Prime Toni Kukoc - What’s he worth in 2022 and which team would he put over the top?

[Cubbies2120]

What could he command on open market this year?

What team would he put over the top (non ECF/WCF finalist teams)?

[SelfishPlayer]

Toni Kukoc is what Kyle Anderson would have been if he played in the 90's.

[RoundMoundOfRebound]

[LAL1947]

Kukoc would be great on so many teams that need a floor-spacing PF.

Some that immediately come to mind are:

Hornets (unites him with MJ again, haha)
Pistons
Knicks
Pacers
Grizzlies
Heat
Pelicans
Trail Blazers (moving Grant to SF)
76ers
Suns
Bucks (moving Giannis to Center)

[Heej]

His impact would probably somewhere between Pascal Siakam and 2018 Thaddeus Young except more offensively focused. I guess an extremely poor man's Jokic. He'd probably put a team like the Mavs or Miami over the top imo. Or the Bucks might've gone all the way if they had him backing up Giannis or them doing a 4-5 lineup together.

What's he worth? Idk all player values are inflated nowadays so who knows. He's a solid 3rd guy on a balanced championship roster. Which is what made the Bulls so stacked cuz they had this guy as like their 4th best player lmao and no one ever talks about that. But I guess that's worth 20 million a year in today's league? Idk not good at that stuff

[Ryoga Hibiki]

One of the key things is that, most likely, nowadays Kukoc wouldn't have been asked to add so much weight in such a short time, keeping the speed the he had in Jugoplastika and in Treviso.
That would have allowed him to handle the ball more and play point forward, making him most likely a borderline all star minimum.

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[mcmurphy]

Toni Kukoc is what Kyle Anderson would have been if he played in the 90's.

jesus
you are crazy

[mcmurphy]

One of the key things is that, most likely, nowadays Kukoc wouldn't have been asked to add so much weight in such a short time, keeping the speed the he had in Jugoplastika and in Treviso.
That would have allowed him to handle the ball more and play point forward, making him most likely a borderline all star minimum.

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this
the Bulls have distorted the game of kukoc

a 2022 Kukoc with the freedom of Doncic (not the european bias of '90) would be a top10 in the league
in terms of impact.

[Ckay]

Lamar Odom

[SelfishPlayer]

One of the key things is that, most likely, nowadays Kukoc wouldn't have been asked to add so much weight in such a short time, keeping the speed the he had in Jugoplastika and in Treviso.
That would have allowed him to handle the ball more and play point forward, making him most likely a borderline all star minimum.

___
Sent from my Nokia 3210 using RealGM mobile app

this
the Bulls have distorted the game of kukoc

a 2022 Kukoc with the freedom of Doncic (not the european bias of '90) would be a top10 in the league
in terms of impact.

Kukoc was Gallo without a great jumper. Kukoc was garbage as a Sixer.

[DAWill1128]

I like his fit on Miami, as a big floor spacing facilitator between BAM and Jimmy. Miami could really use his game.

He played less minutes on the Bulls than he would've played elsewhere since they had Jordan, Pippin, Rodman.

His per 36 is like 18, 5, 5 which is pretty amazing considering the slower pace of game in the 90s and lower scoring league at the time.

[cam24thomas]

His impact would probably somewhere between Pascal Siakam and 2018 Thaddeus Young except more offensively focused. I guess an extremely poor man's Jokic. He'd probably put a team like the Mavs or Miami over the top imo. Or the Bucks might've gone all the way if they had him backing up Giannis or them doing a 4-5 lineup together.

What's he worth? Idk all player values are inflated nowadays so who knows. He's a solid 3rd guy on a balanced championship roster. Which is what made the Bulls so stacked cuz they had this guy as like their 4th best player lmao and no one ever talks about that. But I guess that's worth 20 million a year in today's league? Idk not good at that stuff

Yeah but offensively Rodman was almost zero points per game, and Longley was also limited, and Kerr was very one-dimensional.
They had almost nobody who could get their own shot apart from Jordan and Pippen.
If Kukoc doesn't show up, they are in trouble, or they have to rely on their defense because their offense may not get it done....
On top of that, Rodman only played 64 games and 55 games in his first 2 seasons with the Bulls.....and Longley only averaged 60 games per year during the 3-peat.

[Monky15]

He'd comfortably be a 20ppg scorer, I'd take him over John Collins without a second thought so that's borderline All Star at the minimum.

[76ciology]

Can he switch on defense?
Can he shoot 3s and score on ISO?

Does he have these 3 most valuable traits in basketball now?

[cam24thomas]

Kukoc couldn't miss when he was on fire from downtown, incredible shooter that could take over the game and win on his own.
And probably the best handles of anyone 6foot10 whose ever played the game, so very effective ISO scorer and nice pull-up.
He played Point Guard in Europe
He's made for this era, especially since a lot of weak defensive players are able to stay on the court, whereas Kukoc would be benched in the 90s sometimes for his soft defense (but anyone looks soft compared to Rodman).

[PlayerUp]

Players in the past would today be focusing more energy on learning how to shoot than playing the best defense possible. Bulls 95-96 team had the #1 offense in the NBA at 105 PPG. Today that is good for nearly last place in the NBA. On defense they allowed 94 PPG. I'm not sure if we will ever see a team allowing under 94 PPG a game again. That's really what separates players in the 90s with players today. Simply more dynamic scoring & dynamic shooting players today but the hardcore defensive style players are a thing of the past. There is also more quantity/volume of better players today than the 90s simply because there is more $ involved and everyone in the world recognizes the NBA and would do anything to make it in the NBA.

Kukoc was a 19/6/6 type player and was a quality shooter. Think he was a player more suited in todays era. He would have been more efficient from 3 and if Brunson can pull in a $25m/yr deal, certainly Kukoc may have. He's not a max player but some team today would overpay for his services. Any team could use what he brings.

[User_friendly]

His impact would probably somewhere between Pascal Siakam and 2018 Thaddeus Young except more offensively focused. I guess an extremely poor man's Jokic.

An extremely poor man's Jokic is an extremely bold take for such a hall of famer. Not to mention worse than Paskal Siakam.

[PlayerUp]

Crazy that the Bulls once had Kukoc, Armstrong and Kerr on the same team at once.

3 elite shooters. Bulls 95-96 team shot only 17 3's but made over 40% of them as a team. NBA was starting to move more towards having players learn to shoot the 3 back then. However the older players simply refused to learn it. That isn't an option in todays NBA. If you don't learn to shoot, you'll be behind other players.

[jpengland]

A healthy Gordon Hayward.

[CharityStripe34]

Kukoc would be like Gallinari with PG/ball-handling skills. He'd help every single contender. And quite a bit.

Funny enough the Bucks just signed poor man's Kukoc in Joe Ingles. Crafty lefty forward who can pass and shoot.