Around The NBA : 2025-26

[kodo]

I get it. There’s a difference between a Coby and Fox. You can’t rely on Coby for 82 games. He will play like a replacement player half the time. Whereas Fox, you have to scheme and keep a plan around him, cause he will get his spots every night.

That doesn’t mean he can beat the best teams or come close prime/MVP Shai, Curry, Paul, but there’s a threshold he passed where you get all-star production every single night on a playoff contender.

Zach too, albeit all you’re getting from him are those stats. Fox is less efficient scoring, but his knack for steals and playmaking makes him much more valuable. Ultimately, Zach always needed a defensive playmaker like Lonzo to play his best.

Coby’s issue is consistency. His end of the year PER always tells the story. He might have his all-star nights, but 15.5 PER for a high volume scoring guard is pretty damn mediocre. Especially considering his 8 week stretch as the #1 option.

Not sure that Fox is more steady than White. Just to set an arbitrary benchmark I'll take shooting 30% or below as a terrible game.
Fox had 9 out of 62 games that bad, 14.5%.
White has 9 out of 74 games that bad, 12.1%.

I think I'm a lot more anti-Fox than the general NBA watcher though, I personally think he's vastly overrated. Kings barely suffered when they traded him, from 50% win rate to 44%. Very marginal. He's certainly not a bad player but I think he's closer to Lavine than a top PG like Luka or Steph.

[sco]

I get it. There’s a difference between a Coby and Fox. You can’t rely on Coby for 82 games. He will play like a replacement player half the time. Whereas Fox, you have to scheme and keep a plan around him, cause he will get his spots every night.

That doesn’t mean he can beat the best teams or come close prime/MVP Shai, Curry, Paul, but there’s a threshold he passed where you get all-star production every single night on a playoff contender.

Zach too, albeit all you’re getting from him are those stats. Fox is less efficient scoring, but his knack for steals and playmaking makes him much more valuable. Ultimately, Zach always needed a defensive playmaker like Lonzo to play his best.

Coby’s issue is consistency. His end of the year PER always tells the story. He might have his all-star nights, but 15.5 PER for a high volume scoring guard is pretty damn mediocre. Especially considering his 8 week stretch as the #1 option.

Not sure that Fox is more steady than White. Just to set an arbitrary benchmark I'll take shooting 30% or below as a terrible game.
Fox had 9 out of 62 games that bad, 14.5%.
White has 9 out of 74 games that bad, 12.1%.

I think I'm a lot more anti-Fox than the general NBA watcher though, I personally think he's vastly overrated. Kings barely suffered when they traded him, from 50% win rate to 44%. Very marginal. He's certainly not a bad player but I think he's closer to Lavine than a top PG like Luka or Steph.

I tend to agree that Fox isn't among the elite PG's; however the 2 questions that are out there:

1) Was this a big overpay by SA? IMO, this is debatable — It's clear that SA wanted to improve the supporting cast around Wemby and were also looking for a vet scoring PG. It is hard to argue that there were many better fits out there for that need. It is easy to convince yourself that part of Fox's issues stemmed from SAC, both the team fit and his wanting to leave. In hindsight, the drafting of Harper may make the relationship with Fox a short-term one, and SA may have a hard time unloading him, but this is SA, so luck seems to favor them.

2) Comparing Coby to Fox — this is tricky too. IMO Coby isn't a good PG, and never has been. His improvement IMO seems tied to taking the lead distributor responsibilities away from him and letting him just focus on scoring. Even though his handle improved a lot, and he's not a ball hog, he's really not a PG. That said, I do have a lot of faith in Coby's upward trajectory due to his hard work, which has been on display since he arrived. He's starting from a lower starting point than Fox, but I think Coby can become even better where I'm not confident that Fox will ever get back to his peak. That said, playing next to Wemby is perhaps the easiest job in the NBA for a PG.

[Repeat 3-peat]

Jokic lol

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[sco]

Jokic lol

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I feel like that skill leads to later in career continued scoring success.

[Dan Z]

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[Taikuri]

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[Dan Z]

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I know most Bulls fans disagree, but if the cost was right I'd welcome him back on the team. I think he'd play well with Giddey, Coby and Matas.

[kodo]

Jokic lol

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I feel like that skill leads to later in career continued scoring success.

I knew Giannis relied heavily on the whistle, but wow is he terrible in the paint. He's so bad they couldn't even fit him in the chart.

[Taikuri]

Markkanen had efficiency rating of 53 in that Belgium game. Finland will play Belgium again on monday and then quite soon after Poland twice. After that there will be no more preparation games before the Eurobasket tournament, where Finland will be one of the four host countries.

[DuckIII]

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I know most Bulls fans disagree, but if the cost was right I'd welcome him back on the team. I think he'd play well with Giddey, Coby and Matas.

Like it or not, we have to be much more particular defensively than that at 3-5. It projects to be covered long term by Matas and Noa in that regard and ideally we want a similar model 5.

[Dan Z]

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I know most Bulls fans disagree, but if the cost was right I'd welcome him back on the team. I think he'd play well with Giddey, Coby and Matas.

Like it or not, we have to be much more particular defensively than that at 3-5. It projects to be covered long term by Matas and Noa in that regard and ideally we want a similar model 5.

The team is limited in what they can do and since AK won't tank for a top 5 pick (in any year) then i think the Bulls should try to get better any way they can. The current team, plus Markkanen, is better than the current team without him, but like I said it depends on the cost. If Ainge wants a bunch of picks then no way.

[WesPeace]

I know most Bulls fans disagree, but if the cost was right I'd welcome him back on the team. I think he'd play well with Giddey, Coby and Matas.

Like it or not, we have to be much more particular defensively than that at 3-5. It projects to be covered long term by Matas and Noa in that regard and ideally we want a similar model 5.

The team is limited in what they can do and since AK won't tank for a top 5 pick (in any year) then i think the Bulls should try to get better any way they can. The current team, plus Markkanen, is better than the current team without him, but like I said it depends on the cost. If Ainge wants a bunch of picks then no way.

It would be hard to match salaries for Lauri trade, unless they want to take Vooch (no logic for it tho) as well.

[Dan Z]

Like it or not, we have to be much more particular defensively than that at 3-5. It projects to be covered long term by Matas and Noa in that regard and ideally we want a similar model 5.

The team is limited in what they can do and since AK won't tank for a top 5 pick (in any year) then i think the Bulls should try to get better any way they can. The current team, plus Markkanen, is better than the current team without him, but like I said it depends on the cost. If Ainge wants a bunch of picks then no way.

It would be hard to match salaries for Lauri trade, unless they want to take Vooch (no logic for it tho) as well.

Maybe he can be flipped for a 2nd and expiring contract?

I'm not sure how it would work and I'd only do it depending on the cost. Right now it seems like Markkanen's value isn't as high as it once was, so maybe AK could work out something decent for him.

Then again maybe Ainge has no interest in trading him or would ask for too much.

[sco]

The team is limited in what they can do and since AK won't tank for a top 5 pick (in any year) then i think the Bulls should try to get better any way they can. The current team, plus Markkanen, is better than the current team without him, but like I said it depends on the cost. If Ainge wants a bunch of picks then no way.

It would be hard to match salaries for Lauri trade, unless they want to take Vooch (no logic for it tho) as well.

Maybe he can be flipped for a 2nd and expiring contract?

I'm not sure how it would work and I'd only do it depending on the cost. Right now it seems like Markkanen's value isn't as high as it once was, so maybe AK could work out something decent for him.

Then again maybe Ainge has no interest in trading him or would ask for too much.

To be sure Ainge will be looking for 2-3 1sts in return for Lauri.

Lauri is a good player (although I don't think any more of him playing in Euro tourney's against g-league level talent in general), but he's a Zach-level #2 option guy who isn't a good defender, which is a bad fit with this roster. I look at him as a more expensive, better 3pt shooting version of Kuminga, which to be sure is better than Kuminga.

We need a #1 option guy, and we need to be stingy with our trade assets to save up for the right sort of guy.

[DuckIII]

I know most Bulls fans disagree, but if the cost was right I'd welcome him back on the team. I think he'd play well with Giddey, Coby and Matas.

Like it or not, we have to be much more particular defensively than that at 3-5. It projects to be covered long term by Matas and Noa in that regard and ideally we want a similar model 5.

The team is limited in what they can do and since AK won't tank for a top 5 pick (in any year) then i think the Bulls should try to get better any way they can. The current team, plus Markkanen, is better than the current team without him, but like I said it depends on the cost. If Ainge wants a bunch of picks then no way.

No. No more throwing crap at the wall and hoping some chemistry develops. Get players who make sense and build a logical, cohesive roster that balances strengths and weaknesses.

From now on its player types for me, barring a true franchise player becoming available. Zero interest in Lauri anymore with where this roster looks to be headed.

[HomoSapien]

Like it or not, we have to be much more particular defensively than that at 3-5. It projects to be covered long term by Matas and Noa in that regard and ideally we want a similar model 5.

The team is limited in what they can do and since AK won't tank for a top 5 pick (in any year) then i think the Bulls should try to get better any way they can. The current team, plus Markkanen, is better than the current team without him, but like I said it depends on the cost. If Ainge wants a bunch of picks then no way.

No. No more throwing crap at the wall and hoping some chemistry develops. Get players who make sense and build a logical, cohesive roster that balances strengths and weaknesses.

From now on its player types for me, barring a true franchise player becoming available. Zero interest in Lauri anymore with where this roster looks to be headed.

Agreed. I think it's critical to have a big defensive presence up front, especially if Giddey and White could end up being our long-term backcourt. More than Lauri, I think Walker Kessler would make a great deal of sense here and is a big enough of an impact player that we would be a pretty solid playoff team next season in a weak east.

[Dan Z]

Like it or not, we have to be much more particular defensively than that at 3-5. It projects to be covered long term by Matas and Noa in that regard and ideally we want a similar model 5.

The team is limited in what they can do and since AK won't tank for a top 5 pick (in any year) then i think the Bulls should try to get better any way they can. The current team, plus Markkanen, is better than the current team without him, but like I said it depends on the cost. If Ainge wants a bunch of picks then no way.

No. No more throwing crap at the wall and hoping some chemistry develops. Get players who make sense and build a logical, cohesive roster that balances strengths and weaknesses.

From now on its player types for me, barring a true franchise player becoming available. Zero interest in Lauri anymore with where this roster looks to be headed.

I'm not sure how much the Bulls can be picky and only pick specific player types. The Bulls aren't a destination that players ask to go to and they don't have a lot of assets to work with.

But I get it and your points are fair. I just don't know how much that will really matter if the team never finds it's franchise player.

[Dan Z]

The team is limited in what they can do and since AK won't tank for a top 5 pick (in any year) then i think the Bulls should try to get better any way they can. The current team, plus Markkanen, is better than the current team without him, but like I said it depends on the cost. If Ainge wants a bunch of picks then no way.

No. No more throwing crap at the wall and hoping some chemistry develops. Get players who make sense and build a logical, cohesive roster that balances strengths and weaknesses.

From now on its player types for me, barring a true franchise player becoming available. Zero interest in Lauri anymore with where this roster looks to be headed.

Agreed. I think it's critical to have a big defensive presence up front, especially if Giddey and White could end up being our long-term backcourt. More than Lauri, I think Walker Kessler would make a great deal of sense here and is a big enough of an impact player that we would be a pretty solid playoff team next season in a weak east.

I'm not sure about the Bulls being a solid playoff team next year with Kessler, but going after him makes sense depending on the cost. What would you be willing to trade for him?

[Dan Z]

It would be hard to match salaries for Lauri trade, unless they want to take Vooch (no logic for it tho) as well.

Maybe he can be flipped for a 2nd and expiring contract?

I'm not sure how it would work and I'd only do it depending on the cost. Right now it seems like Markkanen's value isn't as high as it once was, so maybe AK could work out something decent for him.

Then again maybe Ainge has no interest in trading him or would ask for too much.

To be sure Ainge will be looking for 2-3 1sts in return for Lauri.

Lauri is a good player (although I don't think any more of him playing in Euro tourney's against g-league level talent in general), but he's a Zach-level #2 option guy who isn't a good defender, which is a bad fit with this roster. I look at him as a more expensive, better 3pt shooting version of Kuminga, which to be sure is better than Kuminga.

We need a #1 option guy, and we need to be stingy with our trade assets to save up for the right sort of guy.

I agree that the team needs to find it's franchise player, but how are they going to do that? Another #12 pick in the draft?

AK could offer next years pick plus the Portland pick, but I wouldn't offer any assets beyond that. If Ainge wants more then so be it. Also, this isn't a trade that I think will actually happen. I just think that Markkanen's value might be a little low right now and if the cost was right I'd be okay with AK asking about him.

[kodo]

The logic of paying a 22 year old who carried the team to 17-10 a max of $20M and not being afraid to lose him over that, while paying a 27 year old who led his team to 9-38 at $49.5M doesn't math out very well.