Post Mortem #11 - Chicago Bulls

[Bulliever2020]

Hello darkness, my old friend

[ChiTownHero1992]

Get rid of AKME immediately

Best to get rid of Donovan, he is a middling coach at best

Performed about as expected (a little better than i thought, figured about 35-37 wins)

Treadmill team, vets will decline, youth will get slightly better but no real chances at improvement with a 12-15 pick and not a single worth while FA wanting to come to Chicago

[Mk0]

Definition of a treadmill
46-36
40-42
39-43
39-43

[tamaraw08]

Bulls going to go all In for Zion In the offseason

extend Lonzo and trade for Zion, what could go wrong?
Might as well trade for Embiid and PG too.

[PhilBlackson]

I feel for CHI fans because they're a great market but cheap ownership that just tries to get a cash grab from meaningless Playoff appearances.

If they would just embrace tanking for a couple of years or so, get some elite young talent I don't think it would take that much to start gaining some interest from good players again but ownership just refuses to. It's crazy because when I was kid I like almost everyone else at the time was a diehard MJ fan and the franchise was considered one of the "premier" franchises of the league something like how the Warriors are now, and now it feels like those 2 have swapped places.

Although CHI is just as damn cold as TOR, they should be one of the top markets that players think of but really due to their mismanagement they've mainly been an afterthought. It's a shame what a once proud franchise they were has been for the better part of the past 2-3 decades. But maybe SIlver gifts them Flagg this year, it would be a nice play by the league to "rebuild" one of their historically better markets. Chicago as a whole in a way is one of the most slept on markets that really need to be tapped into again. Really the biggest thing that needs to be changed is ownership (period).

[pipfan]

I've pushed for the Bulls to blow it up for years, but at least now we have some solid pieces
Giddey looked great at the end of the year, and he'll be back
Matas is extremely promising and I think we have a cornerstone
We have solid other bench pieces in Phillips, Terry, Smith
There are decent vets in Huerter, Jones (if we bring him back), Ball (showed signs) and Collins

Big questions
Vuc-had a great offensive year, but still sucks on D. Need to decide what to do with him
White-had an awesome March, but will never be good on D. Problem is, starting him and Giddey will always limit our D

[Black Jack]

I've pushed for the Bulls to blow it up for years, but at least now we have some solid pieces
Giddey looked great at the end of the year, and he'll be back
Matas is extremely promising and I think we have a cornerstone
We have solid other bench pieces in Phillips, Terry, Smith
There are decent vets in Huerter, Jones (if we bring him back), Ball (showed signs) and Collins

Big questions
Vuc-had a great offensive year, but still sucks on D. Need to decide what to do with him
White-had an awesome March, but will never be good on D. Problem is, starting him and Giddey will always limit our D

Experts agree, Bulls need more D in the back (court). There's only one man for the job....

[giberish]

I've pushed for the Bulls to blow it up for years, but at least now we have some solid pieces
Giddey looked great at the end of the year, and he'll be back
Matas is extremely promising and I think we have a cornerstone
We have solid other bench pieces in Phillips, Terry, Smith
There are decent vets in Huerter, Jones (if we bring him back), Ball (showed signs) and Collins

Big questions
Vuc-had a great offensive year, but still sucks on D. Need to decide what to do with him
White-had an awesome March, but will never be good on D. Problem is, starting him and Giddey will always limit our D

The FO is obviously a clear problem. They aren't horrible, just below-average. Which can end up worse for fans as horrible gets fired but below-average can linger a long time, especially with a low-ambition owner.

For your questions, Vuc doesn't matter. Or at least he shouldn't matter. Vuc and Collins are both just EC filler. Keep or move as matching salary in a deal, whatever. Chicago arguably does need a long-term starting center. Smith is a pretty good backup but I'm skeptical on him as a starter.

White is a tougher call. If there's a good trade option Chicago should take it. If not, then perhaps the lack of demand for limited defense, scoring combo guards around the league could keep his UFA cost reasonable next summer.

I'd also hope someone still considers Williams to have potential, at least enough to salary dump him for a filler EC without adding incentives.

[Diop]

Bulls going to go all In for Zion In the offseason

extend Lonzo and trade for Zion, what could go wrong?
Might as well trade for Embiid and PG too.

nah they're too old, trade Giddey, Buz and White for Lamelo.

2 Balls and a Zion make a great big 3

[SlimShady83]

Bulls going to go all In for Zion In the offseason

extend Lonzo and trade for Zion, what could go wrong?
Might as well trade for Embiid and PG too.

nah they're too old, trade Giddey, Buz and White for Lamelo.

2 Balls and a Zion make a great big 3

I'll get back to this I'm on holidays lol

[Diop]

extend Lonzo and trade for Zion, what could go wrong?
Might as well trade for Embiid and PG too.

nah they're too old, trade Giddey, Buz and White for Lamelo.

2 Balls and a Zion make a great big 3

I'll get back to this I'm on holidays lol

just for clarity, i was joking.

[Godymas]

such a hard team to judge, I don’t know they will do in the off-season.

Do they give Giddey a max? I imagine they will extend Coby White too, what does he get? Vooch needs to get traded ofc.

Also I cannot believe that Patrick Williams extension goes until 2029. What a **** contract.

Oh and there’s Lonzo, does he come back to his pre injury level?

Considering all the money that is expiring, they are probably going to bottom out next year and it is going to be painful.

Of all the rosters in the NBA, this one is so uninspiring, there isn’t much hope. Like the Wizards have a TON of young guys the same age. The Bulls have a bunch of uninspiring bench players.

[shi-woo]

This team is in one of the worst spots in the NBA. They literally have the least amount of talent in the East, and are going to be last in their division for years to come, and no realistic shot at getting better, or doing anything other than make the play in with 20-40 wins.

We all know about their ownership and FO problems, and it's a shame because as others have mentioned CHI should be the NY, BOS, LA, MIA of the midwest...

They remind me of the pre-covid era pacers, when Olidipo was hurt and not playing. That team was going nowhere, kept making the playoffs, and kept drafting like 18th...They never got better and lucked out trading Sabonis for Hali. Giddy is Sabonis is this regard, as the breakout player from another team that comes in and puts up triple double stats, but people question his effectiveness. Buzelis is Turner, the defensive young guy that can shoot the 3, and shows promise. White is Brogdan, the 20-5-5 scorer that people think is better than they actually are.

I don't like this team, and feel like they are going to have to massively overpay for 3 guys that realistically be getting Pat Williams level money. I don't see White being that much more than guys like Clarkson, Sexton, Anthony, or Simons...Giddy is an interesting player, but he provides nothing defensively except rebounding, which is sad for his size. He's just another Dejounte Murry at best, and not the version of Murray that played defense in SAS, but the ATL version..Not the guys you want to throw 30 mil contracts at, but that's looking like the case now that both of them put the stats up.

They need to get something, anything for Vuc and the other vets on this team. They needed to bottom out this year, get a solid pick and go from there, but they didn't. Next years draft will be solid, so they need to try again next year.

Ago, Vuc, Pat, Lonzo, and Smith should all be on the trading block for anything other than bad contracts. All can realistically be traded, are on okay deals, and would be in demand by contenders.

I would call up SAS and see if they would be interested in Vuc for Keldon and 15 this year.

I would do what they did with Smith and look for those guys that are young, but don't have a spot on their current teams. I would get see what the deal is in ORL with Black and Howard, especially because DeSila looked solid this year. Would they take a gamble on Lonzo, want a shooter like Red Velvet? ORL also has a mid teens pick and too many young guys, are they interested in doing a Cole Anthony that pick for Coby?

They have to get creative this year, and they have the ability to break this thing down, and aquire young talent over the course of only one year. If they can get another sub-20 pick in this draft, start them with Giddy and Buzelis, get another Top pick in a strong draft, then they will be in such a better position. They need to make moves though, and they can't be lateral moves like the ones they made throughout the year. They need to get value back even if it is just a 2nd.

Terrible spot, and I lack faith that this team will be anything more than a slow trainwreck.

[pipfan]

This team is in one of the worst spots in the NBA. They literally have the least amount of talent in the East, and are going to be last in their division for years to come, and no realistic shot at getting better, or doing anything other than make the play in with 20-40 wins.

We all know about their ownership and FO problems, and it's a shame because as others have mentioned CHI should be the NY, BOS, LA, MIA of the midwest...

They remind me of the pre-covid era pacers, when Olidipo was hurt and not playing. That team was going nowhere, kept making the playoffs, and kept drafting like 18th...They never got better and lucked out trading Sabonis for Hali. Giddy is Sabonis is this regard, as the breakout player from another team that comes in and puts up triple double stats, but people question his effectiveness. Buzelis is Turner, the defensive young guy that can shoot the 3, and shows promise. White is Brogdan, the 20-5-5 scorer that people think is better than they actually are.

I don't like this team, and feel like they are going to have to massively overpay for 3 guys that realistically be getting Pat Williams level money. I don't see White being that much more than guys like Clarkson, Sexton, Anthony, or Simons...Giddy is an interesting player, but he provides nothing defensively except rebounding, which is sad for his size. He's just another Dejounte Murry at best, and not the version of Murray that played defense in SAS, but the ATL version..Not the guys you want to throw 30 mil contracts at, but that's looking like the case now that both of them put the stats up.

They need to get something, anything for Vuc and the other vets on this team. They needed to bottom out this year, get a solid pick and go from there, but they didn't. Next years draft will be solid, so they need to try again next year.

Ago, Vuc, Pat, Lonzo, and Smith should all be on the trading block for anything other than bad contracts. All can realistically be traded, are on okay deals, and would be in demand by contenders.

I would call up SAS and see if they would be interested in Vuc for Keldon and 15 this year.

I would do what they did with Smith and look for those guys that are young, but don't have a spot on their current teams. I would get see what the deal is in ORL with Black and Howard, especially because DeSila looked solid this year. Would they take a gamble on Lonzo, want a shooter like Red Velvet? ORL also has a mid teens pick and too many young guys, are they interested in doing a Cole Anthony that pick for Coby?

They have to get creative this year, and they have the ability to break this thing down, and aquire young talent over the course of only one year. If they can get another sub-20 pick in this draft, start them with Giddy and Buzelis, get another Top pick in a strong draft, then they will be in such a better position. They need to make moves though, and they can't be lateral moves like the ones they made throughout the year. They need to get value back even if it is just a 2nd.

Terrible spot, and I lack faith that this team will be anything more than a slow trainwreck.

Before I would have agreed, but Matas looked REALLY good in the 2nd half of the year.
Giddey was playing at an All NBA level. His defense was bad, for sure but I think there's potential to get a bit better
CWhite is the HUGE question-very good year and a great kid but we should trade him now (Orl?)
We have to hit on our pick this year, and we still have TONS of future cap space and expiring deals, even with $30 million for GIddey
They played fun ball after the ASB-just keep that up and hope for a star somehow is the plan

[Ice Man]

They literally have the least amount of talent in the East

The Bulls literally have three players (Giddey, Vuc, Coby) who are better than anybody on the Wizards, along with a 20 year old (Matas) who is better than any Wizards prospect.

Since we're talking literally.

[Memories]

Lakers rn

Josh Diddy Giddy can’t hurt us anymore!

[cocktailswith_2short]

Definition of a treadmill
46-36
40-42
39-43
39-43

Zach held the team hostage those years. The bulls allowed him to do so but that's the main reason weve been stuck on the treadmill.

[Wingy]

Definition of a treadmill
46-36
40-42
39-43
39-43

Zach held the team hostage those years. The bulls allowed him to do so but that's the main reason weve been stuck on the treadmill.

Reality gonna smack you hard next year, bruh.

[cocktailswith_2short]

Definition of a treadmill
46-36
40-42
39-43
39-43

Zach held the team hostage those years. The bulls allowed him to do so but that's the main reason weve been stuck on the treadmill.

Reality gonna smack you hard next year, bruh.

I don't expect the bulls to magically become good . They still suck but at least the rebuild is kicked off we are like six months in .

[Dan Z]

Well, this season wasn't a complete failure - they got rid of Lavine and they got their pick back from the Spurs. But this season went about as expected. Bulls have been the definition of a treadmill team since Jordan retired minus a couple years during D-Rose's tenure

They needed to move on from LaVine, so I agree with you there. However, is the pick that much of a win? Once they got it back they continued to try and win every game (not maximizing the pick).

Also, the pick was originally top 10 protected. If they wanted to tank this year they could've done it regardless of the Zach trade.