Bulls Draft Lachlan Olibrich

[GimmeDat]

^Non-US players still get NIL.. perhaps not as officially as others, but they do. There's a reason all this European talent is suddenly coming over to play NCAA. He came back at a really inconvenient time just before NIL blew up - something I'm sure he would've done differently in hindsight.

Apparently Givony said on the coverage he was going to be a 2-way. But from listening to videos from KC etc. they mentioned he could be a stash due to lack of roster spots? Has anyone seen anything definitive on this?

Also, I know I touched on what he does well in my post on page 1, but don't get it wrong - very unlikely to stick at the NBA level. He fits from a Bulls play-style perspective, and he would also make sense if they need to stash someone (his NBL would really love him back right now).

[Muzbar]

^Non-US players still get NIL.. perhaps not as officially as others, but they do. There's a reason all this European talent is suddenly coming over to play NCAA. He came back at a really inconvenient time just before NIL blew up - something I'm sure he would've done differently in hindsight.

Apparently Givony said on the coverage he was going to be a 2-way. But from listening to videos from KC etc. they mentioned he could be a stash due to lack of roster spots? Has anyone seen anything definitive on this?

Also, I know I touched on what he does well in my post on page 1, but don't get it wrong - very unlikely to stick at the NBA level. He fits from a Bulls play-style perspective, and he would also make sense if they need to stash someone (his NBL would really love him back right now).

Signing as a 2-way doesn't use up a roster spot though, so both options are fine roster wise.

Either way, I'm bleh about the pick, he's just an after thought to me.

[ThisGuyFawkes]

^Non-US players still get NIL.. perhaps not as officially as others, but they do. There's a reason all this European talent is suddenly coming over to play NCAA. He came back at a really inconvenient time just before NIL blew up - something I'm sure he would've done differently in hindsight.

Apparently Givony said on the coverage he was going to be a 2-way. But from listening to videos from KC etc. they mentioned he could be a stash due to lack of roster spots? Has anyone seen anything definitive on this?

Also, I know I touched on what he does well in my post on page 1, but don't get it wrong - very unlikely to stick at the NBA level. He fits from a Bulls play-style perspective, and he would also make sense if they need to stash someone (his NBL would really love him back right now).

I have no idea how true this is, but I heard that he went to UC Riverside, and then his dad passed away in 2023 so he went back to Australia.

Once again, just something I read on the internet so take that with a gigantic grain of salt.

[Dresden]

^Non-US players still get NIL.. perhaps not as officially as others, but they do. There's a reason all this European talent is suddenly coming over to play NCAA. He came back at a really inconvenient time just before NIL blew up - something I'm sure he would've done differently in hindsight.

Apparently Givony said on the coverage he was going to be a 2-way. But from listening to videos from KC etc. they mentioned he could be a stash due to lack of roster spots? Has anyone seen anything definitive on this?

Also, I know I touched on what he does well in my post on page 1, but don't get it wrong - very unlikely to stick at the NBA level. He fits from a Bulls play-style perspective, and he would also make sense if they need to stash someone (his NBL would really love him back right now).

I have no idea how true this is, but I heard that he went to UC Riverside, and then his dad passed away in 2023 so he went back to Australia.

Once again, just something I read on the internet so take that with a gigantic grain of salt.

I heard that in a scouting report on him as well- and he was "Big West" conference freshman of the year. Not sure who is in the big west, but it obviously is not top tier competition.

[GimmeDat]

^Non-US players still get NIL.. perhaps not as officially as others, but they do. There's a reason all this European talent is suddenly coming over to play NCAA. He came back at a really inconvenient time just before NIL blew up - something I'm sure he would've done differently in hindsight.

Apparently Givony said on the coverage he was going to be a 2-way. But from listening to videos from KC etc. they mentioned he could be a stash due to lack of roster spots? Has anyone seen anything definitive on this?

Also, I know I touched on what he does well in my post on page 1, but don't get it wrong - very unlikely to stick at the NBA level. He fits from a Bulls play-style perspective, and he would also make sense if they need to stash someone (his NBL would really love him back right now).

I have no idea how true this is, but I heard that he went to UC Riverside, and then his dad passed away in 2023 so he went back to Australia.

Once again, just something I read on the internet so take that with a gigantic grain of salt.

That is true, and was one of the factors, for sure.

[GimmeDat]

^Non-US players still get NIL.. perhaps not as officially as others, but they do. There's a reason all this European talent is suddenly coming over to play NCAA. He came back at a really inconvenient time just before NIL blew up - something I'm sure he would've done differently in hindsight.

Apparently Givony said on the coverage he was going to be a 2-way. But from listening to videos from KC etc. they mentioned he could be a stash due to lack of roster spots? Has anyone seen anything definitive on this?

Also, I know I touched on what he does well in my post on page 1, but don't get it wrong - very unlikely to stick at the NBA level. He fits from a Bulls play-style perspective, and he would also make sense if they need to stash someone (his NBL would really love him back right now).

I have no idea how true this is, but I heard that he went to UC Riverside, and then his dad passed away in 2023 so he went back to Australia.

Once again, just something I read on the internet so take that with a gigantic grain of salt.

I heard that in a scouting report on him as well- and he was "Big West" conference freshman of the year. Not sure who is in the big west, but it obviously is not top tier competition.

One of the weaker D1 divisions. But also being the best player in a conference as a freshman is a feat. We obviously got to see him in a pro setting after, which is a much stronger level, but also would've been fascinating to have seen him transfer to a HM and how that would've gone.

[ThisGuyFawkes]

^Non-US players still get NIL.. perhaps not as officially as others, but they do. There's a reason all this European talent is suddenly coming over to play NCAA. He came back at a really inconvenient time just before NIL blew up - something I'm sure he would've done differently in hindsight.

Apparently Givony said on the coverage he was going to be a 2-way. But from listening to videos from KC etc. they mentioned he could be a stash due to lack of roster spots? Has anyone seen anything definitive on this?

Also, I know I touched on what he does well in my post on page 1, but don't get it wrong - very unlikely to stick at the NBA level. He fits from a Bulls play-style perspective, and he would also make sense if they need to stash someone (his NBL would really love him back right now).

I have no idea how true this is, but I heard that he went to UC Riverside, and then his dad passed away in 2023 so he went back to Australia.

Once again, just something I read on the internet so take that with a gigantic grain of salt.

That is true, and was one of the factors, for sure.

Thanks for clarifying. I can appreciate that decision. Also, I appreciate your insight into this young man. I was fairly negative on him, but the more I watch, the more I'm slightly intrigued. Very slightly though. I found out that he didn't play for the Hungry Jacks, which was a huge negative for me.

I'm also still not sure if the Hungry Jacks are a team or just a corporate logo. They seem to be mid-court in every highlight so it's left me very confused.

[Indomitable]

^Non-US players still get NIL.. perhaps not as officially as others, but they do. There's a reason all this European talent is suddenly coming over to play NCAA. He came back at a really inconvenient time just before NIL blew up - something I'm sure he would've done differently in hindsight.

Apparently Givony said on the coverage he was going to be a 2-way. But from listening to videos from KC etc. they mentioned he could be a stash due to lack of roster spots? Has anyone seen anything definitive on this?

Also, I know I touched on what he does well in my post on page 1, but don't get it wrong - very unlikely to stick at the NBA level. He fits from a Bulls play-style perspective, and he would also make sense if they need to stash someone (his NBL would really love him back right now).

Zach Eiddey said he could not get NIL. That was something he resented.
https://abcnews.go.com/Sports/purdues-zach-edey-missing-profits-due-us-nil/story?id=108907477

[Indomitable]

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25216437-2025-nba-draft-scouting-report-chicago-bulls-no-55-pick-lachlan-olbrich

This sounds interesting.

[Evil_Headband]

I don’t get the Zikarsky love here other than his height. He was pretty bad last year. No way would I waste a regular roster slot on him. Even if he really improves, it will take several years to be valuable.

Tim Connelly said that when he put the Timberwolves pick on the block, there was a ridiculous amount of teams who had interest and already had deals agreed to with the players they wanted to draft.

With the extra day in between the 1st and 2nd round, I think the reality of the 2nd Round today is that it's basically free agency. Agents now have time to shop their client around to teams and find a deal and situation that works best for them. That's why there's so much trade movement now in that round.

I still think trading down for just cash was ridiculous. At bare minimum, you could trade into next year's 2nd round. But, the Bulls simply don't have the roster space players at 45 still probably wanted.

This is all very interesting.

About the bolded part, I was researching (AKA asking ChatGPT -- yes, I know that can be dangerous) how often trades for future seconds have happened for picks 45 or below. Apparently the only time that happened in the last five years was for pick 48 in 2022. I'm not confident that a trade like that would have been available this year.

The way I think this may have gone down is the Bulls had no interest in signing anyone at 45 (or 55!) to a guaranteed, regular contract. They likely knew they had this two-way deal lined up with Olbrich. They also likely knew Olbrich wasn't going to be drafted by anyone else. They could have drafted him at 45 or even sold the pick outright and done the same deal with him as an undrafted free agent. However, the Laker option ended in the same result but with picking up cash for basically no downside.

[Michael Jackson]

I don’t get the Zikarsky love here other than his height. He was pretty bad last year. No way would I waste a regular roster slot on him. Even if he really improves, it will take several years to be valuable.

Tim Connelly said that when he put the Timberwolves pick on the block, there was a ridiculous amount of teams who had interest and already had deals agreed to with the players they wanted to draft.

With the extra day in between the 1st and 2nd round, I think the reality of the 2nd Round today is that it's basically free agency. Agents now have time to shop their client around to teams and find a deal and situation that works best for them. That's why there's so much trade movement now in that round.

I still think trading down for just cash was ridiculous. At bare minimum, you could trade into next year's 2nd round. But, the Bulls simply don't have the roster space players at 45 still probably wanted.

This is all very interesting.

About the bolded part, I was researching (AKA asking ChatGPT -- yes, I know that can be dangerous) how often trades for future seconds have happened for picks 45 or below. Apparently the only time that happened in the last five years was for pick 48 in 2022. I'm not confident that a trade like that would have been available this year.

The way I think this may have gone down is the Bulls had no interest in signing anyone at 45 (or 55!) to a guaranteed, regular contract. They likely knew they had this two-way deal lined up with Olbrich. They also likely knew Olbrich wasn't going to be drafted by anyone else. They could have drafted him at 45 or even sold the pick outright and done the same deal with him as an undrafted free agent. However, the Laker option ended in the same result but with picking up cash for basically no downside.

I can see that. A future draft pick, be it first round or second has more value as a hypothetical than a current one does, as you have to use that current one. Future ones have no placement yet either and can be used as sweetener. 2nd rounders are not as tradable for future picks as late rounders are in the nfl because you can’t do the decreased value of it being a 3rd rounder etc…

[dougthonus]

Since the new NIL rules came into play, the odds of getting an NBA caliber player at #45+ is just strikes me as incredibly low.

Super unlikely this guy is an NBA player, super unlikely any other guy we could have drafted was an NBA player, super unlikely if we stayed a #45 that we'd get an NBA player.

[GimmeDat]

I have no idea how true this is, but I heard that he went to UC Riverside, and then his dad passed away in 2023 so he went back to Australia.

Once again, just something I read on the internet so take that with a gigantic grain of salt.

That is true, and was one of the factors, for sure.

Thanks for clarifying. I can appreciate that decision. Also, I appreciate your insight into this young man. I was fairly negative on him, but the more I watch, the more I'm slightly intrigued. Very slightly though. I found out that he didn't play for the Hungry Jacks, which was a huge negative for me.

I'm also still not sure if the Hungry Jacks are a team or just a corporate logo. They seem to be mid-court in every highlight so it's left me very confused.

Hungry Jacks is Burger King in Australia. BK was already trademarked here so they changed the name here. Hungry Jacks is the primary sponsor of the NBL.. it's on every centre court!

[t-time]

Longley, Anstey, Schensher, Bairstow, Giddey and now possibly Olibrich. The Bulls certainly love their Aussies!

[Stratmaster]

I don't think it's worth fretting over a mid or late 2nd round pick. It's obviously a joke that we needed to trade the pick for cash considerations for our cheap **** owner however.

You don't sell stuff for cash that you don't want or have room for?

[ThisGuyFawkes]

I don't think it's worth fretting over a mid or late 2nd round pick. It's obviously a joke that we needed to trade the pick for cash considerations for our cheap **** owner however.

You don't sell stuff for cash that you don't want or have room for?

I think the issue is that we could have traded it for a future 2nd rounder or maybe two. We have a lot of expirings next season so could have room for some extra rookies.

Basically, if you don't want or have room for the pick, you can make a better trade for the future of your franchise. As opposed to getting cash for Jerry Reinsdorf.

[waffle]

I will be rooting for him! Unless he cuts the stache...then I say cut him post haste

[Andi Obst]

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25216437-2025-nba-draft-scouting-report-chicago-bulls-no-55-pick-lachlan-olbrich

This sounds interesting.

Sabonis is a REALISTIC pro comparison?

Sure.

[Dez]

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25216437-2025-nba-draft-scouting-report-chicago-bulls-no-55-pick-lachlan-olbrich

This sounds interesting.

Sabonis is a REALISTIC pro comparison?

Sure.

You know comparison is just used in reference to skill-set right?

[nekorajo]

I'm really surprised about the negativity about this guy. I originally wanted the 7'4 Australian, but after watching Lachlan's highlights, I'm not mad. Decent size. I love his touch around the basket. If he's a dog, he's gonna win a lot of hearts in Chicago.