Shams: Lonzo for Okoro

[Bulliever2020]

I hate this trade. Okoro sucks and fills no need for us. Pat will get less playing time and become more and more untradeable. Well done AKME.

[Chi town]

The particulars of this deal are mundane. What's exciting about this trade is that it looks like a precursor to a Pat trade.

No. One. Will take Pat.

[Chi town]

I hate this trade. Okoro sucks and fills no need for us. Pat will get less playing time and become more and more untradeable. Well done AKME.

Bingo.

Okoro is better than last years Pat though.

[burlydee]

Could this be considered a "stealth tank" trade to get worse for next year? Or would Lonzo being here and only playing 40 games be better for the tank?

I don't believe the Bulls do stealth tanks. They just are bad at talent evaluations. And AK simply doesn't value shooting. PWill better be gone in the next week. Only way this makes sense.

[Bulliever2020]

I hate this trade. Okoro sucks and fills no need for us. Pat will get less playing time and become more and more untradeable. Well done AKME.

Bingo.

Okoro is better than last years Pat though.

Definitely agreed. But that isn't saying much. They are pretty close on the spectrum of suck.

[Rose2Boozer]

Trash. I would've rather seen Lonzo Ball waived.

[pipfan]

I don't like the deal, but it is an upside swing

White/Ayo/JCarter
JGiddey/Okoro/Terry
PWill/Huerter/Phillips
Matas/Noa/JSmith
Vuc/Collins/JSmith

[kodo]

I have zero faith in Lonzo being able to play again as a rotation guy. He played 16 games last year at 24m+, which is what you need from a key bench player. In & out of the rotation randomly for 16 games all season is worse than having a consistent rotation.

AK should have traded Lonzo last deadline for the 1st rounder when Memphis was looking for short term help for a playoff push. Instead he kept Lonzo for his own "playoff push" and proved Lonzo isn't reliable to play in the postseason. So now Memphis has no interest, and they're in a different situation now.

This is identical to the Caruso timing. Caruso at one point was worth 2 first rounders, but AK kept him until he had only 1 year left before hitting FA and going anywhere he wants, so teams rightfully halved their offers once they saw they could only get 1 playoff out of him vs 2+.

Player value has to be prorated by how many games they're available to help win games esp. at the playoffs. If a fully healthy Lonzo's value is a 10, his true value is a 2.

[NecessaryEvil]

Read on Twitter

C Vucevic / Smith / Collins
F Buzelis / Williams / Essengue
F Huerter / Okoro / Phillips
G White / Dosunmu / Terry
G Giddey / Carter

Free agency starts monday. Looking forward to seeing what happens next.

Hopefully we re-sign Tre Jones and extend Kevin Huerter this summer.

[Chi town]

One could hope this is the precursor to Vuc and Pat for Beal.

Just get rid of Pat

[Red Larrivee]

Could this be considered a "stealth tank" trade to get worse for next year? Or would Lonzo being here and only playing 40 games be better for the tank?

Just seems like the Bulls are building a Misfit Island of lottery picks who haven't worked out for their prior team, and hoping a change of scenery changes their trajectory. It's kind of what Indiana did when they acquired Nesmith from Boston and traded for Smith from Phoenix.

They currently have three players picked in the Top 10 of the COVID Draft (Williams, Okoro, Smith) + Giddey who went 6th the following year.

Okoro seems really limited. He's improved as a perimeter shooter on more volume, but doesn't really offer much outside of that offensively. I would've looked for something else.

[wolffy]

Okoro is borderline unplayable on offense. But at least hes healthy I guess. Gotta suspect Jerry didn't like paying Lonzo to be injured. Because other than the injury, this trade makes ZERO sense.

[ShouldaPaidBG]

Could this be considered a "stealth tank" trade to get worse for next year? Or would Lonzo being here and only playing 40 games be better for the tank?

It's a tank so stealth that not even AKME is aware of it

[ChettheJet]

To that poster bringing up that Okoro was a #5 pick, Lonzo was a #2 pick and neither makes a shoots bit of difference to anybody after 5 years on the league

okoro makes $11m a year and is a youngish guy who provides solid wing depth and can be relied on in a way that you can't with lonzo. i don't love him as a player but this seems pretty unremarkable to me

Those are his positives which aren't all that much. But what I, and many, feel is he's not considered any kind of leader on the floor or in the locker room and his 2nd year is guaranteed unlike Lonzo. Then you start scratching your head as to what's the upside for the Bulls.

All I can think is the Bulls have a deal lined up and that team didn't want Lonzo but said Okoro would be acceptable. Or they have a second, maybe 3 way trade, with CLE where again Lonzo didn't fit for the 3rd team so to swing everything in motion the Bulls had to get Okoro.

[Wisedude]

NBA trade and free agency season just getting started. Wonder how many players through their Agents have told teams that they want to get traded. Probably, a ton.

[nomorezorro]

One could hope this is the precursor to Vuc and Pat for Beal.

this would be the final boss of AK's inability to extract draft picks from any trade

[othawhitemeat]

Could this be considered a "stealth tank" trade to get worse for next year? Or would Lonzo being here and only playing 40 games be better for the tank?

Just seems like the Bulls are building a Misfit Island of lottery picks who haven't worked out for their prior team, and hoping a change of scenery changes their trajectory. It's kind of what Indiana did when they acquired Nesmith from Boston and traded for Smith from Phoenix.

They currently have three players picked in the Top 10 of the COVID Draft (Williams, Okoro, Smith) + Giddey who went 6th the following year.

Only difference is that Nesmith showed something and Pacers are much smarting at this. AKME pains me w how bad they are.

[Red Larrivee]

Could this be considered a "stealth tank" trade to get worse for next year? Or would Lonzo being here and only playing 40 games be better for the tank?

Just seems like the Bulls are building a Misfit Island of lottery picks who haven't worked out for their prior team, and hoping a change of scenery changes their trajectory. It's kind of what Indiana did when they acquired Nesmith from Boston and traded for Smith from Phoenix.

They currently have three players picked in the Top 10 of the COVID Draft (Williams, Okoro, Smith) + Giddey who went 6th the following year.

Only difference is that Nesmith showed something and Pacers are much smarting at this. AKME pains me w how bad they are.

Nesmith was awful in Boston. He shot 27% from 3 the year before he was traded. Indiana did a 180 with his career.

[Jcool0]

Could this be considered a "stealth tank" trade to get worse for next year? Or would Lonzo being here and only playing 40 games be better for the tank?

Just seems like the Bulls are building a Misfit Island of lottery picks who haven't worked out for their prior team, and hoping a change of scenery changes their trajectory. It's kind of what Indiana did when they acquired Nesmith from Boston and traded for Smith from Phoenix.

They currently have three players picked in the Top 10 of the COVID Draft (Williams, Okoro, Smith) + Giddey who went 6th the following year.

Only difference is that Nesmith showed something and Pacers are much smarting at this. AKME pains me w how bad they are.

Lol Nesmith played in 52 games his last year in Boston. Averaged 3.8 points on 39% shooting.

[FriedRise]

lol AK really doesn’t understand how to sell high, does he?