Dez wrote:Infinity2152 wrote:Dez wrote:If we're taking Paul George then #3 is coming with him.
Even if it is, that' still a huge risk, imo. The rookie you draft almost HAS to be a franchise player for it to work. We're talking about giving up assets to pay PG13 and a rookie over $60 mill/yr the next three years. By the time Georges contract is up, the rookie's almost at free agency. Over those three years you could have added a star level player and another with $60 mill, and you're getting $50-70 mill worth of value back. Counting Georges value at zero, he played 41 games last season with a PER under 15. he's replacement level and getting older. Your rookie needs to be worth $50+ mill immediately, versus signing or trading for guaranteed high level talent with that money.
Even if the rookie is star level, you could easily get that with $50-$60 mill. He has to be superstar level.
It's not a risk, the Bulls aren't attracting anyone with cap space. What PG makes is irrelevant, the goal is to maximise our chances at drafting a future star.
What PG makes is not irrelevant, any more than Lonzo Ball's $20 mill contract was irrelevant or Zach Lavine's contract was irrelevant or Pat Will's contract is irrelevant. Again, I said give up assets to pay them. You could use those same assets and go after a $50-60 mill player that actually plays right now if you wanted. What assets do you have going to get PG13 and pick #3? Probably take at least Vucevic, Huerter and one of Ball, Ayo, or Coby to match the money and start the conversation. They probably want pick #12.
Bulls don't have to attract anyone with cap space. It's opportunity cost. You want to give up all that to get pick 3, which may or may not be great, and take back 55 mill dead money for three years. With those same trade pieces (plus $10 mill for pick 3), what's the best player(s) we could get in trade? Zion? De Aaron Fox? He's expiring, they draft Harper, they may not want to pay Fox. Trae Young has a player option for 2026, and Capela's a free agent, may be a move there. Probably be easy to trade for Porzingas and Holiday, we might even get a pick back instead of sending a pick. Team would be hella good with healthy Ball, Jrue and/or Porzingas right now, maybe top 3 in the East. That's not even including our rookie we get at 12. Talked about getting Lively with one of those pieces, alone he might be better than whoever's at pick 3. Maybe Lauri at $46 mill. Brandon Ingram.
I'm just saying star names. With a package of Vuc, Huerter, Ball and pick #12, we could probably get any number of stars very likely to be better than pick 3.
We talked about getting picks and players with the same pieces you're sending for pick 3 and that dead money. It's not just cap space vs pick three, it's everything we could get with those trade pieces and that amount of cap vs pick three and totally broken salary cap after Giddey and Matas get paid. Like I said, it only works if pick 3 is a superstar. I didn't say it couldn't work. But you can get a star with that package, and not have a dead player on your books. I'm sure these aren't star names you like, you believe heartily whoever is picked at 3 is likely to be better than Brandon Ingram. Who do you think has the better odds?