Just for fun: What do you do to go all in on this team?

[kodo]

Looks like we'll get POR's pick this year for use in any big trade.
4-2 and they've already beaten the Warriors, Lakers, and Denver.

[Bulliever2020]

Ja Morant is a name worth talking about. A few years ago I would have given up a war chest for him. His stock is at the lowest it has probably been and he will likely ask for a trade soon. I would hate to do anything that could mess up Giddey's momentum but Morant is the type of name this thread was created to discuss.

Ja is quickly becoming toxic. I want him nowhere near this team. And I don't think he fits with Giddey at all.

[ScrantonBulls]

Looks like we'll get POR's pick this year for use in any big trade.
4-2 and they've already beaten the Warriors, Lakers, and Denver.

Man, i totally forgot about that pick. I basically assumed we'd never get it at this point. That's a solid trade piece going forward. I can't imagine it being much worse than #20.

I like the idea of trying to get Lively or Gafford personally. They would look good with Giddey throwing lobs.

[Brothaman33]

Ja Morant is a name worth talking about. A few years ago I would have given up a war chest for him. His stock is at the lowest it has probably been and he will likely ask for a trade soon. I would hate to do anything that could mess up Giddey's momentum but Morant is the type of name this thread was created to discuss.

Ja is quickly becoming toxic. I want him nowhere near this team. And I don't think he fits with Giddey at all.

All the evidence points to Ja being a team cancer. Do not want. He's a classic case of going to an East or West coast team with a huge city and lots of money where they will try to straighten him out. Might work, might not. But i don't want to take the chance.

JJJ is the one who you would want, and if they do trade him (highly skeptical they will) it'll be a kings ransom, as it should.

But a defensive big, who can shoot and block shots. He checks every mark...but the asking price would probably too much for us.

[Red Larrivee]

Ja Morant is a name worth talking about. A few years ago I would have given up a war chest for him. His stock is at the lowest it has probably been and he will likely ask for a trade soon. I would hate to do anything that could mess up Giddey's momentum but Morant is the type of name this thread was created to discuss.

Ja Morant, Trae Young and Domantas Sabonis: All-star players, but do not fit this team. We shouldn't disrupt the fit and style of this team for anything less than a superstar.

[NecessaryEvil]

What do you do to go all in? Trick question. We're already all in.

True dat. The Bulls are on an 82 win pace. Hard to upgrade at this point. That's without Coby and Collins.

In general the target everyone would want to replace is Vucevic but over the first 5 games he is playing like one of the best centers in the NBA. At this point, any trade is going to be a downgrade.

He played like an all star at the first half of least season also.

It’s still time to move on.

[GoBlue72391]

Obviously just depends on who is available. Your Adebayo trade might be the best all-in move that feels reasonable in terms of Adebayo being the type of guy who would help a lot, the price being about right, and him being available. Your Lauri trade is also reasonable, but Lauri helping us, but I'd certainly do it in an all-in move if I couldn't find something better.

Zion feels like a guy who simply won't be available if he is healthy to me, or the price will exceed the risk. At the point you get over the hump to say yes, NOP probably refuses to trade him. Would say no to Ingram/Sabonis, just not good fits IMO and wouldn't actually make us any better.

Should Giannis become available, that's obviously an option, but odds are we couldn't bid high enough even if we wanted to, and it would only make sense if he agreed to an extension as part of the deal, so he'd also have to pick us over his other options.

Is there a world where the Suns are like F it, and trade Devin Booker? That might be intriguing.

This thread actually comes from a post where Seccci suggested that. Can't find the post right now but I should give him credit.

As I was writing down Sabonis my first thought was "don't do another Vuc trade". If the Bulls are going to go "all in" it should be for a guy who is a legit needle mover and not just the only guy who is available in trade. Personally I would rather see the team sit pat and see what it can do in free agency or something before giving up future firsts for a guy like him.

Isn't your Bam proposal just a worse version of the Vuc trade?

Lauri plays the same position as Buzelis. You really want to trade the farm to get him back? He doesn't effect winning.

Lauri plays SF for Utah and he has for years. He can play SF and PF equally and spot minutes at C.

There's reasons to argue against trading for Lauri, but positions isn't one of them. And neither is his defense for that matter.

[GoBlue72391]

Ja Morant is a name worth talking about. A few years ago I would have given up a war chest for him. His stock is at the lowest it has probably been and he will likely ask for a trade soon. I would hate to do anything that could mess up Giddey's momentum but Morant is the type of name this thread was created to discuss.

Ja is quickly becoming toxic. I want him nowhere near this team. And I don't think he fits with Giddey at all.

I'd be willing to take a risk on a toxic player, but I agree he fits terribly with Giddey.

Any ball dominant player is a no-go.

[TheGOATRises007]

I'd take a risk on a toxic player if they were a superstar/top 5 player(or on the cusp of it).

Ja Morant is not that guy and he might be out of the league pretty soon.

[NecessaryEvil]

Do we have the assets to acquire Giannis? Freak/Matas/Coby/Josh could win rings.

Noa Essengue/3 1st round picks/Portland pick/Dalen Terry/Nikola Vucevic & Zach Collins expiring contracts for Giannis

C Smith / Giannis
F Giannis / Buzelis / Williams
F Buzelis / Huerter / Williams / Phillips
G White / Dosunmu / Phillips
G Giddey / Jones


I suppose JJJ could be available soon. JJJ/Jalen/Noa/Matas would be serious

[WesPeace]

Man, if we can keep this core on team friendly deals going forward, that would be pretty good.

White up to 25M per
Ayo between 14-16M per
Huerter 12-14M per
Maybe even Vucevic on 10-12M one year deal

No offense, but this is Dreamland. U can add 5+mil/year on top of those numbers and still probably not get them to sign. Those numbers could have worked before season started, just like how bulls got Giddey to sign for 25. If they didn't, than it would skyrocket over 35.

That's why I suggest this is difficult, but need to identify who u want to keep and trade rest with some 1st for upgrade, even if that upgrade is at 45/50mil a season.

I personally would keep those that also play defense, so Huerter, ayo, Tre resign and keep, rest wheel and deal for upgrades.
This miracle power of friendship, sum of parts greater than individual pieces works exactly until the point u have to pay them market rate.

( Im old enough to have watched and loved noc, Hinrich, Gordon and Deng right until the second contract, at which point they become not good enough and overpaid)
Hometown discount work BEFORE guys get good, not once it is established

I would try to get Zion or booker or JJ and than with rest of cap space or assets work around their weaknesses- so athletic defensive center. Or just go for broke and offer every pick and swap next 4 years+ contracts to match Giannis

Even if they pay White 30M, Ayo maybe 18M same as PWill or 20M, Huerter 17M and Vooch 1yr for 15M (if we cant find defensive younger center for market price) that shouldnt be an issue for Bulls as they will be under the cap.. I was moderate with numbers with comparison what we payed Giddey.

We already re-signed Jones btw.

And as I said I dont want nothing to do with Booker, he isnt worth 60M.. Zion is huge health gamble.

[WesPeace]

Ja Morant, Trae Young that would be bad for this team.. one star toxic player and one small horrible D PG that doesnt contribute to winning bb at all.

Bulls should play it smart and not be jumping on any crazy deals to ruin current chemistry and uptempo team play. This team needs one more, just ONE needle mover ,but we gotta play it smart. Overpaying for some overblown star and toxic players aint it.

[PaKii94]

JJJ is overrated. I wouldn't mind having him for the right price but definitely not going all in on him:

https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/1om63aj/tight_race_jaren_jackson_jr_has_amassed_a_total/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Watch on YouTube

[coldfish]

JJJ is overrated. I wouldn't mind having him for the right price but definitely not going all in on him:

https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/1om63aj/tight_race_jaren_jackson_jr_has_amassed_a_total/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Watch on YouTube

Good video and definitely makes you think.

Pro's:
- Aggressive help defender and great shot blocker
- Moves very well without the ball, can shoot the 3, etc.

Cons:
- Not a great passer
- Not a good rebounder

.....

https://www.nba.com/stats/players/traditional?PerMode=Totals&PlayerPosition=C&Season=2024-25&dir=A&sort=FG3M

People can sort through the list.
- Sabonis can shoot, pass but is a mediocre rebounder and poor defender.
- Bam can pass, score, rebound and play defense. Can't shoot from range.
- JJJ can score, shoot and play defense. Can't rebound or pass.
- Kessler can rebound and play defense. Can't shoot from range and not a great passer or scorer

I'll add one. IHart. There is a chance OKC simply doesn't pick up his option due to the massive lux tax bill coming in. Good passer, rebounder, can score some. Can't shoot from range. Eh defender.

[PaKii94]

JJJ is overrated. I wouldn't mind having him for the right price but definitely not going all in on him:

https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/1om63aj/tight_race_jaren_jackson_jr_has_amassed_a_total/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Watch on YouTube

Good video and definitely makes you think.

Pro's:
- Aggressive help defender and great shot blocker
- Moves very well without the ball, can shoot the 3, etc.

Cons:
- Not a great passer
- Not a good rebounder

.....

https://www.nba.com/stats/players/traditional?PerMode=Totals&PlayerPosition=C&Season=2024-25&dir=A&sort=FG3M

People can sort through the list.
- Sabonis can shoot, pass but is a mediocre rebounder and poor defender.
- Bam can pass, score, rebound and play defense. Can't shoot from range.
- JJJ can score, shoot and play defense. Can't rebound or pass.
- Kessler can rebound and play defense. Can't shoot from range and not a great passer or scorer

I'll add one. IHart. There is a chance OKC simply doesn't pick up his option due to the massive lux tax bill coming in. Good passer, rebounder, can score some. Can't shoot from range. Eh defender.

Kessler is the one to monitor. He's started the season with improved shooting/passing we'll see if that trails off as the season goes on but if that's here to stay, he's gonna get big money

[sco]

Look, I said this before, a true #1 option becomes available every year. Say what you want about Ja's attitude, he is a true #1 option that we probably can't find a better option and I'm betting his price would be reasonable compared to recent such guys. Memphis is such a crap town, maybe being here would make him happier. Also they have a new coach who doesn't know how to handle stars. If Billy has one strength, is that he's built for this challenge. Obviously depends on the price, but this would be a deal where our expirings could be used constructively. With his taint would Coby/ 2 1sts/plus filler work?

The biggest issue would be the risk of him playing alongside Giddey.

Now, would I prefer JJJ? Sure. Just think they might be more likely to keep him.

[ImSlower]

What a great way to completely crater our team-first, healthy locker room vibes to start the season.

Ja would clash with Donovan from day 1. He'd be an atrocious fit next to Giddey. He'd stunt Buzelis' development. Chicago media would turn on him his first public outburst.

No way, dude!

[DuckIII]

Until proven otherwise I’ll keep saying it. Enjoy this for a year because we can’t and won’t stay built like this. And the more games we win, the less likely it becomes, because our role players become league darlings and their contract value goes way up.

We need to trade some pieces whether it’s for an “all in” trade or not. This is a blast but it’s not what we’re going to look like long term.

Disagree.

CF showed above how we can keep everyone even if they get paid market value. Don’t think any of these guys think they are the man and want to prove how great they are on an up and coming team. Ayo is a Chicago kid too. Don’t think anyone gets crazy overpaid enough that AK doesn’t give a competitive offer either.

He will want to prove how great his build is.

If guys do get crazy overpaid I think we can find underpaid vets to quite a bit of what we are seeing. The beauty is the brand of hoops we are playing. Who doesn’t want to play with competitive unselfish players?

Those are assumed market values that are going to be greatly impacted by team success. How much do you think Ayo's stock has gone up, just him?

Plus we have to pay Matas in two years and Its probably going to be a max. We need to consolidate some of these guys into less players that fit a need - specifically a center who fits what we are trying to do. No matter how well he plays this year, Vuc is done as a Bull. Which is another part of how different we are going to be, and soon.

Or we need to trade some of them off individually for draft assets for the war chest. We are going to have to pick between some of these guys or its going to hurt the long term outlook of the team. And we finally have a long term outlook that doesn't blow. So lets not screw it up by falling too much in love with something that can't be sustained. We get a small window to maximize these assets and take advantage of their rapidly increasing value.

[DuckIII]

Ja Morant is a name worth talking about. A few years ago I would have given up a war chest for him. His stock is at the lowest it has probably been and he will likely ask for a trade soon. I would hate to do anything that could mess up Giddey's momentum but Morant is the type of name this thread was created to discuss.

To discuss and dismiss in this instance, I think. He doesn't make much sense as an all-in option. For it to be logical you'd need to trade Giddey as part of the deal. I guess there are probably a lot of folks who would do that, but Ja's too big of a wildcard at this point. Despite that his trade price might be lowered, it will still be incredibly high because there will be at least one team out there that will give up a ton for him.

Its an interesting question though. I wonder how many posters would bail on what we are doing now to quickly to reboot around Ja. He's certainly an elite talent and when he's on he's one of the most exciting players to watch.

[Chi town]

Until proven otherwise I’ll keep saying it. Enjoy this for a year because we can’t and won’t stay built like this. And the more games we win, the less likely it becomes, because our role players become league darlings and their contract value goes way up.

We need to trade some pieces whether it’s for an “all in” trade or not. This is a blast but it’s not what we’re going to look like long term.

Disagree.

CF showed above how we can keep everyone even if they get paid market value. Don’t think any of these guys think they are the man and want to prove how great they are on an up and coming team. Ayo is a Chicago kid too. Don’t think anyone gets crazy overpaid enough that AK doesn’t give a competitive offer either.

He will want to prove how great his build is.

If guys do get crazy overpaid I think we can find underpaid vets to quite a bit of what we are seeing. The beauty is the brand of hoops we are playing. Who doesn’t want to play with competitive unselfish players?

Those are assumed market values that are going to be greatly impacted by team success. How much do you think Ayo's stock has gone up, just him?

Plus we have to pay Matas in two years and Its probably going to be a max. We need to consolidate some of these guys into less players that fit a need - specifically a center who fits what we are trying to do. No matter who well he plays this year, Vuc is done as a Bull. Which is another part of how different we are going to be, and soon.

Or we need to trade some of them off individually for draft assets for the war chest. We are going to have to pick between some of these guys are its going to hurt the long term outlook of the team. And we finally have a long term outlook that doesn't blow. So lets not screw it up by falling too much in love with something that can't be sustained. We get a small window to maximize these assets and take advantage of their rapidly increasing value.

I agree overall. We both know AK won’t do that. He will try to maximize every win now.

Ayo has certainly increased value in 5 games. Once Coby comes back he won’t have the volume to show. It’s similar to Tre showing out and then getting hurt. Still think Ayo gets 15M per.

Same for Huerter. His age and game won’t get paid either. His numbers will go down with Coby coming back as well.

Vuc won’t be paid 20M next season.
Collins won’t be paid 18M next season with all those injuries. I bet Vuc returns. Vet defensive C signed and we draft a C to replace Vuc.

I also don’t see the star player that fits this scheme and doesn’t kill the cap with their salary.

Draft assets for the war chest… AK doesn’t value 1sts. He liked one for one player trades.

I agree with you in principle but not delivery and certainly not the way AK will do it.

I actually think AK has been better than what we give him credit for in terms of a style and brand of basketball he is wanting to play. I think he didn’t expect DDR to want to come to the Bulls and that’s what killed that build once Zo went down. He overestimated talent and not fit and didn’t pivot hoping Zo would come back. Caruso was a great signing. Giddey a great trade that was floating for months before it happened. Buz great pick. Giddey great negotiation.

What we currently have is fun and exciting. Who knows if any of these guys take an unexpected step like SGA did for OKC. The difference will be OKC has a plethora of picks and assets and we don’t.

I will be shocked if AK makes any trades and doesn’t just run it back.