The Bulls should go all in for Zion

[Muzbar]

Please God no.

Say goodbye to Matas, because NO will 100% demand him in a trade for Zion.

[LateNight]

Please God no.

Say goodbye to Matas, because NO will 100% demand him in a trade for Zion.

Then we wouldn’t do the trade

[TheSuzerain]

We need Zion to demand out and be an outright cancer this offseason. Lower the price.

[WindyCityBorn]

Pelicans would demand Matas. And regardless this guy misses way too many games and I have no reason to believe that is about to change if he gets traded.

[DuckIII]

Please God no.

Say goodbye to Matas, because NO will 100% demand him in a trade for Zion.

AK is historically bad, but even he is not that stupid.

[Jeffster81]

Pelicans would demand Matas. And regardless this guy misses way too many games and I have no reason to believe that is about to change if he gets traded.

They can demand all they want, Matas would not even be on the table. If that ends talks, then so be it.

[dougthonus]

Pelicans would demand Matas. And regardless this guy misses way too many games and I have no reason to believe that is about to change if he gets traded.

They can demand all they want, Matas would not even be on the table. If that ends talks, then so be it.

In a world I believed Zion had any remote chance of ever having a healthy season, I'd pack Matas's bags. Healthy Zion is a legit superstar. That said, healthy Zion is about as real as unicorns, gnomes, and elves, so there is that small problem.

[DropStep]

My problem is the phrase "all in." That suggests putting everything on the table for a guy who will change your franchise by himself. (Or, something like that.)

Those days are gone for Zion. His upside is still enormous, but he has not only huge physical but behavioral risk. Is he who you want for a leader? How much drama will there be? How much Zion will there be (on the scale)? How much have his injuries sapped, and what is the outlook for the future? You overlook some stuff for prime players of Zion's talent level. But he's not the prospect he was a couple of years ago. We should try to price in the risk, gauge the upside, and make a sober offer based on what he could do for us, and what he won't. He isn't going to win a championship for us without a lot of help, even if it pans out, so it doesn't make sense to empty the pantry (and that's not a fat joke). I think that probably means no Matas at the salary Zion will be at, sorry. Which probably means no deal. But at a reasonable price, given how bad the Zion Experience has been recently, I think we are in a better place to take him on and hope for the best than many other teams. And we should be looking hard at talent on sale for whatever reason - like Giddey was.

Speaking of which - not for nothing, but Kuminga might be getting the same "I got benched" stink that Giddey had, depending on what happens next. Sniff, sniff...

[Muzbar]

Please God no.

Say goodbye to Matas, because NO will 100% demand him in a trade for Zion.

AK is historically bad, but even he is not that stupid.

Are you sure? He did trade 2 FRPs for Nikola Vucevic and give Patrick Williams a 5 year $90m deal that's fully guaranteed.

[Axl Rose]

They have no need for Coby with Murray and Ingram chucking away. We probably do not have enough for a trade but I'm not too upset considering Zion has played under 3 seasons worth of games in 6 seasons.

This kinda reminds me of the Ben Simmons scenario a few years ago. I was open to the idea but it has proven to be a bullet dodged.

[mj234eva]

They have no need for Coby with Murray and Ingram chucking away.

He's a Raptor.

[DuckIII]

Please God no.

Say goodbye to Matas, because NO will 100% demand him in a trade for Zion.

AK is historically bad, but even he is not that stupid.

Are you sure? He did trade 2 FRPs for Nikola Vucevic and give Patrick Williams a 5 year $90m deal that's fully guaranteed.

Those would both pale in comparison to trading a potential franchise player for a guy who averages something like 35 games per year on his career.

And even if we consider the human factor to it, AK has to know that Giddey and Matas are his golden geese. It’s not too late for him to fool the NBA owners into thinking he would be a reasonable hire for his next gig if Giddey and Matas turn out to be studs.

[Am2626]

Please God no.

Say goodbye to Matas, because NO will 100% demand him in a trade for Zion.

Then we wouldn’t do the trade

I don’t think NO is in a position to make those types of demands. The noise coming from NO with Joe Dumars taking over as GM is they are looking to move away from Zion. I think his trade value is at an all time low and the Bulls should be able to get him without trading Matas.

[Am2626]

My problem is the phrase "all in." That suggests putting everything on the table for a guy who will change your franchise by himself. (Or, something like that.)

Those days are gone for Zion. His upside is still enormous, but he has not only huge physical but behavioral risk. Is he who you want for a leader? How much drama will there be?How much Zion will there be (on the scale)? How much have his injuries sapped, and what is the outlook for the future? You overlook some stuff for prime players of Zion's talent level. But he's not the prospect he was a couple of years ago. We should try to price in the risk, gauge the upside, and make a sober offer based on what he could do for us, and what he won't. He isn't going to win a championship for us without a lot of help, even if it pans out, so it doesn't make sense to empty the pantry (and that's not a fat joke). I think that probably means no Matas at the salary Zion will be at, sorry. Which probably means no deal. But at a reasonable price, given how bad the Zion Experience has been recently, I think we are in a better place to take him on and hope for the best than many other teams. And we should be looking hard at talent on sale for whatever reason - like Giddey was.

Speaking of which - not for nothing, but Kuminga might be getting the same "I got benched" stink that Giddey had, depending on what happens next. Sniff, sniff...

Is Zion’s lack of leadership because of the organization he plays for or city he lives in? When he was at Duke I thought he was a great leader. I also think he will do well playing for a coach like Donovan. A change of scenery and a fresh start might do him some good. He does have respect for the Bulls as he has stated before with the history going back to the Jordan days. He’s also said that the United Center is one of his favorite places to play.

[_txchilibowl_]

AK is historically bad, but even he is not that stupid.

Are you sure? He did trade 2 FRPs for Nikola Vucevic and give Patrick Williams a 5 year $90m deal that's fully guaranteed.

Those would both pale in comparison to trading a potential franchise player for a guy who averages something like 35 games per year on his career.

And even if we consider the human factor to it, AK has to know that Giddey and Matas are his golden geese. It’s not too late for him to fool the NBA owners into thinking he would be a reasonable hire for his next gig if Giddey and Matas turn out to be studs.

If Giddey and Matas turn out to be studs AK won't have to fool anybody. He'd be coveted. Two young cornerstones for the cost of Alex Caruso and a late lottery pick will do that.

[burlydee]

Zion hasn’t had a major injury he has had to recover from (Ex: ACL, Achilles Tear) so I don’t think the previous injury history will dictate what it will be in the future. When he plays he is a Superstar and top 10 player in the league. It’s worth the gamble because the Bulls do not have a lot of assets to build on. If it doesn’t work then just tear it down and do a full rebuild.

He's played over 60 games twice in 6 years. He struggles with weight. He has chronic knee and lower body problems they simply do not disclose. I have no idea how you draw these conclusions.

What exactly do the Bulls have going for them? They are in purgatory hell. They have no draft capital to build off of and their best player is Coby White. Struggling with weight is a choice. Either he takes the steps to maintain his peek physical shape or he doesn’t. If he keeps his weight down then he probably isn’t dealing with the chronic injury history. He is an elite talent and is a star when he plays. If the Bulls actually had something to protect then yes maybe you don’t take this gamble. They really need to rebuild and if this doesn’t work out then it forces the Bulls to do so and stop taking half measures.

What they have going for them is not wasting time on a dude who only plays 30 games. If you think the franchise is set back now, wait until he plays 100 games in 3 years. We lived thru this with Rose. With Ball. I just don't understand trading productive NBA players 25 years and under for a hill of magic beans.

Zion has never been healthy enough to even make it to the playoffs. Magic beans.

[MrSparkle]

Zion’s has missed more than half his career and never made it to a playoff game. Pelicans aren’t going to give him away. AK doesn’t buy low. I don’t see it happening.

[Ccwatercraft]

Even at Zion’s lowered value it’s kinda hard to believe that would do it. But given our FO and obvious unwillingness to utilize patience the draft, this is the type of wild swing you take. Not the crap for guys like Vuc who are paper tigers.

If Zion is healthy and playing he’s elite. Might blow up spectacularly but it’s a move towards contention rather than merely not sucking.

3 years at 40+M when he might play less then 60 games is going to lower what they can get from him.

His contract is effectively fully non guaranteed, so the money doesn't matter if you ever just stop believing in him. I agree the injuries will lower what they can get, but the contract is so team friendly that I think it puts a floor on how low it will go. If he like tears an achilles this year or something and you know he is toast, you can just get out of the rest of the deal.

I would tend to think it would cost more than Coby, our pick and matching salary, but who knows. I'd guess the Pels are ready to move on, but the price will be set at the most desperate team and I'd guess someone is more desperate than Coby and a late lotto pick.

Sticking with the theme, who might be obtainable for coby and our pick? That seems like a pretty attractive offer, especially with his base salary making it easier to move numbers around.

[WindyCityBorn]

My problem is the phrase "all in." That suggests putting everything on the table for a guy who will change your franchise by himself. (Or, something like that.)

Those days are gone for Zion. His upside is still enormous, but he has not only huge physical but behavioral risk. Is he who you want for a leader? How much drama will there be?How much Zion will there be (on the scale)? How much have his injuries sapped, and what is the outlook for the future? You overlook some stuff for prime players of Zion's talent level. But he's not the prospect he was a couple of years ago. We should try to price in the risk, gauge the upside, and make a sober offer based on what he could do for us, and what he won't. He isn't going to win a championship for us without a lot of help, even if it pans out, so it doesn't make sense to empty the pantry (and that's not a fat joke). I think that probably means no Matas at the salary Zion will be at, sorry. Which probably means no deal. But at a reasonable price, given how bad the Zion Experience has been recently, I think we are in a better place to take him on and hope for the best than many other teams. And we should be looking hard at talent on sale for whatever reason - like Giddey was.

Speaking of which - not for nothing, but Kuminga might be getting the same "I got benched" stink that Giddey had, depending on what happens next. Sniff, sniff...

Is Zion’s lack of leadership because of the organization he plays for or city he lives in? When he was at Duke I thought he was a great leader. I also think he will do well playing for a coach like Donovan. A change of scenery and a fresh start might do him some good. He does have respect for the Bulls as he has stated before with the history going back to the Jordan days. He’s also said that the United Center is one of his favorite places to play.

He wasn’t even at Duke for a full year. I think the data on him in the NBA is far more relevant. He isn’t leading a team anywhere. Hard to do that when you miss over half the season on average.

I thought we were done looking for quick fix? There is a 90 percent chance this would blow up in our faces while New Orleans is getting our lottery picks. Vuc/Orlando 2.0.

[bullskokie]

I think NO may be interested with a bunch of expirings. We should do Huerter, Collins, Carter + FRP 2025 + POR pick for Zion Williamson.