement for him.

Is he attainable/cheap? - Unrestricted Free Agent. Heat are saving all their powder for Max Free agents. I think he's very attainable. 9/10 attainable

Nerlens Noel - Thunder

Summary - Somehow, he's only 26 years old, so he's basically in his prime. He is one of the most disruptive defenders in the entire league. He's athletic and extremely mobile. On offense, he's an explosive rim-runner, and he hits his free throws. He does seem like a pretty major **** - up though (at least according to his landlord). Donovan coached him this past year, so maybe a connection there?

Is he attainable/cheap? - Unrestricted Free Agent. Despite his elite defense and productivity, the guy comes cheap. Just played on a minimum contract for the Thunder. It seems he could inexplicably come cheap again. I would be wary of handing him a 4-year deal or something though. He seems destined to ply his trade on short-term contracts to keep him hungry. Therefore, he may not fit our timeline, but he nevertheless seems like great value. 7/10 attainable

Jontay Porter - Grizzlies

Summary - Hasn't played an NBA minute yet. He was not a major prospect coming out of school due to injuries and not being an exciting athlete. Having said that, this guy checks a heck of a lot of boxes for what you want in a modern big. He can pass, he can shoot, and he defends. I very badly wanted to draft this guy instead of someone like Hutch back in 2018 (Jontay withdrew from that draft so wasn't even possible). The injury concerns are real, but so is the upside.

Is he attainable/cheap? - Team option. I have to think the Grizzlies pick up his option barring concerns with his health. I would love for him to be a trade target in that case. But if the Grizzlies somehow don't pick up his option, I hope we're all over this. 3/10 attainable


So that's my list after perusing the candidates. Ideally, I think we split that MLE to try to sign 2-3 of these guys to long, team-controlled deals.

One other thought, is that we have to be so much better at using our 2-way contracts. 2-way deals basically allow you to turn guys into restricted free agents that you control, which can land you some solid prospects. We instead wasted ours on Max Strus and Adam Mokoka who are mediocre/bad G-League players (go check the stats). We need to be much more aggressive with our 2-way deals to try to land genuinely promising players rather than just signing up crap players like Strus/Mokoka for the entire season. We need to churn our 2-way guys until you land good ones.

Out of those players on the list, Josh Jackson is the most interesting. He’s still young and has the size and athleticism to be a serviceable wing in the league.

It’s unfortunate that his career did not have the same trajectory as Jayson Tatum.

Big Derrick Jones Jr fan here. Athletic, good defensive versatility, very young UFA. If you can get him on a value deal, which seems possible IMO, I would absolutely do it. We need wings and we need talent.

I also still believe Noel is a quality big, but I don't see the point.

This is a sad list.

BullsFTW wrote:Out of those players on the list, Josh Jackson is the most interesting. He’s still young and has the size and athleticism to be a serviceable wing in the league.

It’s unfortunate that his career did not have the same trajectory as Jayson Tatum.

Yeah you have to worry about his head. He clearly has good physical tools but he is not the brightest.

jacoby1us wrote:This is a sad list.

Sorta it was the expected list for the cap situation and the free agency of this year. Everyone knew it was going to be a famine year. I mean talks of it going in to this season we’re Drummond and Otto Porter jr were going to be the top of the food chain. We have no money to play with (unlike when we signed Jabari and we had money we needed to spend). The state of this team demands internal growth and maybe the organizational facelift inspires that. It’s a first step anyway but you can’t have super high hopes for change.

jacoby1us wrote:This is a sad list.

We've got no money to spend. Need to hunt for bargains.

Any undrafted international veterans on the market?

I agree on the type of player to target I just don't see any of those listed who would actually get on the floor. With 12 players under contract we have 2 draft picks so that's 13 guaranteed plus the likely #44 to stick and decisions on Dunn, Valentine and Harrison. Moves have to be made before looking at anybody else and they would nee to jump ahead of some guys on the roster.

I'd like Nerlens Noel as the third center, just as soon as they find a way to ship Felicio out
From what I've heard D Jones is a fine defender, the Bulls have had issues scoring so can he play ahead of Satoransky, Arcidiacono and even Mokoka? Would he be better than Harrison, Valentine or Dunn and if they trade them and Young who do they get back?

I like the MEM angle but they have Dillon Brooks and Grayson Allen that are under contract and if they wanted any of the trade candidates they would be useful additions

MrSparkle wrote:Any undrafted international veterans on the market?

I heard that Facu Campazzo might come over a while back. Don't know if that's still true. The guy is a basketball genius, but already pretty old and very small.

ChettheJet wrote:I agree on the type of player to target I just don't see any of those listed who would actually get on the floor. With 12 players under contract we have 2 draft picks so that's 13 guaranteed plus the likely #44 to stick and decisions on Dunn, Valentine and Harrison. Moves have to be made before looking at anybody else and they would nee to jump ahead of some guys on the roster.

I'd like Nerlens Noel as the third center, just as soon as they find a way to ship Felicio out
From what I've heard D Jones is a fine defender, the Bulls have had issues scoring so can he play ahead of Satoransky, Arcidiacono and even Mokoka? Would he be better than Harrison, Valentine or Dunn and if they trade them and Young who do they get back?

I like the MEM angle but they have Dillon Brooks and Grayson Allen that are under contract and if they wanted any of the trade candidates they would be useful additions

I mean it's not like it's going to be difficult to jump players on this roster.

Dunn and Valentine are seemingly gone. We should be shopping Thad/Sato to see if we can recoup any value.

Felicio, Kornet, Hutch, and Arci don't really deserve any minutes. Mokoka and Strus should both be released.

There are certainly minutes available on this roster. We suck.

If the Bulls are going to be competitive, they need to catch lightning in a bottle via the draft or free agency. The only player on that list with high end potential is Josh Jackson. Unfortunately, he has had his fair share of off the court issues, which might keep AK/Eversley away.

He would still be my #1 target and I would look to lock him up long-term on an affordable deal. Part of building a championship roster is getting surrounding pieces locked up long-term on affordable deals. Betting on a former 4th pick (with elite physical tools) is definitely the type of player I would gamble on. (assuming he has his life together now)

I appreciate you coming up with this list. But if they sign any of those players it would be an absolute awful off-season. Even worse than last off-season.

Horrible list of available players.

I don't think they eat into their cap space with a MLE deal. I think they keep flexibility. If they can get a guy they like on a 1 year MLE deal they do it for a guy like Morris/Crowder/Harris/Forbes but otherwise they just bank it and get someone cheaper on the vet min.

I like the OP's premise of targeting young-ish FAs who still has potential that can be unlocked while only signing vet min guys for veteran presence.

From the list, I like DJJ the most because of what he can bring (athletic wing defender which we sorely lack) followed by Jackson and Noel. Jackson mostly because of his physical profile and his potential as a big wing defender while Noel would be nice as a 3rd big but is not extemely important with Carter/Markkannen/Gafford already in tow with a potential to add more with the 4th pick.

ChettheJet wrote:I agree on the type of player to target I just don't see any of those listed who would actually get on the floor. With 12 players under contract we have 2 draft picks so that's 13 guaranteed plus the likely #44 to stick and decisions on Dunn, Valentine and Harrison. Moves have to be made before looking at anybody else and they would nee to jump ahead of some guys on the roster.

I'd like Nerlens Noel as the third center, just as soon as they find a way to ship Felicio out
From what I've heard D Jones is a fine defender, the Bulls have had issues scoring so can he play ahead of Satoransky, Arcidiacono and even Mokoka? Would he be better than Harrison, Valentine or Dunn and if they trade them and Young who do they get back?

I like the MEM angle but they have Dillon Brooks and Grayson Allen that are under contract and if they wanted any of the trade candidates they would be useful additions

Theres like at least 3 bums you know that can be released right away and 2-3 more expirings with trades to take back impact player or throw them for tpe, cap space.
Get rid of those players and replacing with Noah, Rose, taj would guarantee a couple more wins in case the injuries pile up.
If you cant get a trade partner, just waive bums like Felicio bc ur wasting everyones time. The Bulls need more talent injection than #4 and #44. Like at least half of the roster ideally.

What about Marc Gasol on a 1 year mid level exception? Try and get him for 5-6M and split minutes with WCJ and then the 4 with Marksnnen. He can still shoot from 3 and haul down rebounds. He is petty slow against more Mobil centres but could teach WCJ & Lauri. Dunno just an idea.

I haven't looked at our options, but from those names, I'm a big Jontay Porter fan (think MEM will pick up his option unless he's 100% damaged goods), and likewise Deanthony Melton.

TheSuzerain wrote:

jacoby1us wrote:This is a sad list.

We've got no money to spend. Need to hunt for bargains.

Not only that, but this free agency class is pretty weak over all.

yeah I'd definitely offer full MLE to Melton and hope the Grizzlies don't match.