The Bulls roster and roles going forward

[sco]

I've been noticing that post deadline/Lavine some guys are looking better others, worse. I thought it would be good to have a thread talking about who sticks on this roster and what their role becomes.

One comment to start on Lavine. I remain convinced he is a guy who is a very good player and worth his contract. The problem he experienced here was that he is clearly a #2 option scorer, but was cast in the role of the #1 scorer. The distinction in my mind is that a #1 option is a guy who is expected to maintain efficient scoring, even when facing double-teams, and he's the guy who has the ball in his hands down the stretch of close games. If you took those things away from Zach, I think he would have a more positive legacy here.

I bring this up because, I think a similar situation will confront our remaining players. I look at Coby and I see a guy who is perhaps a #3 option scorer, but he is even less equipt to handle double-teams (or even teams' best single defenders) than Zach was. I fully expect to see Coby struggle at least half the time going forward in the defacto #1 or #2 role (depending how you view Vuc).

On the flipside, while he isn't ready YET, I think Matas could fit as a #2 option down the road, and moving into the starting line-up has had a positive impact on his performance.

I am curious what other guys can do with bigger roles like being the #3 option, like Pat, Ayo and Giddey. I don't think any are capable of that, but we'll have a chance to see next season. Same deal with Smith as our starting C.

Vuc can't disappear soon enough for me. He clearly seems to be pouting post deadline, and that's not acceptable. It's a little ironic because, IMO, he, in the past, has played better as our #1 scoring option.

[MrSparkle]

My 2C is that the 2027 FA class is going to be the best since ... 2019, when Durant, Kawhi, Kyrie, Jimmy and a bunch of other guys were hitting the market at the same time.

I can only hope to the stars that Arturas is strategically eyeing that year as the time to strike, with the LaVine trade (bringing in Huerter/Collins... $36M of 2026 expirings to join Vuc and the rest of the roster). I believe he needs to dump Jalen and Patrick to really open that cap, and neither player is important enough to block that potential FA space.

If he resigns Giddey, Coby and Ayo to extensions beyond 2027, I'll officially conclude he just has no great ambitions with this roster. Cause unlike the last few years, I think unrestricted free agency is going to be back on the menu as a few late-prime vets have their last big FA decision ahead of them.

Of course Luka and Davis 99% likely resign with their new teams. But for the record, that's their FA summer too. It also means Dallas and LAL won't have cap-space. The bad news is Miami's positioned well for 27 space, IF they dump Bam for expirings and picks (which could easily be done). Still, the options are staggering, unless every guy signs a supermax and stays home.

1st tier: Jokic, Giannis, Shai
2nd: Trae, Mitchell, KAT

Washed/Past-Prime tier: Curry, Lillard, Jimmy, Kawhi, George, Gobert, Jrue... And many more fringe/1-2x all-stars.

It's going to be an insane summer. Now of course everybody might sign an extension... But I'm getting the sense that players will re-examine their destinations as we enter a new era, and if Dallas (for whatever dumb reason) hesitated super maxing Luka, you have to imagine the aging guys with no help will also be reconsidered.

Arturas has the Jokic connection. Marc had the "player relationships." Pretty much, it's gonna come down to that summer. If they can't make anything of it, then that's that. No reason to keep them beyond that summer.

Bulls could be in position to have a Matas, 25 & 26 (top-10) picks core. That means, all the rest of the guys right now need to be treated as expiring 2027 salary. Signing Giddey, Coby and Ayo beyond 27 (barre preposterously undervalued deals) would be a HUGE MISTAKE. Keeping Pat and Jalen beyond next year will also be a mistake. I wish I had more faith in Arcturas, but I fear they'll stay on the same road of nothingness.

[pipfan]

My biggest concern is the Giddy contract. If he signs cheap (under $15 million) I think he could be a very good 6th man.

Trade Vuc/White at the draft, pick BPA and keep Ayo/Matas/JSmith-suck next year and add a top 5 pick-go into 2026 with a ton of cap space, some good young talent and hope

[GoBlue72391]

Guys who should stay: Matas, Ayo

Guys who can stay or go depending on the situation: Lonzo, Giddey, Smith

Guys who have to go and should already be gone: Pat, Vuc, Coby, Carter

Irrelevant guys: Dalen, Phillips, Huerter, Jones, Collins, THT

Per usual, we missed our chances to sell high on Pat, Vuc, and Coby. If/when we do move on from them, we'll either see them walk for nothing or trade them for pennies on the dollar like we did with Zach.

There's only one building block on this team and that's Matas. Even he's no surefire guarantee and it will take a lot of development to reach his ceiling. He perhaps has #2 potential, but the most likely outcome is #3/#4 guy. Ayo is a really nice role player, but not a building block. Everyone else has shown who they are, and they're complementary pieces at best or too old to keep around.

We're also short on draft picks. One good but not great young player and limited picks is a terrible situation for a rebuilding team like us to be in.

[sco]

Guys who should stay: Matas, Ayo

Guys who can stay or go depending on the situation: Lonzo, Giddey, Smith

Guys who have to go and should already be gone: Pat, Vuc, Coby, Carter

Irrelevant guys: Dalen, Phillips, Huerter, Jones, Collins, THT

Per usual, we missed our chances to sell high on Pat, Vuc, and Coby. If/when we do move on from them, we'll either see them walk for nothing or trade them for pennies on the dollar like we did with Zach.

There's only one building block on this team and that's Matas. Even he's no surefire guarantee and it will take a lot of development to reach his ceiling. He perhaps has #2 potential, but the most likely outcome is #3/#4 guy. Ayo is a really nice role player, but not a building block. Everyone else has shown who they are, and they're complementary pieces at best or too old to keep around.

We're also short on draft picks. One good but not great young player and limited picks is a terrible situation for a rebuilding team like us to be in.

Let's talk about Ayo. He has been Pat Williams bad on both sides of the ball this season. I don't know what his issue is, but clearly there is one. I'm feeling he's fallen into the Lauri camp. Can't be good here, but he'll probably blossom somewhere else.

[ChettheJet]

It was never going to be easy but the time to move on from Demar, Zach and now Vuc was/is yesterday. Getting a great offer was never going to happen, Zach was probably a #2 guy who felt he should be seen as the #1 guy and lead the team while everybody followed. But he wasn't that leader. I can question if DeRozan was this great leader. TOR moved on from him after a long time, SAS got a lot out of him. The Bulls weren't winners. Guys went to California to wok out with him but did he mostly teach them where he liked toget the ball in the mid range so they could space the floor? When the Bulls signed Vucevic to his 3 year deal they knew he was that solid 20/10 guy but ignored that he was not the rim protector or lane blocker. They were still clinging to him, DeRozan and Lavine carrying the team, maybe dreaming that Lonzo was going to come back. Well now we're here.

The issue the Bulls face now going forward is they don't have a #1 or even a #2 guy, they've got a roster of #3 guys with nobody standing out from the pack. I think they're best bet is to assemble more #3 guys and build a deep unspectacular group. They do need to pare down the guard situation. This year's exit interviews are o ask, do you want to stay here or look for more money and playing time?

They need to sort out Giddey, White, Dosunmu, Jones and Huerter. Jones and maybe Giddey are the pure PGs, White and Dosunmu are combo guards not good enough to be PGs or shooters. Huerter is the shooter of the bunch. They've got Ball so one PG, one combo guard and if none of them are flat out shooters find 2 somewhere else. Because they need to add size.

You start the forward positions with Buzelis, Williams and Phillips. If Matas puts on the muscle he might as well start. Maybe they find somebody maybe Patrick finds a way to get to the basket and hold onto the ball. When he's close to the rim there's something that makes him fumble the ball. I agree with Stacey King, I'd like to see Matas and Patrick play together for a while to see how they react. Phillips seems to do some things naturally and well and then he fades into the background.Everybody needs to spend time with Wes Unseld jr learning how to be big and wide.

Smith, Collins and Sanogo might be enough unless they can get a starter.

I'm encouraged getting that pick back, 3 rookies coming in for the next 3 years slowly adds talent but they aren't rushed to make a big difference.

[GoBlue72391]

Guys who should stay: Matas, Ayo

Guys who can stay or go depending on the situation: Lonzo, Giddey, Smith

Guys who have to go and should already be gone: Pat, Vuc, Coby, Carter

Irrelevant guys: Dalen, Phillips, Huerter, Jones, Collins, THT

Per usual, we missed our chances to sell high on Pat, Vuc, and Coby. If/when we do move on from them, we'll either see them walk for nothing or trade them for pennies on the dollar like we did with Zach.

There's only one building block on this team and that's Matas. Even he's no surefire guarantee and it will take a lot of development to reach his ceiling. He perhaps has #2 potential, but the most likely outcome is #3/#4 guy. Ayo is a really nice role player, but not a building block. Everyone else has shown who they are, and they're complementary pieces at best or too old to keep around.

We're also short on draft picks. One good but not great young player and limited picks is a terrible situation for a rebuilding team like us to be in.

Let's talk about Ayo. He has been Pat Williams bad on both sides of the ball this season. I don't know what his issue is, but clearly there is one. I'm feeling he's fallen into the Lauri camp. Can't be good here, but he'll probably blossom somewhere else.

He's been disappointing this season, but he's nowhere near as bad as Pat. Pat is literally shooting well under 40%...from the field...

Ayo doesn't have anywhere near Lauri's ceiling either, so I don't think any part of your comment is accurate.

[jnrjr79]

Guy who we should treat like a #1 and see what we've got: Matas

Guys who could stick around as rotation players, but not necessarily: Smith, Ayo

Guys who should great traded in the offseason: Coby, Vooch

Guy you'd love to get rid of, but probably can't and will be a bench player: Pat

Guy who will be a starter or bench player and will require a difficult decision: Giddey

Solid, stabilizing vet and potential 2025-26 starter/valuable trade asset: Lonzo

All other guys: who cares

Basically, the Bulls should focus on playing time/development for the players who have a shot to stick around for the rebuild. The other ones can come or go. There are useful players on this roster, but if you look at the whole thing on paper, you realize how bad it is. I think it'll be clear that Zach was propping up an otherwise pretty moribund bunch.

The only players I'd imagine are starting next season with definite roles are Matas, Ayo, Giddey (because I think they retain him), Lonzo, and Smith. Everything else is up for grabs, and even those guys, other than Matas, could be on the move under the right circumstances.

The good thing is the Bulls do have the expirings and picks to make some sort of move this offseason if the opportunity arises, but that's also the bad news, given we've seen AK's propensity to try to take rebuild shortcuts. Otherwise, move what you can for draft capital and stick with a draft-based and 2026/27 cap space-based rebuild.

[sco]

My 2C is that the 2027 FA class is going to be the best since ... 2019, when Durant, Kawhi, Kyrie, Jimmy and a bunch of other guys were hitting the market at the same time.

I can only hope to the stars that Arturas is strategically eyeing that year as the time to strike, with the LaVine trade (bringing in Huerter/Collins... $36M of 2026 expirings to join Vuc and the rest of the roster). I believe he needs to dump Jalen and Patrick to really open that cap, and neither player is important enough to block that potential FA space.

If he resigns Giddey, Coby and Ayo to extensions beyond 2027, I'll officially conclude he just has no great ambitions with this roster. Cause unlike the last few years, I think unrestricted free agency is going to be back on the menu as a few late-prime vets have their last big FA decision ahead of them.

Of course Luka and Davis 99% likely resign with their new teams. But for the record, that's their FA summer too. It also means Dallas and LAL won't have cap-space. The bad news is Miami's positioned well for 27 space, IF they dump Bam for expirings and picks (which could easily be done). Still, the options are staggering, unless every guy signs a supermax and stays home.

1st tier: Jokic, Giannis, Shai
2nd: Trae, Mitchell, KAT

Washed/Past-Prime tier: Curry, Lillard, Jimmy, Kawhi, George, Gobert, Jrue... And many more fringe/1-2x all-stars.

It's going to be an insane summer. Now of course everybody might sign an extension... But I'm getting the sense that players will re-examine their destinations as we enter a new era, and if Dallas (for whatever dumb reason) hesitated super maxing Luka, you have to imagine the aging guys with no help will also be reconsidered.

Arturas has the Jokic connection. Marc had the "player relationships." Pretty much, it's gonna come down to that summer. If they can't make anything of it, then that's that. No reason to keep them beyond that summer.

Bulls could be in position to have a Matas, 25 & 26 (top-10) picks core. That means, all the rest of the guys right now need to be treated as expiring 2027 salary. Signing Giddey, Coby and Ayo beyond 27 (barre preposterously undervalued deals) would be a HUGE MISTAKE. Keeping Pat and Jalen beyond next year will also be a mistake. I wish I had more faith in Arcturas, but I fear they'll stay on the same road of nothingness.

I like the '27 plan. I think it jives with my notion of picking up some 2 year "bad" contracts (plus additional compensation by way of first round picks or young assets) in the offseason in exchange for our "good" expiring ones.

[MrSparkle]

My 2C is that the 2027 FA class is going to be the best since ... 2019, when Durant, Kawhi, Kyrie, Jimmy and a bunch of other guys were hitting the market at the same time.

I can only hope to the stars that Arturas is strategically eyeing that year as the time to strike, with the LaVine trade (bringing in Huerter/Collins... $36M of 2026 expirings to join Vuc and the rest of the roster). I believe he needs to dump Jalen and Patrick to really open that cap, and neither player is important enough to block that potential FA space.

If he resigns Giddey, Coby and Ayo to extensions beyond 2027, I'll officially conclude he just has no great ambitions with this roster. Cause unlike the last few years, I think unrestricted free agency is going to be back on the menu as a few late-prime vets have their last big FA decision ahead of them.

Of course Luka and Davis 99% likely resign with their new teams. But for the record, that's their FA summer too. It also means Dallas and LAL won't have cap-space. The bad news is Miami's positioned well for 27 space, IF they dump Bam for expirings and picks (which could easily be done). Still, the options are staggering, unless every guy signs a supermax and stays home.

1st tier: Jokic, Giannis, Shai
2nd: Trae, Mitchell, KAT

Washed/Past-Prime tier: Curry, Lillard, Jimmy, Kawhi, George, Gobert, Jrue... And many more fringe/1-2x all-stars.

It's going to be an insane summer. Now of course everybody might sign an extension... But I'm getting the sense that players will re-examine their destinations as we enter a new era, and if Dallas (for whatever dumb reason) hesitated super maxing Luka, you have to imagine the aging guys with no help will also be reconsidered.

Arturas has the Jokic connection. Marc had the "player relationships." Pretty much, it's gonna come down to that summer. If they can't make anything of it, then that's that. No reason to keep them beyond that summer.

Bulls could be in position to have a Matas, 25 & 26 (top-10) picks core. That means, all the rest of the guys right now need to be treated as expiring 2027 salary. Signing Giddey, Coby and Ayo beyond 27 (barre preposterously undervalued deals) would be a HUGE MISTAKE. Keeping Pat and Jalen beyond next year will also be a mistake. I wish I had more faith in Arcturas, but I fear they'll stay on the same road of nothingness.

I like the '27 plan. I think it jives with my notion of picking up some 2 year "bad" contracts (plus additional compensation by way of first round picks or young assets) in the offseason in exchange for our "good" expiring ones.

Well, good in theory, but might be late to get in on that. This deadline would’ve been the time to MORE aggressively move that direction. (Adding 1y salary with Vuc… maybe getting ahead/out of Jalen and Pat’smoney).

Now we’ll have to compete with Brooklyn, Miami, Washington and Utah offering the same incentive.

[ChiTownHero1992]

Keepers:
Matas - Possible Top 3 Roster Guy, at minimum a very solid future starter (ala Lauri)
Ayo - good 6th man combo-guard

Possible Keepers:
Smith - shows good usage as a bench 4/5
Coby - could be a 3rd option starter or spark plug off the bench (Still see more Crawford/Williams type then star)
Giddey - has all the tools just needs to put it all togethe ALL the time, not some of the time

Decent Players, I just dont want them on this team:
Lonzo - too often injured, nuff said
Jones - just not needed on this team, trade bait

Guys who should've been gone yesterday:
Vuc - ancient and never fit the team
Pat - wasted high draft pick, huge bust and hung on way to long
Carter - never worth the roster spot, dont know why we ever signed him
Dalen - wasted draft pick, not NBA level and nearly every other team in the league knows it
Phillips - wasted draft pick, not worth a spot
Huerter - fell off the face of planet and dont know what happened
Collins - had a good run with Spurs last year but hasn't shown up since
THT - nearly every other team in the league cut him, why do we still think he can play?

[sco]

Saw this:

https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/279294/Billy-Donovan-Rebalancing-Bulls-Rotation-Around-Overabundance-Of-Guards

"With the number of guards we have, I’m not opposed to the times when we’ve started with four guards," Donovan said. "But that may not be the best thing for this group rotation-wise."

"I’m not going to sit there and just say, 'Listen, the whole entire offense is going to be geared around Matas,'" Donovan said. "But I do think for his development, his growth, he needs to be in some of those situations."

I'm not sure what this means, but please bench Coby (and Vuc) and let Matas play alongside a competent set of players.

[Rose2Boozer]

Draft: 1st and 2nd round picks
Trade: Vucevic and Ball
Allow to expire: Jones and THT
Buyout: Huerter and Collins

[cocktailswith_2short]

When's the next conceivable timeframe we could sign a max fa

[Hangtime84]

When's the next conceivable timeframe we could sign a max fa

After 2026 - 2027 season.

So one more full season of this. Also that's in line with the new TV deal money coming in.

[sco]

When's the next conceivable timeframe we could sign a max fa

After 2026 - 2027 season.

So one more full season of this. Also that's in line with the new TV deal money coming in.

Isn't it after the 25-26 season? With Vuc, Coby, Huerter, etc expiring?

[League Circles]

Only guys I care about right now are Buzelis, Smith, Ball and Patrick. They're the only ones under contract beyond next season and they are also our 4 most physically gifted players. And our 2025 FRP.

Everyone else is a big question mark. The best of those being Coby, the 2026 FRP, and I suppose Ayo and Giddey, though I'm not as high on either of them as most fans are. I think those guys have been showing what they are, and it's solid but very far from special.

I have a soft spot for Coby, but I'd trade him or let him walk in FA relatively easily.

[WindyCityBorn]

My 2C is that the 2027 FA class is going to be the best since ... 2019, when Durant, Kawhi, Kyrie, Jimmy and a bunch of other guys were hitting the market at the same time.

I can only hope to the stars that Arturas is strategically eyeing that year as the time to strike, with the LaVine trade (bringing in Huerter/Collins... $36M of 2026 expirings to join Vuc and the rest of the roster). I believe he needs to dump Jalen and Patrick to really open that cap, and neither player is important enough to block that potential FA space.

If he resigns Giddey, Coby and Ayo to extensions beyond 2027, I'll officially conclude he just has no great ambitions with this roster. Cause unlike the last few years, I think unrestricted free agency is going to be back on the menu as a few late-prime vets have their last big FA decision ahead of them.

Of course Luka and Davis 99% likely resign with their new teams. But for the record, that's their FA summer too. It also means Dallas and LAL won't have cap-space. The bad news is Miami's positioned well for 27 space, IF they dump Bam for expirings and picks (which could easily be done). Still, the options are staggering, unless every guy signs a supermax and stays home.

1st tier: Jokic, Giannis, Shai
2nd: Trae, Mitchell, KAT

Washed/Past-Prime tier: Curry, Lillard, Jimmy, Kawhi, George, Gobert, Jrue... And many more fringe/1-2x all-stars.

It's going to be an insane summer. Now of course everybody might sign an extension... But I'm getting the sense that players will re-examine their destinations as we enter a new era, and if Dallas (for whatever dumb reason) hesitated super maxing Luka, you have to imagine the aging guys with no help will also be reconsidered.

Arturas has the Jokic connection. Marc had the "player relationships." Pretty much, it's gonna come down to that summer. If they can't make anything of it, then that's that. No reason to keep them beyond that summer.

Bulls could be in position to have a Matas, 25 & 26 (top-10) picks core. That means, all the rest of the guys right now need to be treated as expiring 2027 salary. Signing Giddey, Coby and Ayo beyond 27 (barre preposterously undervalued deals) would be a HUGE MISTAKE. Keeping Pat and Jalen beyond next year will also be a mistake. I wish I had more faith in Arcturas, but I fear they'll stay on the same road of nothingness.

I like the '27 plan. I think it jives with my notion of picking up some 2 year "bad" contracts (plus additional compensation by way of first round picks or young assets) in the offseason in exchange for our "good" expiring ones.

Bulls have been trying to woo superstar free agents in their primes for the last 25 years. Why would 2027 be any different than the last 4 or 5 times we had “full boat” cap space?

I could see us being fools and signing someone from that washed up list to a max contract and watch them immediately pull a Paul George.

[WindyCityBorn]

It was never going to be easy but the time to move on from Demar, Zach and now Vuc was/is yesterday. Getting a great offer was never going to happen, Zach was probably a #2 guy who felt he should be seen as the #1 guy and lead the team while everybody followed. But he wasn't that leader. I can question if DeRozan was this great leader. TOR moved on from him after a long time, SAS got a lot out of him. The Bulls weren't winners. Guys went to California to wok out with him but did he mostly teach them where he liked toget the ball in the mid range so they could space the floor? When the Bulls signed Vucevic to his 3 year deal they knew he was that solid 20/10 guy but ignored that he was not the rim protector or lane blocker. They were still clinging to him, DeRozan and Lavine carrying the team, maybe dreaming that Lonzo was going to come back. Well now we're here.

The issue the Bulls face now going forward is they don't have a #1 or even a #2 guy, they've got a roster of #3 guys with nobody standing out from the pack. I think they're best bet is to assemble more #3 guys and build a deep unspectacular group. They do need to pare down the guard situation. This year's exit interviews are o ask, do you want to stay here or look for more money and playing time?

They need to sort out Giddey, White, Dosunmu, Jones and Huerter. Jones and maybe Giddey are the pure PGs, White and Dosunmu are combo guards not good enough to be PGs or shooters. Huerter is the shooter of the bunch. They've got Ball so one PG, one combo guard and if none of them are flat out shooters find 2 somewhere else. Because they need to add size.

You start the forward positions with Buzelis, Williams and Phillips. If Matas puts on the muscle he might as well start. Maybe they find somebody maybe Patrick finds a way to get to the basket and hold onto the ball. When he's close to the rim there's something that makes him fumble the ball. I agree with Stacey King, I'd like to see Matas and Patrick play together for a while to see how they react. Phillips seems to do some things naturally and well and then he fades into the background.Everybody needs to spend time with Wes Unseld jr learning how to be big and wide.

Smith, Collins and Sanogo might be enough unless they can get a starter.

I'm encouraged getting that pick back, 3 rookies coming in for the next 3 years slowly adds talent but they aren't rushed to make a big difference.

We had 8 years to find a true #1 to pair with LaVine. You don’t build around just one player anymore even if they are a #1. Not if you want to win championships. It’s like we tried to force Zach to be a #1 when it was clear he didn’t have all the skills required to be one.

[League Circles]

My 2C is that the 2027 FA class is going to be the best since ... 2019, when Durant, Kawhi, Kyrie, Jimmy and a bunch of other guys were hitting the market at the same time.

I can only hope to the stars that Arturas is strategically eyeing that year as the time to strike, with the LaVine trade (bringing in Huerter/Collins... $36M of 2026 expirings to join Vuc and the rest of the roster). I believe he needs to dump Jalen and Patrick to really open that cap, and neither player is important enough to block that potential FA space.

If he resigns Giddey, Coby and Ayo to extensions beyond 2027, I'll officially conclude he just has no great ambitions with this roster. Cause unlike the last few years, I think unrestricted free agency is going to be back on the menu as a few late-prime vets have their last big FA decision ahead of them.

Of course Luka and Davis 99% likely resign with their new teams. But for the record, that's their FA summer too. It also means Dallas and LAL won't have cap-space. The bad news is Miami's positioned well for 27 space, IF they dump Bam for expirings and picks (which could easily be done). Still, the options are staggering, unless every guy signs a supermax and stays home.

1st tier: Jokic, Giannis, Shai
2nd: Trae, Mitchell, KAT

Washed/Past-Prime tier: Curry, Lillard, Jimmy, Kawhi, George, Gobert, Jrue... And many more fringe/1-2x all-stars.

It's going to be an insane summer. Now of course everybody might sign an extension... But I'm getting the sense that players will re-examine their destinations as we enter a new era, and if Dallas (for whatever dumb reason) hesitated super maxing Luka, you have to imagine the aging guys with no help will also be reconsidered.

Arturas has the Jokic connection. Marc had the "player relationships." Pretty much, it's gonna come down to that summer. If they can't make anything of it, then that's that. No reason to keep them beyond that summer.

Bulls could be in position to have a Matas, 25 & 26 (top-10) picks core. That means, all the rest of the guys right now need to be treated as expiring 2027 salary. Signing Giddey, Coby and Ayo beyond 27 (barre preposterously undervalued deals) would be a HUGE MISTAKE. Keeping Pat and Jalen beyond next year will also be a mistake. I wish I had more faith in Arcturas, but I fear they'll stay on the same road of nothingness.

I like the '27 plan. I think it jives with my notion of picking up some 2 year "bad" contracts (plus additional compensation by way of first round picks or young assets) in the offseason in exchange for our "good" expiring ones.

Bulls have been trying to woo superstar free agents in their primes for the last 25 years. Why would 2027 be any different than the last 4 or 5 times we had “full boat” cap space?

I could see us being fools and signing someone from that washed up list to a max contract and watch them immediately pull a Paul George.

That strategy has actually worked quite well for the Bulls, despite missing out on the primary targets.